Ideas to darken substrate short of changing out gravel?

[eco23]

I made the brilliant decision when I set up my most recent tank that using white aquarium gravel would look nice. Problem is...My Bolivian Ram has decided he'd rather be the color of the gravel instead of showing his colors.

Any ideas to darken it up? Maybe a good portion of river rocks strategically placed along the bottom? I'm open to any ideas

Also, does anyone know if those polished river rocks you purchase from a craft store are aquarium safe?

 

[HUKIT]

White gravel has to be blinding with bright lights. Beside the river rock idea which would work, how about some floating plants or more ground cover like driftwood or larger rocks to provide shaded areas?

 

[eco23]

White gravel has to be blinding with bright lights. Beside the river rock idea which would work, how about some floating plants or more ground cover like driftwood or larger rocks to provide shaded areas?

I just started floating Water Sprite yesterday (great minds think alike I guess, lol). It takes up maybe 15% of the water surface at this point...no change yet, but maybe as it grows more it will give him some shade.

I've also got a ton of plants, DW and hiding places. All the fish are happy to be out and about...just the Bolivian is rather bland unless the lights are off.

 

[eco23]

Any idea on the polished river rocks being aquarium safe? I've got a bunch my girl has from the craft store that are supposed to go in vases and stuff...I'm tempted to throw some in, but want to make sure they won't cause any issues.

 

[Esoteric Backbone]

No, river rocks shouldn't change the parameters of the water, if that's what your worried about.

 

[eco23]

No, river rocks shouldn't change the parameters of the water, if that's what your worried about.

It's just the idea that they come from a craft store and are basically in an unmarked bag. I'm not sure if they're chemically treated some way to make them glossy...or if they're basically just put through a rock tumbler.

 

[Esoteric Backbone]

Fill a bucket full of water, put the rocks in it and test the water every couple of days, if no changes, then I think they should be good to go. Or you could just scrub them really good under hot water.

 

[eco23]

Fill a bucket full of water, put the rocks in it and test the water every couple of days, if no changes, then I think they should be good to go. Or you could just scrub them really good under hot water.

Good deal, thanks

 

[Esoteric Backbone]

Good deal, thanks

Good Luck! (n_n)

 

[eco23]

Good Luck! (n_n)

I'll let you know if anyone starts going belly up, lol.

 

[Esoteric Backbone]

I'll let you know if anyone starts going belly up, lol.

Which hopefully won't be the case!

 

[Jason7894561230]

You could add a 'river' I ahve done this in one of my tanks where i have green large gravel then i have little blue gravel going through the green to make a 'river'

 

[eco23]

I actually added the polished rocks...it looks great (much more of a natural setting), but it hasn't come close to darkening the substrate enough. Since I know I like the look, I'll probably head to the lfs and see if I can pick up a bunch more for better coverage. Gravel vacuuming might be a challenge, lol. I think I've heard of attaching a fork to the end of my Python to stir up between the rocks.

 

[Jason7894561230]

Cool! any pics?

 

[eco23]

I'll be happy to post some when I get it all set up. Right now, it's still a work in progress

 

[librarygirl]

Sounds great, good luck with it! Yes pics please when you are done

 

[BillD]

I have used the polished rocks before with no issues.

 

[eco23]

I have used the polished rocks before with no issues.

Glad to hear . A few of the rocks had words like "peace" and "serenity" written on them. The ones with writing I did not put into the tank. The stones, for what it's worth, look naturally tumbled, there wasn't any indications they were chemically treated or anything. My girl told me she actully got them from Pier 1 Imports, so since it's a little bit more of a classy store than Dollar Tree or something...hopefully they're more likely to be natural and higher quality.

 

[Sssea]

I bought a bag of "river rocks" from michaels which ended up killing all my fish
Hopefully you won't have the same troubles. I have used rocks from the beach with great success though.

 

[severum mama]

I bought a bag of "river rocks" from michaels which ended up killing all my fish
Hopefully you won't have the same troubles. I have used rocks from the beach with great success though.

How was it determined that the river rock killed the fish? I've used craft store river rock plenty of times with no ill effects.