My wife and I have a 30 gal tank we are wanted to reconfigure, and I have read about using pool filter sand as a substrate. Would this be a good choice for a tank with cory cats and a pleco? Also, is this sand a good substrate for plants?
many plants work fine in sand.. the more roots the better.. however you may want to thread a zip tie or two through the roots to help anchor them (and theres a good chance the pleco will push/dig them up anyway)... the corys will love the sand..
PFS is a good substrate. Just one thing: Rub it between your fingers to make sure it was harvested from a sand pit (smooth grains) and not created by crushing rock (sharp edges, cuts your skin slightly). The latter would damage your cory's barbels. You could also use playsand, it still contains clay that serves as natural fertilizer. It creates initially murky water, though!
Sand is the best substrate for live plants. Just make sure to add a quality substrate fertilizer when you set up the tank, e.g. THIS
chesterthehero;3078174; said:
however you may want to thread a zip tie or two through the roots to help anchor them (and theres a good chance the pleco will push/dig them up anyway)
as well. Simply have the plants in there for a couple of weeks while you cycle the tank. They will root sufficiently to not be uprooted by corys or mini-plecos (you can't put big plecos in a 30 gal anyways). I would not try to introduce plastic zip ties to interfere with rooting.
