Got my first cichlid ever, a male Parachromis dovii. He is young, about 5-6", and it's currently in a 65 gallon acrylic tank temporarily until I purchase a much larger tank. I am using a canister filter for a 200 gallon tank. Currently, I only have several pieces of fake corral for decoration, and no substrate. I know I want to go with a black substrate. But I have no idea what I should use. What are some recommendations? Easiest to add, easiest to clean, least likely to cause filer problems, etc.
Noob in need of substrate
- Thread starter AmuseableDonkey
- Start date
I'd go with a dark brown or black gravel and chuck the fake saltwater coral in favor of a more realistic/natural look.Get some large round river rocks or a nice piece of driftwood with a few nice fake aquatic plants.
In my opinion the best bang for your buck is the colored gravel from petco. a 20lb bag is $16.99 it's a smaller gravel but still heavy enough to be vacuumed easily. You'll probably want 2 bags for that size tank. I would suggest that you consider either a 50/50 mix of blue:black gravel to aid in bringing out the blues of the Dovii or at the very least add a 5lb bag of blue to the black gravel. pic is of 50/50 mix of blue/black and 6" Rio mag umbee. [Edit] Oops, just looked at your other thread and since you have the blue background I'd stick with the all black gravel or something a bit more natural looking.
I much prefer black sand over gravel for a few reasons but mostly water quality and no cleaning. There are many options some use black blasting sand which can be bought at tsc but I love caribsea tahitian moon sand. Usually costs about a follar a pound but I can tell you wholesale is under 8 a bag if you can do any bartering with your lfs. The sand itsself has some blues amd yellows mixed in that catch the light and shimmer great. Petco brand black sand looked drab when I mixed it in
Pool filter sand 5-10 dollars for 50 lbs gives you a nice bottom and can easily be vacuumed I love it I always used to buy rocks pebbles and would always go back to sand
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I use black blasting sand, Tahiti sand looks better but if price is a factor blasting sand is way better. I got 100 lbs. for under $20 where as sand from the LFS would cost me over $100
Didn't see he wanted black substrate lol
Just a question would the black substrate cause the fish to be darker too? I know it's like that with fronts
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Just a question would the black substrate cause the fish to be darker too? I know it's like that with fronts
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