puffer substrate

[RLHam3]

hey everybody i've just got a quick puffer related question. so lately i've been thinkin about getting a figure 8 puffer and i know that they're not supposed to go well with aquarium gravel. My question is should i get aquarium sand or crushed coral? i honestly like the look of white sand better.

my problem(s) with sand is that i know that sand will make the water cloudy when i first put it in. how do i minimize that? also if i want to change water using a gravel vac to suck out detritus, how do i make sure i don't suck out a lot of sand. and the final question is can i use other (cheaper) sand beside aquarium sand? (like from home depot)

 

[haynchinook334]

my problem(s) with sand is that i know that sand will make the water cloudy when i first put it in. how do i minimize that? also if i want to change water using a gravel vac to suck out detritus, how do i make sure i don't suck out a lot of sand. and the final question is can i use other (cheaper) sand beside aquarium sand? (like from home depot)

For sand, i would use pool filter sand. As for cleaning the sand, Pour the sand in to a pillow case and stick a water hose in with it. 10 mins later....clean sand. As for cleaning the sand, you can use a gravel vac.

 

[PuffMasterGSP]

ive used sand, gravel, and soon to be crushed coral.. it just needs to be a good substrate, dont buy crap! buy from an aquarium store or a pet store that has fish products that are trustworthy. i have green spotted puffers and the bigger one has been in gravel as a baby, then to bigger gravel as a juve, and now sand, black sand! love the way it looks, pain in the ass to deal with. id go with crushed coral. or reef sand.