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After digging my hands through it for over an hour while rinsing it, I'd say it's pretty darn smooth.

I guess this is where we will disagree. I want a dark substrate and I like this mix. I will be using loads of driftwood, live plants and slate to add a bit of a natural look. Now, if I could find a dark sand mix of natural colors, like those that can be found in gravel mixes, I may change it...

And, you can buy a 4 pack of the cheap ones with prime 2 day delivery for the price of the first one I linked. I mixed a few handfuls of the black and blue sand together, with the same two parts black/one part blue. I really like the look in this glass.

This one is less expensive https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FMRD7FB/?tag=ff0d01-20

@Byron Good call. I'll mix a small batch to see how it looks before mixing the whole thing together. Also, quite a while back, you told me about some sponge filters at Amazon. Have you seen these sponge filters yet? They have cups below the sponges to hold bio balls. Interesting concept and...

@cowgirluntamed I don't consider that hijacking. I like seeing other people's setups. One day I hope to have that much greenery in my tank.

Oh, and the LFS has a special on driftwood, everything is $10 each. There are all fairly simple pieces but, even the 14-18 inch pieces, of manzanita, in their display tanks are for sale. A few of these pieces have been in the tanks for many years and are covered in algae. I'm thinking about...

Today I hit the local petco, petsmart, and the local mom and pop LFS and bought all the black aquarium sand in my county, 50lbs total. Not exactly enough but, the LFS also had 25lbs of dark blue sand. So, I also bought all the dark blue sand in my county. I think that mix will give me a nice...

Well poop. I guess quikrete stopped making the dark grey play sand, at least it's not available around here. I've been checking ebay for driftwood. It can be quite expensive especially when you want pieces 2-3 feet long. I might use the darkest natural sand I can find at the local...

Thank you, again.

Aside from scrubbing and boiling driftwood that I find, are there any other safety precautions I need to know about using found driftwood in my aquarium?

Shopping list for Home Depot tomorrow: -Grey playground sand, 50 lb bags X 2 (or one 50 lb bag and mix in about 20 lbs of inert black aquarium sand) -5 gallon buckets X 2 -25 ft Garden hose -Adjustable garden hose nozzle -Clear pvc pipe, 3 inch diameter, 2 ft (the tank I bought came with a...

I looked around at a local landscaping yard for river rocks. When I mentioned this to my friend, he warned me that some rocks can affect the alkalinity of the tank and sent me to YouTube to find out how to test rocks for safety... Now I have a gallon of muriatic acid, lol. That's the only...

I was afraid blasting sand would be too coarse. I'll check home depot tomorrow for the grey sand. My local Lowes only had beige sand. Buying black sand from pet stores is expensive and I'd probably have to buy every available bag in my county to fill 2 inches of my tank.

Would black sandblasting sand be ok to use as substrate?

Alright, I'll go buy a pair of 300 watt heaters tomorrow

To be more specific about heating the tank. My apartment stays around 65°F. During the hottest days of summer, I doubt it raised above 67°F. I have not been here for the winter yet but, I would not doubt that it would potentially drop into the 50s. So, if I wanted to keep the water in the...

I'll leave the HOTB filters and a couple sponge filters running. Hopefully, that will keep enough CO2 in circulation.

I will do that. Thank you very much for all your insight.

All the plants I'm planning on would be considered low maintenance. Since, I would be adding these plants to an unestablished tank, I was just worried that they would not do well if left without fish for 2 weeks, possibly 18 days. But, the more I think about it, I suppose the driftwood will...

Colin_T mentioned duckweed. I'll risk the over growth possibilities and add some for sure. A fish net can easily scoop out any excessive growth I plan on having the tank fully planted for at least 2 weeks before adding any fish. Would you recommend that I use fertilizers and CO2 until I...

Oops you added while I was typing my reply

Ahh. So, my plan to have the tank fully planted for a few weeks before adding any fish would be a good idea. You're suggesting that I could potentially add all 18+ fish at one time?

Thank you for telling me about the kubotia's digging. I'll be sure to silicone the stacks of rocks together. I would appreciate information about planted tanks and how it effects cycling. P.S. Those are beautifully planted tanks.

They have a plastic frame covered with white poly-fill like media. They have a pocket that holds carbon. Over a decade ago, I used a similar style of filter and would rinse them when needed. I would only replace them when, like you said, they began to fall apart. I would only replace one...

I was wondering if that would be the case, especially once the pictus reach 6+ inches. Kubotia loaches it is. The tank came with 2 HOTB whisper 60S and about 2 years of replacement filters however, my friend highly recommends using a canister. I may eventually go with a canister. I will...

Sounds good. If I do get those rainbows, I'd go ahead and get 8-10. I just found a good deal on, and bought, a used 75 gallon (48 inches long X 18 inches wide X 21 inches tall) aquarium. It was still up and running with several fish in it. 2 angels, a Bala shark, a black ghost knife, a...

I'm in the US. The pic I posted definitely shows more blue than those at the LFS. They were not inexpensive at $13 each so, hearing that you had problems with them is discouraging. All of them were 2 - 2.5 inches. While watching them from a distance, they were in constant motion. When we...

My friend and I went to the best LFS in the area, an hour away and I might have fallen in love with a rainbow. They called them kamaka rainbows. Below is the most similar pic I could find. I don't know if they were properly named. Does anyone here know the proper name and can anyone give me...

Hmm, it appears that my want for a particular fish and my water parameters don't quite match. The snakeskin barbs do better neutral to slightly acidic water. My local water is slightly alkaline. Grrr.

On seriouslyfish.com I spotted 2 gourami that interested me, croaking gourami and black paradise. Does anyone have experience with these?

Since the snakeskin barbs are smaller than what I was originally thinking of getting, I'll probably drop the panda garra for otocinclus. How about gouramis? I know there are some smaller species. I'm just not familiar with which one would be best in a group in a community.

I was thinking of adding one additional species. That sight you posted, in my previous thread, definitely looks to be a good resource. I just wish all the species had a quick breakdown. It can take a while to read through all of the information provided.

I'm not real familiar with hatchets. Are there any that grow over 2 inches? In my previous thread, you mentioned rainbows. I've found yellow banded rainbows interesting. Are there any you know of that grow to 3 - 4 inches?

I was at the LFS and spotted something I had not seen before, rhombo barbs. Now, I want them. Since my research suggests that they stay in the lower half of the tank, I'd like suggestions for fish that stay in the top half of the tank. Here is what I plan on keeping, rhombo barbs, kubotia...

They are pretty, just not my cup o' tea. I do like how heavily planted all the tanks, in your signature, are

Clown loaches are beautiful fish but, they definitely grow too large for my future tank. I'm thinking more along the lines of zebra, reticulated or polka dot loaches.

I like the idea of roseline/torpedo barbs also but, I've read conflicting info. Do they reach 4" or 6"+

The more I think about it, the more I narrow down the prospects. I want fish that are large enough to see from across the room. That eliminates the smaller fish. I also like lots of activity, that eliminates the one or two large fish idea. This leaves me a few ideas but, I have a front...