favorite substrate
- Thread starter eon aquatics
- Start date
i was thinking of putting substrate in filter bags, so it would be easy to take them out to clean them
Bare bottom, sand, fine gravel, pea gravel, small rocks/pebbles to mid sized rocks/small boulders. I've done them all in my time. Each has its place depending on your preference, but more importantly you need to consider the preference of your fish too when making your choice.
I don't like the idea of putting gravel in filter bags, I'd prefer to vacuum, but each to their own.
I don't like the idea of putting gravel in filter bags, I'd prefer to vacuum, but each to their own.
Sand looks nicest usually, but I’ve primarily used gravel in my career. Just easiest to work with. Most future tanks I do will be sand though, I really like it in my salt tank and my new 5 gallon.
Yes and no. It would look decorative until the algae comes…and that stuff isn’t as easy to remove as in fresh. Also, sand is necessary for a lot of the microorganisms and fish that are vital to marine ecosystems. But yes, shells do look good in there. I scattered a lot on top of my sand, it was good for a while until my pistol shrimp stole them lol.
My planted tank has lots of seashells scattered along the gravel and it looks great.
could chemically treated filter pads such as a carbon pad be used to line the bottom of a aquarium and provide surface area for bacteria instead of gravel?
I would think that using too much would post a risk more than it helps, but I honestly have no idea. I would think it would need to be replaced as a filtering agent. Just about any substrate is good surface are for bacteria, so I don’t really see a need for carbon. Bio balls would be much better for the purpose anyway.
idk, i was thinking that activated carbon and zeolite as substrate with a under gravel filter would remove alot of tannins and ammonia directly at the source