draX
Aquarium Advice Activist
Here's my problem...I want to set up a very simple looking, single species tank. I have a 29g that I have dedicated to the cause. I spraypainted the back and sides black, and have got a very nice big piece of mopani wood in it. I want the whole focus of the tank to be on the fish (a school of serpae tetra). I want black (or even a very dark brown) substrate, and I want to grow a carpet plant across the whole thing. I will be using hairgrass as the carpet (only plant available at LFS). Eco-complete would be the perfect choice as a substrate, but I can't get it in this country. The best I can get is a black epoxy coated gravel...which isn't so great for plant growth. So now I'm stuck. I was thinking I could try having a playsand bed with root tabs pushed in, and then the gravel over that so you can't see the sand. Has anyone done this before? I don't want to see the sand at all, and if I can't find a way to keep it at the bottom I'm sure it's gonna get mixed up. Is there something I can use to keep the gravel and sand separated? Something that plant roots etc will still grow through? Sorry for the long post...