Red Clay/Mud as substrate?

[Stalker_Loneriff]

hello guys, I'm thinking of changing my substrate soon and I saw in some LFS here that they sell a substrate. i'm not sure if its mud or clay, but it seemed hard so my guess is it's clay.

would it be good for my polys? or sand substrate is still the best?

 

[jclyde13]

Is it a planted tank? I wouldn't bother with anything like that for a fish-only aquarium. The only purpose it would serve is to cloud the water.

 

[Stalker_Loneriff]

Is it a planted tank? I wouldn't bother with anything like that for a fish-only aquarium. The only purpose it would serve is to cloud the water.

its a fish-only tank but i wanted to have a red substrate and i cant find red sand. that red clay is basically the only red substrate i can get around here(i think). ive seen the 'red pebbles' being sold in some LFS here but the ones being sold here are more like pink, than red.

 

[Stalker_Loneriff]

would it continue to cloud the water even after several days or once its 'settled in'?

 

[jclyde13]

Look for garnet sand at your local Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. It would be a better option.

The cloudiness would go away after a while, but it might ruin your filters if you keep them running, and it would be easy to accidentally stir it up again during water changes (in fact, the bichirs would do that for you). People who use clay substrates usually just use it for the nutrients (for plants), and they'll cap it off with a layer of sand to keep it contained.

 

[Polyaddict86]

Look for garnet sand at your local Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. It would be a better option.

The cloudiness would go away after a while, but it might ruin your filters if you keep them running, and it would be easy to accidentally stir it up again during water changes (in fact, the bichirs would do that for you). People who use clay substrates usually just use it for the nutrients (for plants), and they'll cap it off with a layer of sand to keep it contained.

+1

 

[Polyaddict86]

Check some contraction or landscaping store they might have the sand or pebbles your looking for. Check some sand blasting place for the red garnet sand. Good luck hunting for the one your looking for its the best part of the hobby

 

[Stalker_Loneriff]

thanks for the tips guys! alright i'm gonna be looking for garnet sand

 

[clm08k]

thanks for the tips guys! alright i'm gonna be looking for garnet sand

Not sure if it's garnet, but the Jurassic sands website has a reddish sand that is fish safe. That's the only garnet one I could find online. Good luck. Please keep us posted if you find anything.

I'm also looking too.Really want to replicate Hao 's substrate. Although Vancouver_98683 's gravel looks like a fun fiesta, so I might go that route.

 

[Polyaddict86]

Ive read somewhere that play sand is not good for aquarium. It makes the water cloudy and the sand is to light it ends up floating in the top and it can get stuck on filters. So most people use pool sand instead of play sand.