So the idea came to me as I am in the process of cleaning out a 75 gallon tank that had a bearded dragon in it. The bottom of the reptile enclosure has some tile from Lowes and it got me thinking about tile instead of sand. I'm not sure what the type of tile I have is, so I won't be using it unless I can 100% identify the tile and it's not harmful to the fish.
So, years ago I took the route I think everyone starts with.....gravel. After years of disgusting weekly vacuum sessions and sometimes wild parameter swings with the gravel, I decided to do sand. It works great except for when large pieces of poop or food get trapped under it and also that my cichlids love building large mountains of sand directly against the front of the tank to block off the view of the lower 4-5" of the tank. Well now I'm thinking of tile because my cichlids can't move it around to make mountains, it's easier to clean, looks sleeker and most substrate spawning cichlids prefer to lay on clay pots or slate anyways.
But then the myths kicked in. I have done quite a bit of reading on the topic, but none of the discussions seem to agree on what type of tile to use and how to install it. Granite seems to be okay, but some of them use sealers that are lethal to fish. Ceramic and porcelain seem to be okay as long as they aren't glazed. Marble is okay for higher pH level fish since it alters water parameters slightly, but my SAs probably wouldn't like that. Then there is the method of installing it. Some use nothing, but have food and/or poop get stuck in the cracks. Some seal the bottom and top with epoxy, which is a little pricy. Some seal the tile to the bottom with silicone, but I read that the gases trapped under the tile will become toxic months or years later and if a silicone seam leaks, it could wipe out a whole tank.
So I'm just looking for a little advice on the safest type of tile (please tell me how I can identify it from the bad/harmful kinds in the store) and the safest way to install it in the tank.
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So, years ago I took the route I think everyone starts with.....gravel. After years of disgusting weekly vacuum sessions and sometimes wild parameter swings with the gravel, I decided to do sand. It works great except for when large pieces of poop or food get trapped under it and also that my cichlids love building large mountains of sand directly against the front of the tank to block off the view of the lower 4-5" of the tank. Well now I'm thinking of tile because my cichlids can't move it around to make mountains, it's easier to clean, looks sleeker and most substrate spawning cichlids prefer to lay on clay pots or slate anyways.
But then the myths kicked in. I have done quite a bit of reading on the topic, but none of the discussions seem to agree on what type of tile to use and how to install it. Granite seems to be okay, but some of them use sealers that are lethal to fish. Ceramic and porcelain seem to be okay as long as they aren't glazed. Marble is okay for higher pH level fish since it alters water parameters slightly, but my SAs probably wouldn't like that. Then there is the method of installing it. Some use nothing, but have food and/or poop get stuck in the cracks. Some seal the bottom and top with epoxy, which is a little pricy. Some seal the tile to the bottom with silicone, but I read that the gases trapped under the tile will become toxic months or years later and if a silicone seam leaks, it could wipe out a whole tank.
So I'm just looking for a little advice on the safest type of tile (please tell me how I can identify it from the bad/harmful kinds in the store) and the safest way to install it in the tank.
Sent from my iPad using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
