# Substrate with Critters



## StrongBad (Jul 1, 2005)

I was wondering what kinds of fish and or critters I cannot put in with a gravel bed. My tank is still cycling so I have some time to plan for a few fish and a cleaning crew.
I have a 30 gallon tank with about 3 inches LFS gravel with a 200gph "Aqua Clear Power Filter", and a 270 gph "Hagen AquaClear Powerhead". OH and a 200watt heater.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

is it "gravel" or crushed coral. In each case I would switch it with sand... much better for filtration and for keeping junk on top of the substraite (this means less nitrates if you vacuum it). I'd also consider a skimmer for filtration. But my guess is that anything that is a fairly hardy invert would do well such as hermits snails and brittle starfish.


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## StrongBad (Jul 1, 2005)

ok I am going to pick up some ls right now. How many inches do I need for my bed? Also, am I ruining my chances for success by not using RO/DI water from the start. Would it be possible to use one at a later date and through water changes get to where I should be? Or will algae start growing right away and I can never get rid of it?


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

You're going to have algae with a new tank no matter what you do, so there's no need to worry about it. Eventually it will use up all the extra nutrients available in a new tank and die off.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

yep... algae is inevidable, but it won't stay forever. As for slowly switching the substraight to sand I'd get about the same number of pounds of sand as the size of your tank.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

By sand he means aragonite, not silica.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

definately get aragonite sand... it helps a lot in buffering your tank so you don't have huge pH problems.


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