# What do you use for substrate?



## ravekiss (Jan 20, 2005)

Just to get a general idea...


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## Bella (Jan 19, 2005)

I use gravel in my 33 gallon and 2 gallon, but I have sand in my 10 gallon


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## icp (Jan 18, 2005)

i use gravel in some tanks an sand in others.... but the majority of my tanks have gravle in them so i voted gravel :mrgreen:


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## Lisachromis (Jan 19, 2005)

Umm...I use sand and gravel. Also there's some bare bottom tanks. I can't vote! I have too many tanks with too many different substrates. :roll:


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## shev (Jan 18, 2005)

I use fluorite.


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## melonhead (Jan 18, 2005)

my cichlid tank has pink coral sand (something like that) specifically for cichlids....
my community tank has small grain gravel, with a patch of sand, and everyone hangs out by the sand. so on my upgraded community tank that is in the works, they will have sand--play sand from home depot....tested it out in a 10 gallon Q tank, and it looks great.

so, i say SAND.

LP


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## aquariumfishguy (Jan 18, 2005)

I'm another all natural gravel person...


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## DavidDoyle (Jan 18, 2005)

Different tanks get different substrate combos but here is a list of them all:
laterite
fluorite
Estes Walnut
Estes Bits of Walnut
Florabase
Large river gravel from stoneyard
Bare bottom


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

DavidDoyle @ Fri Jan 21 said:


> Different tanks get different substrate combos but here is a list of them all:
> laterite
> fluorite
> Estes Walnut
> ...


Ditto. I use eco complete in some, bare bottom in breeders, marbles in other breeders, gravel in a few.


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## penpitt (Jan 18, 2005)

I use sand in my 46 and will be switching to sand im my 80


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## HollywoodBob (Jan 19, 2005)

I've got decorative gravel it's green and purple. 

Is any substrate better than others? 

I've been considering crushed coral, I've heard it's good but I've got a UGF and assumed that the coral would just get sucked through the grates. Plus I'm a little wary of putting something that came from the ocean in my freshwater tank.

-HollywoodBob


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## Whitetygr (Jan 22, 2005)

I use gravel in my 55g and my 29g but I want to put sand and flourite in my 55g which gonna be a pain to change over....but the major question is cleaning it during water changes? How you vaccuum sand? Or do you not?


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## ritzgirl34 (Jan 20, 2005)

I just switched my 55 from gravel/fluorita to play sand today. My 5 gallon has black gravel still.


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## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

Well, I AM USING gravel. But I think sand'll be better.


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## aquariumfishguy (Jan 18, 2005)

One thing that I always disliked was the fake looking neon gravel or the multicolor gravel. It just looked tacky in all my own tanks, but that is because I was never one for things like "pirates treasure" type decorations or anything like that.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

It depends on what fish I have in the tank, if it's small neons then sand because they don't produce much waste.
But if it's my oscar tank then definately gravel, believe my, oscars waste floating around the tank and lying on bright white sand constantly really gives a dirty contrast and ruins the whole tank!


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## Vassili (Jan 18, 2005)

Gravel. Like Cichlid Man said, Oscars really mess up a sand-based tank.


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## Frop (Jan 20, 2005)

Iam using Gravel, but iam now thinking of starting a new tank and I want to use Sand as a substrate,

can someone tell me what the Pros & Cons are of using Sand??

Thanks.


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## $hiny Fish d00d (Jan 22, 2005)

WB to me )))

i use sand in my 20g, and gravel in 40, 10, and 3g


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Good things about sand: Don't have to gravel clean, eel like fish can hide in it, cichlids can move it more easily when digging pits to breed in, can suck off the waste just above the sand with a siphon.
Bad things about sand: Can't use an undergravel filter, good bacteria can't colinize easily, may get lots of debry floating around if filter isn't efficient, can't catch kuli loaches! :lol: 
Good things about gravel: Can use undergravel filter plate to ensure bacteria are stable, traps floating unsightly waste, can remove debry very easily with gravel cleaner (siphon).
Bad things about gravel: some fish can damage themselves on course gravel, if undergravel filter is not used decaying food and waste can get trapped inbetween gravel and pollute the system, gravel cleaning can be a problem if not carried out regulary.

The choice is yours, good luck.


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## justme (Jan 20, 2005)

i have larger pebbles which seem to be a heck of a lot easier to vacuum....


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## joe kool (Jan 24, 2005)

I use either eco-complete sand or crushed coral for all my tanks. well except 2 and they have a Aragonite substrate specially for africans from carib-sea also ... carib-sea is the bomb :mrgreen: 

I'm really liking the eco-complete sand and all new tanks are being set up with it and established (smaller) tanks are being switched... next to go is my 55gal :shock:


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## aquariumfishguy (Jan 18, 2005)

Cichlid Man said:


> Good things about sand: Don't have to gravel clean...


Actually, if you do not clean (via stirring and vacuuming) the sand, you will have so many problems, you won't be able to count them all on one hand. After a while sand gets very dirty and nasty looking... and that’s even if you do fervently clean it. :|


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## hail_sniper (Jan 18, 2005)

i can vouch for that in my sw tanks you can get nasty guck, and usually is around a dark grayish color when 'clean'


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Good point Aquarium fish guy, but do you use a gravel cleaner to clean your sand? What I mean is even though you have to stir the sand and siphon off the dirt, you don't actually use a gravel cleaner unless you want all of the sand to end up in the buket! :lol:


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## aquariumfishguy (Jan 18, 2005)

Gravel cleaner/vacuum/etc. They are all essentially the same thing. They do make tools similar to what you consider a 'gravel cleaner' that targets a select area and cleans it (like a turkey baster). 

And I do not use sand, been there and done that - I couldn't keep it looking nice, and it never quite grew on me.


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## MB75 (Jan 24, 2005)

I use very fine sand in my tanks. The reason for this is that gravel usually has sharp edges and harsh surface which is bad for the fish that live on bottom of the tank or those who pick the bottom continuously for food. 
For example corydoras catfish have very sensitive whiskers which are easily damaged by gravel. Also many bottom dwellers like to hide inside the bottom and with gravel it is impossible, with sand possible.  

I have never had problems with sand turning "ugly looking" and I have had sand-tanks for years now. I do turn it a little maybe a couple of times a year but not more often than that. The trick is to have certain kind of snails which live inside the bottom sand. They work it like worms work the ground and mold, turning it and keeping it "airy". No problems with that.


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## HollywoodBob (Jan 19, 2005)

Anyone tried putting wheels on their gravel cleaner to keep it off the gravel. My buddy showed me his homemade sand vac and it works like a dream. Stays just about a half inch up and sucks only the poop and old food up. 

-HollywoodBob


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## jonah (Jan 19, 2005)

I use sand, gravel, crushed coral and Flourite depending on which tank we're talking about. I prefer sand though.


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## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

I'm with you! Sand is great! Easy to apply and cheap, also. But there's not around here :-(


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## joe kool (Jan 24, 2005)

www.thatpetplace.com .... AND several other online guys have the eco-complete ... $15.99 for 20lb bag ... watch out for shipping at some of the sites though ... can be as much as the sand it's self!


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## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

lol Thanks!
It's gonna be a much much! I'm at Vietnam 
But thanks, Joe! I'll try surfing it! ;-)


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## MB75 (Jan 24, 2005)

I buy the sand in big bags at a local hardware/construction tools store. It is the same sand that is sold labeled with 10 times higher price at pet stores. :wink:


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## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

Do you guys mix sand wih any other stuff? How do aquatic plants get along with sand?


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## MB75 (Jan 24, 2005)

maxpayne_lhp @ Wed Jan 26 said:


> Do you guys mix sand wih any other stuff? How do aquatic plants get along with sand?


I have added some rounded small stones and maybe a handful of rounded gravel here and there, it makes the bottom look really lively and natural. I have not had any problems with aquatic plants with sand. They grow quite well I would say.


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