Substrate

[thumbless1]

Still to set up my tank.
Have 2 bags of Eco Complete for my 30"*12"*18" tank.
I also have a bucket of sand that i got from someone who was setting up a discus tank and had some left over.
Question is do i put in just Eco Complete as a substrate on its own or do i put my sand on the top as a surface layer.
Some say it should not be mixed as it will sink and fish will mix it up.
The second question is dechlorinators will it kill my bacteria in the eco Complete.
Or can i aeriate the water with an air stone to eliminate the chlorine remembering i will need 20-30 gallons of water to set up
I need all the help i can get thanks

 

[Leslie]

You can put the sand on top if you like but it might get mixed by the fish and also when you are doing maintenance in the tank or planting and such. Are you wanting the look of the sand alone? It's ok if they get mixed up, it's all in what you want it to look like. You can either dechlorinate the water before putting it in the aquarium or put the dechlorinator into the aquarium before adding the water. Dechlorinators act instantly.

 

[thumbless1]

so its 50/50 think i will use the sand on top as i have seen tanks with layers and they look cool.
Think i will look more at planted tank forum and see what they say about it as they allready have forums about it. If you say it doesnt matter if it mixes then o.k
Just thinking of the cost of eco-complete, i didnt want to make any major mistakes.
Most of my other questions can be found from other questions e.g cycling tank shock, horror.
Thanks for the Advice.

Many thanks Fishaholic