Satellite

What is a good Substrate and how much should i use for a 75 gal freshwater
aquarium? what kind of plants? if gravel what size?

At the moment i have one angel fish 2 autocats 4 neon tetra and what is believed to be a four line catfish (was given to me no idea what it is, i will post photos of it when i switch tanks)

agabr123

hi and welcome to fishlore!

the "best" substrate really depends on what you're stocking, however i prefer sand to gravel, specifically pool filter sand rather than play sand (the pool filter sand is heavier and smoother, less likely to clog your filter). sand is a lot easier to clean, since the waste can't make it's way to the bottom like it can with gravel, you can easily get it all up with your gravel vacuum. as far as how much, it's really a personal preference. i don't like a very deep substrate, i usually go with no more than 1.5-2 inches, but some people like more.

if you're planning on live plants, what kind of lighting do you have? live plants generally work better with gravel than sand because sand can compact and prevent the roots from growing, but i've found that pool filter sand doesn't compact like play sand does so it should be just fine.

aquarist48

Welcome to Fish Lore. Personally I use river rock. (large rocks compared to gravel) I always worried about using small gravel, the fish sucking it into their mouths and it getting stuck. Just a preference. About 2 inches of it or so. Enough to keep the plants grounded.

Satellite

I will be getting the setup this afternoon so I will let you know about the lighting.
Where would I purchase pool filter sand? The store for pool supplies here is rather expensive.

Thanks for your input!

capekate

If you have a Home Depot or a Lowe's near you, you can most likely find the pool filter sand there. They come in 50 lb bags and can run anywhere from 6-10 dollars a bag.

Satellite

do i need to mix anything in with the sand to prevent gas pockets? is it ok for plants if not what can i do for the plants?

Nate McFin

If the focus of the tank will be plants , I would suggest Eco Complete or Fluorite. Make sure you have enough lighting as well for the type of plants you want to keep. I have a pretty heavily planted tank with normal gravel and while the plants do well it limits the type I can put in. If I had it to do over...it would be one of the two above.

Regal

I have a mix of Fluorite and gravel. When I felt i needed more depth I added some Shultz aquatic pond soil from Home Depot. It was a lot cheaper and seems to be the same as Fluorite. I researched it before I added the shultz but it's been a while so I'm a little foggy on the details. There's lots of info on the web about using it in an aquarium.

Satellite

should the mix be 50/50 (50 shultz 50 pool filter sand)?

Regal

I have never tried to mix anything with sand so I don't want to give you advice on something I don't know about. My concern would be that the two would seperate and you would end up with two layers. When I gravel vac that's what happens to me. Everything sucks up for a second then the gravel falls first and the lighter fluorite falls last and so ends up on top. That doesn't bother me though. Hopefully someone that's done it will be along soon.

agabr123

you will probably end up with two layers, the sand will try to make its way to the bottom, which isn't really a big deal unless it bothers you aesthetically

and a 50/50 mix should be fine

Satellite

should i put snails in the substrate to keep it moving around? if so what kind of snail and should i get a fish that will eat some of the snails to control them?

agabr123

you can get some MTS (malaysian trumpet snails) to keep the sand aerated, but IMO it's not necessary.

serissime

if you don't want MTS, attach chopsticks to your gravel vac with rubber bands (chopsticks should stick out in front) so you aerate the sand every time you do a water change

Regal

I agree with alex on the MTS. They won't overpopulate your tank if you don't overfeed and they are nocturnal so you don't see them that much anyway.