What substrate to use?

[shadowstars123]

What kind of substrate mix do you guys use?

[jcolon]

Welcome to AA, I use a light sand colored gravel, but will be looking to switch to a darker colored smaller gravel to dark sand. It helps to make plants and fish colors stand out more ... but it also helps to have a black colored background.

[mommytron]

it depends. what kind of tank do you have (or are setting up)? do you like sand or gravel? dark or light? colorful or natural? are you going to have fake or live plants? what kind of fish do you want to keep? these are all questions to take into consideration when choosing substrate.

i use PFS (pool filter sand) for all my tanks. I have live plants, and am interested in keeping cories (they have sensitive barbels that can be damaged by large gravel). that influenced me to lean towards sand, and PFS is the cheapest way to go (~$6 for 50lbs). it's also nice because it has large grains that won't get sucked into your filter and can be vacuumed like gravel.

[shadowstars123]

Originally Posted by mommytron

it depends. what kind of tank do you have (or are setting up)? do you like sand or gravel? dark or light? colorful or natural? are you going to have fake or live plants? what kind of fish do you want to keep? these are all questions to take into consideration when choosing substrate.

i use PFS (pool filter sand) for all my tanks. I have live plants, and am interested in keeping cories (they have sensitive barbels that can be damaged by large gravel). that influenced me to lean towards sand, and PFS is the cheapest way to go (~$6 for 50lbs). it's also nice because it has large grains that won't get sucked into your filter and can be vacuumed like gravel.

55 gal with 4 T-5 HO lights. gravel. dark. mine are colorful. live plants. and i want discus , angelfish, and clown loach ( yeah i know, they get big) any thoughts?

[mommytron]

I'm not sure what you're asking anymore.

[Mr. Limpet]

Originally Posted by shadowstars123

55 gal with 4 T-5 HO lights. gravel. dark. mine are colorful. live plants. and i want discus , angelfish, and clown loach ( yeah i know, they get big) any thoughts?

+1 to mommytron on PFS.

It's much better for live plants than gravel is IMO/E.

[wilmo]

I use play sand. But rinse it well if using it.
Welcome to AA btw

[mommytron]

i'd recommend PFS over play sand because it's a much larger grain, and there's no chance of it getting sucked into your filter and ruining the impeller. it can also be vacuumed just like gravel. there is a lot of whitish PFS, but i got Quikrete, and it's pretty dark.

[shadowstars123]

Originally Posted by mommytron

i'd recommend PFS over play sand because it's a much larger grain, and there's no chance of it getting sucked into your filter and ruining the impeller. it can also be vacuumed just like gravel. there is a lot of whitish PFS, but i got Quikrete, and it's pretty dark.

So playsand = bad? And is it possible that 2 10,000k T-5 lights with two actinic lights be too much for a 55 gallon with no co2?

[mfdrookie516]

I think that lighting will be fine. the actinics do nothing for plants, so it'll be essentially 2x54w which is borderline, but wont require co2.

For substrate, I've used PFS in the past... but, I like the look of darker substrate. I mixed floramax and flourite in my 40 breeder and love it.

[Mr. Limpet]

Originally Posted by shadowstars123

So playsand = bad? And is it possible that 2 10,000k T-5 lights with two actinic lights be too much for a 55 gallon with no co2?

+1 to mommytron. Play ground sand (PGS) is smaller and lighter which can get into your filter but it's also a sharper grain, whereas PFS is round and there's less chance of harming a fish that forages in the substrate. It also doesn't compact like PGS.

[shadowstars123]

Originally Posted by mfdrookie516

I think that lighting will be fine. the actinics do nothing for plants, so it'll be essentially 2x54w which is borderline, but wont require co2.

For substrate, I've used PFS in the past... but, I like the look of darker substrate. I mixed floramax and flourite in my 40 breeder and love it.

So would you suggest changing the actinics to regular 54w bulbs? Or would 4 require co2 ?

[mfdrookie516]

no, dont change them. unless you want to set up a pressurized co2 system.

[wilmo]

Originally Posted by Mr. Limpet

+1 to mommytron. Play ground sand (PGS) is smaller and lighter which can get into your filter but it's also a sharper grain, whereas PFS is round and there's less chance of harming a fish that forages in the substrate. It also doesn't compact like PGS.

I like pgs cause it's easy to build on be a dire pain to clean. When I get my new tank I'm going to use psf i think. Plus with pgs u need to replace wat is lost sometime. It was a cheaper alternative for me at the time and now I regret it. Choose wisely.

[shadowstars123]

Originally Posted by wilmo

I like pgs cause it's easy to build on be a dire pain to clean. When I get my new tank I'm going to use psf i think. Plus with pgs u need to replace wat is lost sometime. It was a cheaper alternative for me at the time and now I regret it. Choose wisely.

Regret it how exactlu?

[shadowstars123]

Originally Posted by mfdrookie516

no, dont change them. unless you want to set up a pressurized co2 system.

How much would a co2 system cost?

[wilmo]

Originally Posted by shadowstars123

Regret it how exactlu?

Cleaning and replacing it like all the time. It looks good but a real pain in the bum.

[shadowstars123]

Originally Posted by wilmo

Cleaning and replacing it like all the time. It looks good but a real pain in the bum.

Replacing it? How so?

[Mr. Limpet]

Originally Posted by shadowstars123

Replacing it? How so?

PGS is so light weight, it gets sucked up in the gravel vac and you have to add fresh sand back into the tank, is what I think he means.

[wilmo]

Originally Posted by Mr. Limpet

PGS is so light weight, it gets sucked up in the gravel vac and you have to add fresh sand back into the tank, is what I think he means.

Yeh limpet thats what I mean.