substrate

Hi, I have some questions on substrate: 1.Is it worth it to pay for expensive substrate? 2.eco complete or aquasoil? 3. pool filter sand or sand from pet store?

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum. I'm still relatively new to the hobby; I've had a 10 gallon tank for a betta for almost a year now. I believe I have a good understanding what it means to take adequate care for him, and he is still doing well. The tank is established and the water parameters...

I have 5 tanks all of them have gravel substrate, i have a problem with one of the tank it is the pleco blackghost knife fish chinese algae eater and loaches tank they get along really well never get aggressive,every night when the light go off all of them digging the gravel and put them to the...

Hi, I was wondering if corydoras or loaches could live on clay gravel (the flourite one) or it would hurt their *barbles*(not sure of that word since I speak french lol)

So I have recently started setting up my new 35G tank. The filter and cartridge are used, bacteria is still there. I bought a few fish, too. They are now in the bags they came with. I had forgotten to wash the substrate which was Flourite Dark Porous Clay and put it in the tank anyways. I have...

So as we're dealing with our 38gal, we're looking to get a second tank, possibly 65gal. We're kind of tired of gravel and want to switch to a planted tank with a sandy bottom. Right now the only plants we have in the 38gal gravel tank is two anubias plants and some moss balls. Other than that we...

Hi all, I’m planning a new setup at the moment and want to use sand as the substrate. For anyone who has used it: how do you keep it clean (especially in planted areas)? Where did you get it from (I’ve been recommended play and pool filter sand)? And how did you go about cleaning it before use...

Hi all, Although I've been keeping tropical fish for a number of years (with varying degrees of success!), I have a question that I've never asked for help with and I realise that I don't really understand this topic so would appreciate any advice, answers, opinions and such. I have a 45l tank...

Hey! So I’m in the process of setting up my first tropical tank in probably 5 years and want sand as my substrate. I can only find two types of sand in my area: aragonite and builders sand. I’ve heard that aragonite sand causes the pH and calcium levels to go a bit nuts and that builders...

Found this nutrient soil at a really cheap prize but can't find any info on it online. Anyone knows if this is legit? I don't expect it to be as good as the more expensive brands, but if it's better than nothing.. I'm planning on placing it beneath the sand. This is what it says in the...

Hi, I've recently brought a 40 litre, already planted fish tank off gumtree (Australian buy and sell website, kinda like eBay only more local). It is a very heavily planted fish tank, that has 5 guppies (all male) and 1 fry (also a guppy) and is also infested with tiny snails (yikes I know, but...

Hi Guys, Two days ago, (almost exactly three years into the lifetime of my planted discus tank), I finally resolved to get rid of my horribly coloured and tacky, (as well as completely waste saturated), substrate and replace it with some new quality stuff which I'd had my eye on for quite a...

Hello, in a few months I am receiving a 38 gallon tank for my two baby goldfish and I was wondering what kind of substrate is best for them. Right now I'm using gravel, but I've seen so many people use sand. Is sand better than gravel? Do you have a preference? I want to make sure this tank...

Hey guys I have a 3.5 gallon tank right now and I saw some African dwarf frogs at the store the other day and I thought they looked so cool! I haven't bought one, but I would like to. I've kept freshwater invertebrates before, so I have a little experience, just not with african dwarf frogs...

Hi Guys, I have been keeping Discus, (9 of them), in my 450L planted tank now for just over 6 months and it has been going great. However, in order to achieve the look I envisaged for the tank I have my heart set on completely swapping my current gravel substrate for "Amazonia". How should I go...

Hi i am buying a fluval roma 240 aquarium does anybody know roughly how many bags of gravel it will take to make a 3 inch deep substrate its the first time i will have owned a 4 foot aquarium always had 2 foot largest being a juwel rio 125 which was 31 inches

I just bought two new plants from PetSmart in those "pest free" containers since they seem to be the cleanest around here. 1. Narrow Leaf Java Fern and 2. Anubis Congensis As I'm reading right now it seems that both need to be attached to rocks/wood? I knew the regular Anubis (larger that I...

Hi I'm slowly but surely buying up everything i need for upgrading my 90 litre freshwater tank. I've spent a couple of hundred so far and have just totalled up everything left on my list and need another £450. I've therefore decided to look into what savings can be made and I think one of the...

Hi Guys,   The stuff attached in the picture has been growing in my planted discus tank. What is it? And how do I treat it?   Best wishes,   Cameron

Hi Guys,   So basically I have been impatient and made a mistake. 4 weeks ago I filled my empty tank with RO water and rasied the Kh to 4 and then began the cycling process. My tank is fully cycled and ready for fish as of yesterday, (I tested the Nitrate, Nitrite and Ammonia levels). And so I...

Hey everyone. I have had my 20 gallon long for about 4 months now. It was really the first tank I started with and nothing was changed within the 4 months. It was the first tank I cycled and everything. I just kept adding more plants and stuff to what it is today. I have had lots of problems...

Hi all, First post here, all the way from New Zealand   I am thinking of swapping out my current sand substrate for Caribsea Eco-Complete to help out my plants after reading many good reviews. Even with root tabs and liquid fertiliser they just aren't developing well in the sand and their root...

Hello everyone I am new to these forums and I had some questions about my tank..   I have had tanks on and off my childhood but they never lasted long, now I am older (16) I can apprechiate these tanks. I recently bought a 20 gal and want a really heavy planted aquarium with some water grass and...

I currently have a 55 gallon that I need to seriously revaluate. It has horrible large pebble-blacksand mixed substrate currently and I am going to switch it with pool filter sand. (or PFS if youre trendy). I know I will likely have to move my cichlids into a holding container which I can do...

Hey quick question! I was wondering if I could put sand from Home Depot in an aquarium? Thanks!

My husband and I would like to go down to the river and collect some large rocks to build in our shubunkin koi & comet gold tanks. We put one in our tank yesterday and the fish seem fine, we scrubbed it really good and let it soak in boiling water for over an hour before we put it in.    Has...

hi everyone :) im going to be starting a planted tank soon, got pretty much everything sorted or what i havent got i know what im going to get, apart from the substrate. i would like to know what other people rate as the best choice to give the plants everything they need and also not being too...

So I'm fairly new to tropical fish keeping and have many questions! I've been doing plenty of research but my latest question sits at; How much gravel do I need for my tank? It's 80cm x 30cm and I'm hoping to have 3cm-5cm of quite small gravel. I've been looking at possibly around 15kg if...

I'm setting up a new tank and i am curious as to which substrates are best for planted tanks? Im leaning towards sand because its good for bottom feeders and looks nice however im not sure where to buy it from because my lfs doesnt sell aquarium specific sand, or whether just strictly sand...

In short, my question is what plants could I keep in a brackish tank (with a salinity level of 1.008 sg) with aragonite sand and a fish that digs? What about plants that red-claw crabs can't destroy? Semi-aquatic plants?   More details...   I currently have a 6.5" or so Violet Goby (Dragon Goby)...

Time to kick things off, now I've got plenty of free time I want to convert my Juwel Rio240 into a dirted tank. I'll be using Organic Miracle Gro potting mix.   - First Question is it necessary to have much capping, ex if I used 4 inches of dirt do I have to have 4 inches of gravel capping it or...

I am thinking of creating a landscape-look for my tank and was wondering if java moss can grow on/in sand? I have seen that Java moss is often used to create a 'grass' type look and it seems like it doesn't need much to thrive. I've read that a few people buried their java moss partway into the...

I'm looking to set up my first planted tank. The dimensions are  60 (w) x 30 (d) x 30 (h) and it is a 54l tank. I planning on eventually having a betta and some corys in it. I know all about cycling, I already have an established 65l tank but it's got plastic plants. I have a couple of questions...

Okay so I just set up my ten gallon tank, which came with an internal power filter (the tank I bought was the petco 'grreat choice'). I read that it may be bad to use an internal filter if I have sand? Also, sand is incredibly expensive at pet stores, and was hoping that I could just buy play...

I am wanting to switch from gravel to sand but I realized that if I wanted to add plants I'll probably need a substrate made for plants. Would sand alone be okay or would I need a substrate made for planted tanks? 

i want to use sand for my aquarium that  i will be setting up hopefully soon. is there a difference between sand for salt water and freshwater? is there a difference between sand and substrate? if there is,should you use substrate first with sand on top? (im using live plants)

Hi friends,  First of all, I am new to the fish world.  I have read about the nitrogen cycle. I need help with setting up an aquarium with live plants. I currently have a 15gal tank (2ft-1ft-1ft) with an Internal filter with 140G/h filter capacity.  I need help with the kind of substrate to...

I'm getting a 30 gallon aquarium for my corydoras and I'd like to make the entire substrate sand instead of just a portion of the tank (like my 15 gallon).  I wanted to know what the best way to keep the substrate clean is. I have a gravel vacuum but I don't think that it would work so well with...

Hi guys, I'm still a fish noob however, I'm really into fish keeping now, and I want to advance myself into live plants, sorry but I have quite a few questions... This is what iv ordered...

Here we go, I'm thinking of setting up a planted nano tank approx 30L   - One betta will reside in this tank with maybe a couple of bristlenose plecos or shrimp if I can manage to source some decent species.   - I'm curious as to what kind of substrate I should use and where is it located.   -...