Hey! I'm still in pre-planning stages for my 35gal and I REALLY want to try sand (or similar) substrate. I've always had gravel before but I like the natural look of sand.
This will also be my first try with live plants (starting minimal, all live plants will be "tied" to drift wood.) but I want to choose a sand that will allow me to branch out with planting if I decide too, and/or don't kill everything green in my tank.
There seems to be SO many substrate choices; mixing two substrates, layering them, etc... but I really want to keep it simple.
I've also been made paranoid by anaerobic air pockets also. I don't plan on having enough plants to eliminate this. I heard you can choose coarse sand? But I also need something that will be okay for a Featherfin Catfish (he is in a gravel now, but I heard when given sand, they will "dig")
So to summarize. I'm hoping narrow down some options that will give me the flexibility to branch into more planting if I decide too, and be okay for the Featherfin. All of my research so far seems to be stuff geared towards people who want to do a full planted tank or scaping...
This will also be my first try with live plants (starting minimal, all live plants will be "tied" to drift wood.) but I want to choose a sand that will allow me to branch out with planting if I decide too, and/or don't kill everything green in my tank.
There seems to be SO many substrate choices; mixing two substrates, layering them, etc... but I really want to keep it simple.
I've also been made paranoid by anaerobic air pockets also. I don't plan on having enough plants to eliminate this. I heard you can choose coarse sand? But I also need something that will be okay for a Featherfin Catfish (he is in a gravel now, but I heard when given sand, they will "dig")
So to summarize. I'm hoping narrow down some options that will give me the flexibility to branch into more planting if I decide too, and be okay for the Featherfin. All of my research so far seems to be stuff geared towards people who want to do a full planted tank or scaping...