enthusiast

I have read about this before somewhere in a magazine. Has anyone tried using cat litter as a substrate/gravel in their tanks, or heard of it being done successfully?

ofcourse i know you would have to rinse it extensively, i would boil it out good too... But otherwise, this stuff sounds like it'd work, right? its small, fine little pebbles...a little heavier than sand, and about the lightest stone/gravel that you could get?

was just talking about this with my cousin as he's redoing his cichlid tank and switching them over to the 75 gal i'm about to give him, & i mentioned this to him and told him I'd post a thread up on the site, see what everyones ideas are about it? cuz he wants to do sand or a fine gravel in his cichlid tank & if this is doable, this would be the cheapest and probably best idea for alot of people in his shoes!

Shawnie

wow it would be a first for me hearing it....wouldnt it break down in the water? I am a dog person so not familiar with cats and their habitat

for africans, id go with crushed coral as its a way to keep the pH stable......I cant wait to see others opinions on the cat litter tho

Lucy

I had never heard of this.
There are perfumes to consider as well as anti clumping whatever they add.
Not sure I'd take the chance.

aquarist48

Hello. I don't think I'd risk it either. It has to have certain chemicals in the liter to masque the smell of ammonia. Clumping agents in some. Cat liter that I know of is made to absorb moister. Try some in a bucket and see what happens??

Butterfly

First Cat litter isn't fine gravel it's made of clay better known as Laterite. There has been much controversy about using cat litter as a substrate under gravel or other mediums. as it soaks in the water it dissolves and becomes clay like. Plants seem to like it. but it can make a mess. Many cat litters come with perfumes, clumping chemicals and other additives be careful to avoid these at all costs.
Here are a few of the discussions I have read
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Fertil...at-litter.html
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...-aquarium.html
http://www.koivet.com/koivet/index.p...lity&Itemid=40
So as you can see there is much controversy about using it as substrate this idea goes around and it will disappear then it will arise. I've never tried it so I can only say what I've heard.
Carol

Shawnie

wow no kidding....thats like totally freaky LOL ...cheaper isnt always better is what ive got from that ..but thats me ...IMO , I would not use it in the african tank but again, thats me

Butterfly

From what I've heard it's mostly used as a plant substrate. Really cheap kitty litter is clay but the more expensive ones have too much stuff in them.
Carol

Shawnie

well africans and plants dont usually mix..exception to every rule tho I guess ....and boiling it first would make a mud pie wouldnt it? cant imagine how you boil it then put it in the tank ....

Hypnox

Whats wrong with just buying dirt? A 40 lb bag is like $0.99. Or is that a nono?

Shawnie

If im correct, I think the OP was asking for the subtrate for africans and helping with their higher ph?(not sure if it does that or not either) not for plants tho...but I could be wrong ! if for plants, I agree hypnox

Hypnox

Oh, if it's for cichlids that need a higher PH i'd use a SW sugar fine sand substrate. That would make your PH skyrocket. All that would need to be done to it is a cleaning with tap water.

Butterfly

You can't wash kitty litter I wouldn't think. Yuck!
carol

prairielilly

The majority of cat litter is made from (among other things as mentioned) bentonite, which is a particular kind of clay that reacts a certain way to moisture - it swells. This is why it's so effective as a 'clumping agent' and also why it's so successful in its other main use - primary component of oil well drilling fluid Where I grew up the soils contain a large percentage of the stuff and every spring ppl's basements heave and sidewalks crack. In my present job it gives me grief when I drill through it as the whole zone turns to muck. If you make this stuff wet (rinsing, boiling would be even faster) it will turn to a thick gelatinous goo. In cat litter, it's mixed with a fine sand as said to give the 'clumping' effect, but I can't see the end product being good for plants - in terrestrial plants an excess of clay 'binds' the water and makes it unavailable for the plants' roots. Some of our aquatic substrates are made from crushed shale, but in that form the clay is lithified so the nutrients are available to the roots but the substrate won't turn into goo around them.

I wouldn't use it...just 2c.

enthusiast

ooooooookay, well you guys have made up my mind! thanks~!

It would be a bad idea to use cat litter of any kind in the aquarium, i'm convinced

i was thinking maybe if you rinsed it that it'd help, i know its gonna compact and clump and stuff just like it does when you scoop pee out of a cat box lol, but i thought maybe it might not do that if it was overly saturated? ------i didnt try it, i'm just pleading my reasoning for thinking that it might work.
I will get some sand lol
thanks again!

JESS01

Yeah, not a good idea, because if you had bottomfeeders what would it do to them?