Gravel

[waterdrop]

too bad you couldn'tuv sent that rain over here, we're already getting dry again and classic car shows are so fun!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah we would have liked to go, but we both know if you drag me round a muddy field in the rain when I've not even got a coat I'll be moaning like mad within 10 minutes and it'd just spoil our fun. Shame we didn't know about it before hand cos Ian would have taken one of his mates.

 

[prue07]

Hi all, i know this is probs a bit late to reply seeing as tho it seems you're all past the stage of worrying about gravel colour etc. but i used to have stark white gravel in my tank. I was told it would stress the fish after it was already in, but turns out they weren't phased in the slightest. I also have undergravel filters and recently did a complete changeover to black gravel cause i didnt like that you could see all the food deposits etc on the white stones. I had no trouble. I took this as an opportunity to give the tank a really good clean, and i still haven't lost a single fish. Not sure if this is luck, but i personally think some people are far too sensitive to their fish. My fish are happy as larry, they breed really well and dont mind what i do. I love them to death!! [L]

 

[rdd1952]

Do you mean like the gravel cleaner hose because the suction on that isn't incredibly powerful?

If you remove the large end (vacuum part) from the hose and use the hose only, it will have plenty of suction. I use that method to suck up snails and have removed sand with it before. The only reason it wouldn't work is if the grvel is too large.

 

[Hallett]

Great I'll try that..Maybe use play sand do lfs stock it? I might just get something more expensive to avoid hours of cleaning but thats me being lazy. I'm glad to hear other people are akward and change it once the fish are in n stuff as well

 

[rdd1952]

You can get play sand at any home improvement store. In the US it's Lowes or Home Depot. Not sure what the major chains are in the UK.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

B&Q, Wickes, Homebase..... anywhere like that for the UK, alternativley any kids place like toys r us or the early learning centre will also sell it

 

[Hallett]

Just sand then..Don't need anyhting underneath it like pond soil or anything for the plants?

 

[waterdrop]

substrates are a pretty big topic, if looked at from the planted tank point of view...

but if you are sticking with a straightforward beginner tank with easy plants, then it is entirely possible to have them grow, just anchored in plain gravel or sand...

 

[Hallett]

Ahh right well they're just growing in gravel at the moment so I'm guesing sand will be fine was just wondering it would be enough to hold them down. Anyway I'll be attempting this on Thursday so I'll post on how it goes! Cheers for the advice guys!

 

[Hallett]

Righteo then its done, it was a mahussive job but its done. I used playsand and once clean it looks really good. Only issue I have is granes of sand constantly floating around in the water and settling on plant leaves n such. Oh and my bristlenose is digging holes everywhere. Otherwise sweet as.