substrate size struggles...

[Magnum Man]

this is for my "old" newly set up 30 gallon tank... I think my Yellow Acara is going in it (Aequidens metae)
I have a nicely colored wild caught... down the road, I'm thinking of trying to find a mate for it...
so to start with, that is it's intended purpose...
I'm thinking "I" want a black substrate
I really like the black polished 1 inch river rock in my African Tetra tank, and I don't think I want black sand like is in my cichlid tank... the bigger rock, is harder for the fish to move around, but if digging were a integral part of the breeding process, maybe I should consider a traditional size aquarium gravel. I did find this black 3/8 inch polished river rock, that I think looks nice, just like the bigger stuff I like, but smaller , and of course more expensive... thoughts???

Amazon.com

Amazon.com

Amazon.com

 

[GaryE]

I only had metae for a short time, holding them for a friend and growing them, but they were diggers. I wouldn't keep them with small pebbles. rounded river rocks, but then again, I wouldn't keep any fish with them. I find they trap too much gunk.

You could lay in a good layer of gravel/sand, and scatter the decorative rocks in zones on top of it.

Mine were gone to their new home at maybe 3 inches, but they get to twice that. I'd think twice about a pair in a 30 gallon, but we've always disagreed on stocking. I'd have a larger tank for a single pair. They seemed like a 20 gallons each type fish.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Ny high tech planted tank and a few others use sall gravel. It was actually a coated Estes gravel called bits of walnut. The wamnut refered to the color not from what the gravel was made. The tank was landscaped with 3 levels and I documented it. There was not plants I could not have thriving in it. However, I have never kept any fish that dig seriously except for my clown loaches. But I made the mistake earlier on of using a large size gravel in their tanks. But fish can be resourceful, and the clowns learned how to pick up the big pebbles and toss them aside to get down to any food scraps.

This is just one of the ways it looked over the decade I kept it.

 

[Innesfan]

A. metae is such a handsome species and he's a very handsome representative. I do have a soft spot for the acaras. All of them. If only they didn't reproduce so many little acaras so often.

 

[Oldspartan]

Nice fish to look at.

The problem I grapple with is there are so many fish I like to look at. I suppose that is why the Fish room is full, (even though Linda keeps saying there is room for two more tanks), and the Bedroom has two and the Living Room has two, and there is yet another percolating in her lady cave.

Yep, I like to look at these fish and if Linda and I do not soon get professional help we will be completely surrounded by glass walls.

 

[Oldspartan]

Of course, as usual I have nothing of value to add for the question, in this of substrate and for most for most questions posed on the forum. It is an issue we need to deal with in our tanks because I did not put enough thought and research into substrate until well into stocking.

(edited for clarity)

 

[anewbie]

I'd use very fine pool filter sand with lots of wood and some large slates. If you want black estes makes a nice natural black substrate (the material i'm not sure but it is fine to very fine).

 

[anewbie]

A. metae is such a handsome species and he's a very handsome representative. I do have a soft spot for the acaras. All of them. If only they didn't reproduce so many little acaras so often.

Someone claims these are hard to breed in captivity; though everything i own seems to breed so who knows... also someone claims they saw one that was 8 inches so who knows about the size.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

If you have a pool with a sand based filter there is something to think about and which is why I paid up for Carib Sea Torpedo Beach sand.

For the filter to be efficient the sand starts out not smooth. It has edge to the grains. This helps creat the spaced between the grains which trap what is being filtered. As the filter works the sand is being tumbled. Over time this wears down the edges. And as this happens the filter become less effective.

So, after some number of years it is necessary to replace the sand. How long depends on how many hours per day one runs the filter.

I messed with black sand a number of years ago. And it is just like owning a black car. One would think that white/tan sand shows od poop and debris moreso than black. But if you compare a black and white car subjected to the same reain, rod slop etc, you discover the black show it off much more prominently than the white. So my black sand experiment lasted for a few months in one of my summer tanks which I set up and take back down every year.

As always this is just my opinion in terms of the color. The part about how pool sand works is not an opinion, it is a fact. We have replaced our pool filter sand several times over the years. But in a tank there is no tumbling action to smooth the grains. So I would never consider using it in my tanks. That said a lot of folks do so and I have not seen a lot of complains about it damaging fish. But I worked with many smaller plecos and so I made the choices i did.

I should also say that I was able to take advantage of the Drsforstersmith.com site (since purchased by LiveAquaria.com). DFS used to run a summer sale where they shipped free and that even included the normally heavy items like substrate with free shipping, I was busy for several years back then ramping up to 20 tanks and I was buying supplies every few weeks. So, with every order during the sale period I was buying a few 20 pound bags of sand for a really cheap price. I probably bought sever 100 pounds in all.

What I liked about this sand , aside from appearance, was the grain size. A vairety of sizes but not fine enough to be siucked out of the tank when vacuuming, even when I do a deep vac now and then.

Torpedo Beach
is available as:
5 lb bags; 5/Case
UPC: 008479058232
20 lb bags; 2/Case
UPC: 008479008237
40 lb bags; 1/Case
UPC: 008479008534
Typical Size: 0.5-2.0 mm
Average Density: 94 lb/ft3

You can download the catalog pdf here. Scroll down to the sections on the Super Naturals substrates and they give the grain sizing for a variety of their sands and gravels. https://caribsea.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/CaribSea-2024-Master-Catalog-2-7-2024.pdf

 

[Back in the fold]

Yep, I like to look at these fish and if Linda and I do not soon get professional help we will be completely surrounded by glass walls.

Is that a bad thing ?

 

[Oldspartan]

Is that a bad thing ?

My bank account believes it is.

 

[anewbie]

If you have a pool with a sand based filter there is something to think about and which is why I paid up for Carib Sea Torpedo Beach sand.

For the filter to be efficient the sand starts out not smooth. It has edge to the grains. This helps creat the spaced between the grains which trap what is being filtered. As the filter works the sand is being tumbled. Over time this wears down the edges. And as this happens the filter become less effective.

So, after some number of years it is necessary to replace the sand. How long depends on how many hours per day one runs the filter.

I messed with black sand a number of years ago. And it is just like owning a black car. One would think that white/tan sand shows od poop and debris moreso than black. But if you compare a black and white car subjected to the same reain, rod slop etc, you discover the black show it off much more prominently than the white. So my black sand experiment lasted for a few months in one of my summer tanks which I set up and take back down every year.

As always this is just my opinion in terms of the color. The part about how pool sand works is not an opinion, it is a fact. We have replaced our pool filter sand several times over the years. But in a tank there is no tumbling action to smooth the grains. So I would never consider using it in my tanks. That said a lot of folks do so and I have not seen a lot of complains about it damaging fish. But I worked with many smaller plecos and so I made the choices i did.

I should also say that I was able to take advantage of the Drsforstersmith.com site (since purchased by LiveAquaria.com). DFS used to run a summer sale where they shipped free and that even included the normally heavy items like substrate with free shipping, I was busy for several years back then ramping up to 20 tanks and I was buying supplies every few weeks. So, with every order during the sale period I was buying a few 20 pound bags of sand for a really cheap price. I probably bought sever 100 pounds in all.

What I liked about this sand , aside from appearance, was the grain size. A vairety of sizes but not fine enough to be siucked out of the tank when vacuuming, even when I do a deep vac now and then.

Torpedo Beach
is available as:
5 lb bags; 5/Case
UPC: 008479058232
20 lb bags; 2/Case
UPC: 008479008237
40 lb bags; 1/Case
UPC: 008479008534
Typical Size: 0.5-2.0 mm
Average Density: 94 lb/ft3

You can download the catalog pdf here. Scroll down to the sections on the Super Naturals substrates and they give the grain sizing for a variety of their sands and gravels. https://caribsea.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/CaribSea-2024-Master-Catalog-2-7-2024.pdf

Yea torpedo beach is ok as is the slightly smaller crystal river but do not use moonlight sand (long sotry). I actually preer crystal river to torpedo beach.