Gravel Alternatives

[Emissary of Pain]

Hey all ...


I have been looking at this idea for a while now ... I am looking for things that could be used as alternatives to standard gravel ... Gravel in South Africa is about R250-300 for 15kg's (+- 33-40$ us for 33lbs of gravel)


Could you use filter sand ?(the kind used in swimming pool filters)


The reason is that I am on the hunt for something a bit different and cheaper as I am going to need a lot of gravel for a 180g cichlid tank.


All comments welcome.

Richard

 

[OldMan47]

Many people have used swimming pool filter sand and lots of other products as a substrate. The essence of a good substrate is one that will not affect your tank chemistry and the will not irritate your fish. For many of us that means some form of sand such as play sand for children's play equipment or swimming pool filter sand. Some other options are washed river sand or even various fertile planting substrates.