Try some silica sand. It's very finely ground,and so waste does not collect within it. A small amount goes a long way, and you only need enough for a thin layer.
effects of no substrate
- Thread starter mrfuzz
- Start date
I use a very thin layer of course sand in most of my tanks: enough to cover ~70% of the bottom but not enough to harbor piles of crud.
No substrate, from my experience, always freaks a fish out and stresses them, making their colors rather drab and keeping them from eating. Not only does it hurt the fish's health, but it's also not very appealing to the eyes. I find my fish do far better in setups that have substrate in them.
ive never had any problems with fish acting weird w/o substrate so i find it odd that people are saying these things. lots of people here have bare bottom tanks. and if you paint the bottom black, it brings out the fish's color more than any sand or gravel could
ill tell you why people are saying these bad things because in the back of their minds they know the substrate is really only a good storage place for detrius, thats why top discus breeders dont use it, and they already spent money on there substrate and really dont want to go threw the trouble of removing it, i only keep substrate with fish who play with it like my frontosa to take away there substrate would be a sin but my black rhom seems fine w/o it and hes got alot of filtration 1000 gph on a 60 gallon tank hes growing really fast so if you have a cichlid who plays with substrate dont do it ,if you have a rhom or any other fish not interested in playing do it now.
To each his own i guess...
Me, i would never even consider a bare bottom tank, to me it simply doesn't look right.
I like to try to make my tanks as "natural" as i can, and if that means that i have to spend more time cleaning, then that's ok.
Me, i would never even consider a bare bottom tank, to me it simply doesn't look right.
I like to try to make my tanks as "natural" as i can, and if that means that i have to spend more time cleaning, then that's ok.
Yes it's a matter of opinion. I personally have to have gravel,sand and a whole aquascape going it's just as important as the fish. I think that smaller fish would be incredibly skittish in a bare tank.
like i said before you know it catches and holds detrius and you spent money on it and you care more about the beauty of the tank than the fish itself. seriously just cuz gravel looks pretty your gunna stick with it? to each his own
Whats the point of going without a substrate if you are going to pile huge amounts of rocks and driftwood in? I reckon it would make more work trying to pull all the pieces out so you can vacuum around them.
Besides fish need something to do that somewhat resembles what there insticts are telling them to do.
Besides fish need something to do that somewhat resembles what there insticts are telling them to do.
well im not saying that absolutley no gravel is allowed im just saying you dont need an inch all over i just spread a little really thin and it looks cool
