Best Substrate???

[Buc_Nasty]

That's good it cleared up I'm surprised it did after only a couple changes. Does it cloud up if you disturb the sand?

Also, the sand has silicates in it that turn brown for a bit as theyre broken down, but it eventually goes away. When my sand starts turning brown or grayish i just churn it around and the white sand underneath comes up. Eventually I think all of it turns white after all the silicates are broken down.

 

[eball2k]

Yup, it's all clear now even when stirred up. The sand has been starting turn brown as you mentioned. How long does this proccess take to happen?

 

[Buc_Nasty]

I usually just churn it up so the brown sand is on the bottom and new sand is on top. Every time the top gets brown I keep doing that and after a few months the bottom sand has now turned back to white. I make it so the silicate is being broken down out of sight underneath haha

 

[Perentie]

I use crushed coral, easy to clean and looks good.

 

[eball2k]

Never used it, does crushed coral mess with the PH?

 

[buddha1200]

Never used it, does crushed coral mess with the PH?

yes, raises it.

 

[insanity0x1]

wow moloach, i love the 3M. I too use sand, just CHEAP home depot/lowes playsand (rinsed very well) and it lasts for a long time, and doesnt look all too bad. i dont have any pics, but, sand is probably the favored substurate as far as gravel/ sand goes. its super easy to vacuum debris off of, where gravel you have to go into the gravel , sand, it just rests on top of it.
as far as the easiest to clean, would be bare bottom/tile, obviously because its visible and doesnt go in sand if it was swirled by a big fish, but. IMHO sand looks great! and come on.. 3.50 for 50lbs of playsand..cant beat it

 

[Crotalus Scutulatus]

Always depends on the fish. I have adult managuenses. They reside in a 120 bare bottom I find it easier to maintain. No detritus no mess however Jags are diggers and love to throw gravel especially during mating. They also are earth movers so I found glueing large rocks to the bottom and eachother with silicone, creating caves and holes, is safest in preventing a crack or worse. Substrate usually softens the blow of a falling rock. I use plants in my wet/dry to eliminate nitrates. No detritus = no problems!

 

[eball2k]

Bump for 1000 views!

I recently set up a small tank to be a quarantine/fry tank. It's a 15 gallon with black marine sand and I really like the way it looks. I have two tanks with sand and I like the way it looks but its really shows the detritus on top of the sand. I'm not really a fan of the bare bottom tanks.