Noob in need of substrate

krichardson said:

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.

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+1
I have had pool filter sand in all my tanks and recently went with black gravel in my new one. Depending on your filters you may or may not want to use sand. I am really happy what the dark decor did to the colors of the fish...the blues, reds, and yellows seem to stand out way more now.
Ifnyou go with gravel I would do a thin layer maybe an inch or less to make cleaning easy.

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Black diamond sand blasting media 7.99 per 50lb bag at tractor supply wash it in small amounts until the oilyness dissappears. Then its good to go. There is a fine thatbis like sand and one slightly more coarse but still like sand or microgravels

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