55g Dirt Planted

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LemurLad said:
*shamelessly copying everything for my own 55*

That substrate combo looks freakin' amazing. I hope that paver base doesn't compact too much. The dirt probably fixes that though.
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I hope it doesn't compact too much either, honestly. I am going to get some MTS for that purpose...I don't want to risk having a cemented substrate.
 
So I have been stalling on this. Finals are a busy time and money was tight due to bad weather, thus not allowing me to work. But, I am getting on track.

-Sadly, I have not quite thought fully about plant species. What I am thinking, though, is that I may want to dish out money for some less common/popular species in the hobby. I'm big on grass (yeah yeah, haha), so I am going to have a look around for some cool species.

-I think in terms of scape, I am going to pull something similar to my 10g, having a jungle on one side of the tank and some free-swimming room on the left. I am not sure how mixing tall grasses/thin-leaf plants will look with larger broad-leaf plants when clumped together, so I'll have to do some organizing and planning.

-Still haven't gotten DW. Been procrastinating on that, as even small pieces are like $20. Even so, I am going to go for one huge piece most likely and a smaller one to sit among some rocks.

-As for fishes, I am going to get a 12-15 school of Penguin Tetras and call it a day; I was never one for a vast array of species. Or, if I am feeling up for it, I may get like 6 Roseline's, but that's unlikely. Will definitely be getting MTS; this paver base worries me.

This tank will most likely be fully planted on May 26th, as that is the day of my last final and I am bumping my hours of work up.

Stay tuned!
 
UPDATE

I've been worrying about it too much, and I think this Paver Base is going to do more harm than good. I am going to remove all of the soil, buy two more bags and re-decide on a top layer. It's a bummer, but I can tell already it's just going to get way too compact and it's an added hassle I don't want to deal with. It's no real loss; only like $8.

Now I have no idea what to get, though. I want a dark substrate, but I want something as cheap as the paver base. Grrrrr
 
Any Home Depot recommendations? Need nice cheap bags.
More insight on the Marine Sand is welcome.

I want something as close to the soil color as possible so that I can mimic the bottom of a lake or something. This is proving difficult, though.
 
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Marconis said:
Any Home Depot recommendations? Need nice cheap bags.
More insight on the Marine Sand is welcome.

I want something as close to the soil color as possible so that I can mimic the bottom of a lake or something. This is proving difficult, though.
Click to expand...


If you like black substrate another AA member has had pretty good results with a product called "Black Blast"

His thread is over here: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...ts-of-stuff-im-not-supposed-to-do-135891.html

The thread has lots of info on "Black Blast" including info on what it's made out of etc. It's also worth noting that he got it from Manards (which is like a home depot).

hope i helped :)

Edit:

I've also had personal experience with getting quartz sand from a local industrial supply yard. They usually use it for sand blasting and or applications in brick building where they need a really fine mix of mortar (like guys that mix their own tile mortar from scratch). The color can vary depending on the location of the suppliers sources. My sand is a creamy white with a bit of brown in it and is sugar sized particles.
 
That stuff looks awesome, but I don't think I have seen anything like that at Home Depot, and I don't have a Manards up here...at least not that I'm aware of.
 
Marconis said:
That stuff looks awesome, but I don't think I have seen anything like that at Home Depot, and I don't have a Manards up here...at least not that I'm aware of.
Click to expand...


A sandblasting supply store would likely carry it as well. Might have to hunt around for a store though. I can't get the black blast up where i live very easy ether as there isn't much coal mining going on around here (we mostly have hydro electric as our power supply). As black blast is likely a by product of coal mining etc it will likely be easier to find in areas that use or produce coal. Not sure what kind of coal industry is around where you live though.
 
Whoa, will definitely check that out. Seems on the front page already there are some promising pieces. Thanks.
 
That is a good site nottooslow. A lot of members here have used it and recommend them.
 
Yeah, just stinks that all of the really cool pieces are SOLD.

Still having difficulty finding a substrate.
 
Lowes had a much better sand selection. I bought Quickrete All-Purpose Sand, 50lb for 4 bucks. The reason I like it is because it has grains that are like flattened pieces of gravel with some good grained sand. I think it'll work great; it also has a nice grey color but I'm expecting it to fade upon rinsing.


4929451670_a921d08049.jpg


Grains:

img_1354350_1_499e7b6bad89919dab60159a2f6bc02e.jpg



Also bought 16qt bag of MGOCPM to replace what I put in.
 
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Yeah, I think it's great. It got pretty clean with one rinse, so I hope it's easy to do.

Also, not that it's important, but I'm moving my 55g in my room. I'll be able to buy a smaller AC and save on electric. Otherwise, I'd have to move my 10g into the living room, which would obviously require a more powerful AC.
 
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