Lighting and substrate

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An t-iasg

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I have chosen pool filter sand as my substrate. A picture is here:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=77717

For my 5 gallon tanks with 2.5 WPG, I think this is fine. For my new 10 gallon tank, I want to get a fixture from Hello Lights that is 2.8 WPG CF. Would I need Eco-Complete in this higher-light tank or is the sand ok too? I have some laterite that could go under the sand.

After two days of the sand in the cup with water, the parameters are the same as tap water, so the sand didn't change anything.

I'm really getting attached to this sand! :)
 
You could definately use sand in the 10 Gallon as well. I'd suggest using root tabs to target feed any plants that are heavier root feeders rather than using the laterite. Of course, since you already have the laterite on hand you may want to just go ahead and use it especially since you'll be setting up the tank from scratch anyway.
 
Thanks, Purrbox...would you recommend not using the laterite? I know some people say it clouds the water but I haven't seen that in another tank (which will be torn down for the new substrate and re-aquascaped). Is laterite more pain than it's worth in the long run? I've only had it in one tank since December. I would plan on using root tabs in all the tanks after the substrate change. Hopefully a few tabs are still big enough to be salvaged when I tear down the tanks.

I don't actually know if the laterite clouds the water in the one tank...it's been a few months since I tore any plants out and trimmed, so I haven't disturbed the substrate.
 
I've never had it myself, but my understanding is that layered substrates are more difficult to maintain in general. That and the clouding issue are why I'd avoid it.
 
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