Large Rocks Instead Of Substrate/gravel

[jez2102]

i'm thinkin of getting rid of all or at least most of the gravel in my tank, and changing it for several large rocks instead, just because its such a nightmare to clean, and its a bit unsightly. are there any problems associated with this? they don't really need gravel do they?

 

[chishnfips]

what fish do you have, alot of fish like to dig around in the substrate for food and what not, I know that if you keep kribs its is a must to have a good substrate for them to dig in.

Do you have a gravel vac?

 

[jez2102]

no i go through the mission of scooping it all up and rinsing it and its getting annoying.i have danios platys guppies and a dwarf gourami. my main concern is excess food falling between rocks and rotting on the bottom, though im sure the small fish will get into the gaps to eat it

 

[chishnfips]

Ok, try a gravel vac they are really cheap and so easy to use, I got one and its brill.

it just acts like a syphon. I wouldn't change the substrate to large rocks. it would be harder to clean in my opinion. also You dont want to clean the whole substrate at once, as beneficial bacteria resides in the substrate. (although there have been debates on that).

 

[jez2102]

cool thanks for the advice

 

[Gatorbait]

I'd also be careful if you do decide to use no gravel and large rocks only. I'm not sure how large you mean but gravel will act like a cushion (to prevent damage to the bottom glass) and as a buffer to distribute the weight more evenly instead of one central point sitting on the glass.

The rocks you're talking of are probably not large enough to worry about the latter but more the former.

 

[PaPeRo]

If you want to use rocks you may also want to use a thin layer of fine gravel or sand about 1/2 - 1 inch.

 

[jez2102]

thanks guys v. useful

 

[karuna]

Another thing to consider/research is that with a gravel substrate you have a greater area for bacteria to colonize, as compared to a flatter and less bumpy bottom if you were to use, say, some sheets of slate. If you mean to cover it in more organically shaped rocks rather than just a few rectangles of thin slate, or something similar, then just disregard what I say but bear in mind what Gaitorbait warned you of.

EDIT: Grammar

 

[xoedusk]

Take chishnfips' advice... get gravel vac! You won't have to scoop the gravel any more. It will really save you so much time cleaning your tank. You can water change and clean the gravel at the same time!

Gravel vac!! Be sure to get a bucket.