glow gravel

[flyhockey1037]

i saw on the internet some glow-in-the-dark aquarium gravel and i was wondering if anybody here has any. i want to get some but will a green afterglow freak out my fish at all? anyone know?

 

[cryosi]

personaly i would not advise anyone to buy glow gravel or any coloured gravel for a fish tank, i feel myself it should be more natural looking, with plain gravel or/and sand. Thats my view

 

[impur]

I don't think it will bother the fish. They have a moonlight at night in nature. I suspect the glow will be like a moonlight reflection off the substrate to them.

 

[smb]

I say to only go with either dark grey, black, brown or go where they are native from if it's different from these.

Colored gravel, especially bright colors like blue, white flourescent etc, only wash out the colors of the fish and makes them more timid. That pretty much goes for all fish, no matter how mean or aggro they are, imo.

I have never heard or seen of this glow in the dark gravel until this thread, so can't comment on that. If it's a dark gravel during the day and just glows like some rocks or ornaments do for a few minutes when you shut the light off, then I don't see a problem with it at all. Infact, I see the fish kinda liking that. Just as long as the gravel is darker during the day. The glowing aspect will wear away in a few months anyways.

 

[flyhockey1037]

they sell it on the site readysetglo.com. it lasts for up to ten hours after the lights go off. very expensives stuff. it is dark blue during the day and glows ur typical glow in the dark green at night. now, say i was to buy this gravel. how do i go about changing my old gravel and putting the new stuff in all the while my fish are in there? could admin switch this a diff. board maybe so it could get more views? since it isnt really focusing on hardware anymore but rather changing the substrate.

 

[impur]

Depends on what you are using for filtration. If you have a HOB with a biowheel or sponge you will be fine putting the fish in a temp. container and removing the gravel with something like a kitty liter scoop. If you use an UGF as your filtration, that is another problem. You would likely encounter a mini cycle if you did as above. Your best bet here would be to remove maybe half the gravel and replace it with the new. Then after a few weeks of keeping a close eye on your water parameters you could do the other half.

 

[Xenity7]

I wouldn't add glow in the dark gravel for two reasons, 1) You don't know what makes it glow, phosphurs, probably, these could bleed into your water and kill your fish. 2) How comfortable are the fish going to be with the gravel glowing. I have to disagree with Impur, gravel is like dirt, only coarser, does dirt glow in the moonlight? I think not. The fish might be fine but there behavior will probably change.

If you do decide to use the Glo-Gravel, why not sprinkle some on the top? Instead of spending a ton of money getting enough for the whole gravel bed, get just enough to make the top glow...

 

[MountGuppy]

i go with xenity7 you never know if it really is safe for actual fish

 

[impur]

Well consider this people. If a company makes a product for an aquarium that is bad for the fish and kills them, that company surely won't make much money. On top of that, they may have several lawsuits against them.

gravel is like dirt, only coarser

Gravel has a much larger surface area than dirt. Dirt will float in water. Gravel won't. Have you ever shone a light on a rock at night? That is what moonlight does to a rock. Take your tank for example. Turn off all the lights, get a flashlight and shine it down from the top. Can you see whats on the bottom? There you go. Fish are not brilliant creatures and probably cannot discern between a light coming from the moon or glowing gravel. Its all light on the substrate to them.

 

[flyhockey1037]

what is the xenity7 stuff u said about up there?
since the stuff is so very expensive ($42.00 US/pound) i was planning on buying a couple of pounds of other blue gravel and putting that in and then putting the glowy stuff as the top layer. that probably wont last long tho since im gonna have to use my gravel vac eventually. i have a hob filter but not a biowheel. are biowheels essential? do they help all that much? so what you are saying is i could take all my fish and put them into a temp. container while i change my gravel and i shouldnt have a problem?oh yeah, the website says that it is fish-safe. has anyone here changed their substrate before and how did u do it?

 

[flyhockey1037]

some reply to me^^^^^^^^^^!!!!!!!!! lol i wanna change this gravel out!

 

[smb]

some reply to me^^^^^^^^^^!!!!!!!!! lol i wanna change this gravel out!

IMO, I wouldn't mess with the glow gravel. Either after the first gravl cleaning it will buried or after a few months it will cease to glow. I've never used it, so this is jmo.

I don't think it's worth it.

To change your substrate, you have to have another tank already cycled and then cycle the tank you changed the substrate in before you can move them back in. You're looking at a couple months at least.

 

[Henry_VCG_]

Impur nice comeback I might look into this glow in the dark gravel I enjoy trying new things, maybe just a sprinkle though I dont want to have to pay $50 for gravel












VCG

 

[flyhockey1037]

i have a hob filter but no biowheel. temp. container still work?

 

[impur]

Sure as long as you don't clean the filter media anytime soon. And don't let it dry out. Also keep any decor in the tank wet, as they will also have bacteria clinging to it. I would also take a handful or so of the old gravel and put it in a media bag or pantyhose sock and set that in your filter. Keep an eye on the parameters, but you should be good to go.