Rocks And Sand

[arabballin]

My 60 gallon tank which is going to be an mbuna tank is coming on thursday. The next step is buying rocks and sand. Does anyone have any reccomendation on what kind of sand and rocks i should get?

The things im looking for in both is:

good visual appearance
good for my fish
good for my wallet.

I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[PRW1988]

Childs play sand works quiet well, however if you're worried about the little stones and such you can always run it through a strainer and remove them, be sure to rinse it VERY well to avoid cloudiness in your tank. As for rocks, common garden stones work well, as do pieces of slate.

I use common garden stones (the large, oval, squared and flatish ones) in my 55gallon tank, and they look nice. Be sure to boil them first to release all extra oxygen and kill off any bacteria. Driftwood also looks lovly in a Mbuna setup IMO, aswell, add a few plants for some extra coverage.

Hopfully this will help, another suggestion for a sand-like substrate would be argonite as it helps to naturally raise the PH of a tank, which is very good for African cichlids.


Ryan

 

[WaterBender1995]

drift wood will leach tannins into the water and I dont think someone starting a new tank would be too happy to see that. also it lowers the PH.
try looking for a garden center/landscaping yard where you'll find HUGE piles of gravel of all sizes, sand, rail road ties...they sell rock realllll cheap.
as for sand, I use eco-complete by caribsea. play sand is too fine for me, gets into the filtering system too much and screws up the mechanics over time.

 

[chishnfips]

bog wood will leach tannins but driftwood shouldn't as it will be bleached by the sun. Juyst test it in a bucket before you stick it in the tank, you'll notice the water change within a day or so

 

[PRW1988]

There's an easy way to avoid this issue, soak the driftwood in a bucket of water for a week or so and change the water daily.

 

[arabballin]

sorry and no offense, but i dont really need advice on wood. I have a piece of African root that my LFS told me the cichlids will love. And it wont leech anything cause it was in my other tank for almost a year.

I need recommendations for rock and sand.

 

[PRW1988]

Which I gave you in my original post, I recommended adding some drift wood aswell so the cichlids would have more hiding places. As I said in the original post

Childs play sand works quiet well, however if you're worried about the little stones and such you can always run it through a strainer and remove them, be sure to rinse it VERY well to avoid cloudiness in your tank. As for rocks, common garden stones work well, as do pieces of slate.

I use common garden stones (the large, oval, squared and flatish ones) in my 55gallon tank, and they look nice. Be sure to boil them first to release all extra oxygen and kill off any bacteria. Driftwood also looks lovly in a Mbuna setup IMO, aswell, add a few plants for some extra coverage.

Hopfully this will help, another suggestion for a sand-like substrate would be argonite as it helps to naturally raise the PH of a tank, which is very good for African cichlids.

Ryan

 

[arabballin]

yea your right sorry about being rude.

anyone ever hear of or try this stuff?

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...amp;pcatid=8976

 

[ganotisim]

"Good for your wallet" sand can be purchased at a pool supply store. Pool Filter Sand, or PFS as commonly seen on forums, are the cheap way to do. 20 Grade size is the most common one used. I, for one, use it myself. I purchase a 20lbs bag for $10. It was more than enough to fill my tank. It took me about an hour or so to give it a thorough rinse before I gently placed it in my tank.

As a matter of fact... I don't know where you're from but if you're near the Anaheim, CA area you can get the rest of my PFS for free. Unused and unrinsed.

Another option is the play sand purchased at a home improvement store such as Home Depot or Lowes. However, they tend to be "dirtier" than PFS and requires more rinsing. The play sand that they sell tend to be more fine.

Another substrate that I've worked with in the past is 3M Black silica sand. The black sand you see in public ashtrays.

Currently, I have a Tanganyikan tank with 23x Troph. Duboisi. The substates I'm using are PFS 20 Grade, some 3M black silica, and some Crush Argonite mixed together.

I always purchase my rocks from a rock yard or landscaping store for way cheap... 15 cent/lbs. Currently, I'm using smooth rocks. I'm not sure what type of rocks but they are white with green streaks on them. The common rocks that I see aquarists use are the Texas Holey Rock, and in my opinion think they are over priced. They do have a lot of holes or caves. I guess it depends on the look that you want.

Another alternative that I've seen, if you don't care about the looks, are people using PVC pipes, couplings, T's, and elbows. Creative, different, and serves it's purpose for creating hiding spots but I don't think my wife would want that displaying in our living room.

 

[arabballin]

im actually also in california. Im in the northridge area where the big earth quake was. I dont know how far of a drive it is to get to you.

Im glad u made that suggestion about the PFS sand. I dont want to use the play sand because i heard from many it clumps hard in water and it causes the toxic pockets to build up. I also heard its too fine and that it often comes up in the filter.

Im mostly likely going to use some kind of mixture. I think im going to mix PFS sand with some crushed coral(it is an african tank and i heard this raises the ph and keeps it there) which has aragonite in it. Then im going to put a little bit of fine gravel to enhance the look and keep all the sand loose.

Thank you all for the suggestions by way.

 

[PRW1988]

All sand can have a toxic build up, which is why it's recommended to stir it up a bit when your changing the water.

 

[dthoffsett]

All sand can have a toxic build up, which is why it's recommended to stir it up a bit when your changing the water.

Although, since mbuna LOVE to dig in the sand, you'll probably never have to stir it up.

Also, I'd advise mixing your sand with some aragonite sand instead of crushed coral, since the crushed coral is larger (about the size of fine gravel) the sand will sink to the bottom, and the coral will sit on top. Aragonite sand will mix much better, and it does an excellent job of buffering your PH. And remember, with a lot of rock in your tank, you won't need as much substrate as you would in a "normal" tank set-up.

 

[WaterBender1995]

I use eco-complete but the black & white sand pictured under the gravel. I'll never go back to play sand.