Cheap Substrate that can cover a very large area

[jimbo_natale4]

I am building a crawfish/crayfish breeding tub (14ftx8ft). I am planning to make a hiding place for the crawfish to grow and molt as well as grow plants the crawfish can eat. I cannot spend over 100$ on this. The substrate must be cheap to buy in bulk, hold plants, and cover at least 50 cubic feet.


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[Byron]

Pea gravel that you can buy at a landscape type store will work. I have used this in an aquarium to replicate a stream. I know from seeing crawfish in nature that they live in such streams. Play Sand is also inexpensive, I have this in all my fish tanks now. I wouldn't expect it harmful to crawfish, but if you want or need the larger material, go with the pea gravel. Some variously-sized rounded river rock to represent pebbles and boulders would be realistic with either.

Byron.

 

[jimbo_natale4]

Thanks so much! But do you know how much this would cost?


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[Toney]

Black Diamond blasting media is like 8 bucks a 50# sack

 

[Byron]

Thanks so much! But do you know how much this would cost?


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It rather depends where you are, but as you are in the US, where such things seem to be less expensive than for me in Canada, not much. I paid 75 cents for a bucket of pea gravel from the local landscape place, and it took two buckets to fill my 70g tank with 2 inches of substrate. Play Sand here is around 7$ a 25 kg (55 lb) bag, and two of these more than filled my 70g which has a surface area of 48 by 18 inches.

Just one caution on blasting sand and similar...these can be very rough, as they are not refined and areintended to "blast" or adhere like construction sand. Play Sand is refined to be smooth, and pea gravel is also smooth. Crawfish clambering over these should have no problems.