Substrate for aquarium help

Gravel or sand help

Hi.
I have an aquarium which includes:
- 2clown loaches
- 1 rainbow shark
- 3 synodontis ilebrevis
- 6 red rainbow fish
- 5 tetra neons
- 6 live plants (just basic ones)
I am wondering what type of substrate I should use. Gravel, fine gravel or sand. Currently I have large red gravel and just looking to change things up and possibly make my fish happier.
Thanks for any answers.

 

Gravel or sand help

Hi.
I have an aquarium which includes:
- 2clown loaches
- 1 rainbow shark
- 3 synodontis ilebrevis
- 6 red rainbow fish
- 5 tetra neons
- 6 live plants (just basic ones)
I am wondering what type of substrate I should use. Gravel, fine gravel or sand. Currently I have large red gravel and just looking to change things up and possibly make my fish happier.
Thanks for any answers.

How big is the tank and is it cycled? Also clown loaches should be keep in groups of at least six. AND rainbow sharks get aggressive as they get older. It seems as if you have an semi- aggressive tank. If so I would re home the tetra's. They aren't meant to be with semi-aggressive fish

 

Sarah73
The tank is 240 litres and yes I am looking to rehome my clown loaches in the near future. It is also cycled it has been up and running for 3 months and I just want to change to sand rather than bright red gravel. Thanks

 

Gravel or sand help

Sarah73
The tank is 240 litres and yes I am looking to rehome my clown loaches in the near future. It is also cycled it has been up and running for 3 months and I just want to change to sand rather than bright red gravel. Thanks

It's 63g? I would take more tetra's so they feel more secure and for gravel, what kind of gravel do you have now? Just re read it. I would slowly take the red gravel out and replace it with black sand. So when you take a little gravel out place a little sand in their, so bacteria can start growing on the sand. When you take all of the gravel out at once, you are going to have a spike because bacteria lives in the gravel. That's how fish waste is deposited.

 

I'd go with sand. Bottom dwellers really prefer it.

 

Sand... Black Diamond Blasting Sand is beautiful.

 

Gravel or sand help

Pool filter sand is my favourite substrate. Super cheap and is great. If you want to know how to change to sand this is the video I used-

I took everything out, put all the decor and filter media in a bucket with some aquarium water while I switched over. When you change you'll want to have a whole day set aside, it'll take forever, but is worth it. I personally wouldn't get black sand, just because it can limit what you have in your tank visibility wise. Like a common pleco would be near impossible to find in there. But if you don't plan on getting black/darker coloured fish, I think it can look really nice. I got my pool filter sand for $10 for a 50lb bag at a pool supply store. It's very natural looking and is a good sand grain size to. Hope this helps!

Edit: forgot to add that if you change to any other substrate, put some bottled bacteria in after your finished, since you are taking out a lot of bb. I personally use Marineland.

 

Platylover, I honestly think that black substrate brings colors out more on fish rather than white or natural, which to me, seems to dull the colors. BDBS is about 9$ for 50lbs.

 

BluMan1914, I see what your saying, and I think with most fish it really does make them pop, I was just talking about the darker fish. I've heard/seen people with sterbias cories that are near impossible to see with the black sand. In my opinion I think either one is a great choice, I've seen beautiful aquariums with BDBS and beautiful aquariums with PFS.

 

It seems like we agree with each other. There are some fish that would probably disappear on black substrate.

 

Bottom dwellers will often darken on a dark substrate.

 

I used play sand in my tank and it works really well for my Cories. They bury their heads in it and root around all day for food like vacuum cleaners haha

 

Hi.
I am thinking of purchasing natural brown river sand which they say suit most aquariums. I have the current fish and plants:
- 1 rainbow shark
- 2 clown loaches
- 3 synodontis iblevris
- 6 red rainbow fish
- 5 neon tetras (going to get 10 more next week).
- 6 basic live plants (not sure about their names)
so my question is will this gravel been suitable for all my fish and how thick would you want the gravel.
Thanks for any answers.

This is the link to the gravel:

 

I can't see any problems there, was there anything specific you were concerned about? I'm a fan of natural coloured substrate myself, just remember that you will probably need to add root tabs for your plants

 

Aquaphobia I didn't really have any major problems but I have some more questions.
will the Ph increase when I add the gravel
and should I add portions at a time or just the whole bag.
how thick should I have this gravel as well.
thanks

 

It shouldn't affect your pH but if you're worried you can always test a piece with a bit of vinegar; if it fizzes it will likely raise the pH.

I would rinse it a few times in a bucket before adding it and put the whole thing in unless adding it requires a lot of rearrangement in the tank, in which case I would do a little at a time, just to avoid stressing your fish out too much.

 

Cool thanks how much would you put in?
My tank is 100cm by 45cm.

Aquaphobia

 

How many gallons/liters is it? Most recommended is around 2 lb sand for every 1 gal/4 L

 

Grimund my tank is 240 litres. Thanks

 

Your tank is approximately 50 gallons...so about 50-55lbs should do the trick.

 

I was going to suggest that you get 2 bags or maybe even 3. I think 2 is enough but it's always good to have extra on hand just in case you need more so you can be sure it matches.

 

Aquaphobia BluMan1914 if I wanted Cory's one day will they be alright with the gravel or will they cut themselves or not be happy or something like that?
Thanks

 

From what I've read, they prefer sand and can damage their barbels on gravel. Just be sure that it's not made of really sharp particles because they can damage their barbels on some sands, too. I'm trying to think who knows most about cories here on the forum. aliray maybe? Anders247?

 

For the most part, cories are fine with most substrates. The exception being on rougher gravel and sand. If the gravel is smooth and doesn't contain sharp edges, you should be okay, just monitor the barbells.

Sand is preferred, as it offers a much smaller surface area per grain to cut the barbells on and is easily pushed aside, greatly reducing injury chances.

I would use sand for the cories and the fact that cleaning the substrate is far easier. The sand compacts itself, so the waste can't get past the surface. Just swirl the syphon about 2"/5 cm above the sand to bring up waste to syphon it.

Just my two cents.

 

Aquaphobia and Grimund gave you the answer I would have given.

 

As long as the gravel is smooth and kept clean it will work but sand is better. Alison

 

Agreed with aliray.

 

What colour gravel? Help

Hi.
I have a 240 litre aquarium with the following fish and plants:
- 1 rainbow shark
- 2 clown loaches
- 3 synodontis ilebrevis
- 6 red rainbow fish
- 5 neon tetra (going to get 16 more soon)
- 6 basic plants
my question is what colour gravel would best suit the colours of the fish. Black or white. I got what gravel I want (very fine) but just not sure what colour. Will certain fish darken with the black gravel or will they not show colour in the White gravel. (Or is it personal choice will not affect fish?)
thanks for any answers.

 

It's often a personal preference, but some fish get skittish with a brighter substrate.

I like to offer a darker substrate for fish who prefer lower light and/or caves to hide in, so I'd go dark with your stock.

 

What about multicolour ?

 

Darker is better for bringing out the colours of fish and shrimp. They really do brighten considerably on a dark background!

If you're not set on black or white then I would recommend a natural gravel that is a mix of different shades of brown with flecks of other colours

 

The darker the better in my opinion. Almost all fish look great with a black gravel. It's more of a personal choice, but fish tend to dislike bright colors. If you want white, get a sandy off white color.

 

I'm a total newbie, but I really love my CaribSea black Tahitian Moon sand. It is jet black, with random tiny grains of almost opalescent sand that makes it almost glitter, pretty awesome. My cory cats love it.

 

I'm going to vote for multicolor. I've just swapped the black sand out of two of my tanks for mixed color sands. Caribsea Amazon in one and Ivory Coast in the other. The change is amazing. I wish I had made the jump sooner.

 

I also prefer darker substrate especially in a planted tank. The greens pop way more

 

I've always found that fishes colors are better on a dark substrate, especially black. Everytime I've tried natural, the fishes colors were never as vibrant as they were on the black.

 

Three threads have been merged so all the information is in one place