River rock as substrate
- Thread starter Nm1
- Start date
Bacteria can and will grow on any surface. But using river rock like you are talking about is mostly aesthetics. But flat rocks are the favored egg laying spots of most sa/ca fish.
I tried it once, lots of round rocks completely covering the base of the tank and sloping up towards the back with a few pots of hair grass amongst them in a 55G. It looked cool but I had issues with uneaten food falling between the rocks and going mouldy and also the occasional dopey fish getting stuck between the rocks. It became too much hassle in the end so I pulled them all out.
I used to have river rock substrate as well, ran into some of the same issues as mentioned above. It was cool but sand keeps it a lot more cleanly.
Our tanks look near identical and I am experiencing some of the same issues. What do you think about adding a layer of medium sized gravel to fill in the gaps. I have those same rocks in a massive tank.
I think sand would fill the gaps better but gravel should work as well beside small particles being able to get down between the grains of gravel vs sitting on top of the sand because it’s more compact. I’d go with pool filter sand or if you prefer black sand, black diamond blasting sand.
Any time you used river stones, pea gravel, or any substrate that allows enough space for detritus to collect, it will, with a vengance and/but I agree that sand will hold detritus on top the best, so it is easily vacuumed out (as opposed to rummaging thru heavy stones). The smaller the grain, the less chance detritus has a chance to work its way in.
Although if you don't regularly vac it up, it can work in anywhere.
I run my water from the sump into tanks at one end, and if its strong enough it creates a counter current area under that flow, and below that, a dead zone.
For me, most detritus collects in that dead zone, and I sometimes vac it out daily (maybe a 2 minute job), in tanks with large messy cichlids (the vegetarians like Cincilichthys and Vieja tend to produce the most detritus for me (all that fiber)).
Although if you don't regularly vac it up, it can work in anywhere.
I run my water from the sump into tanks at one end, and if its strong enough it creates a counter current area under that flow, and below that, a dead zone.
For me, most detritus collects in that dead zone, and I sometimes vac it out daily (maybe a 2 minute job), in tanks with large messy cichlids (the vegetarians like Cincilichthys and Vieja tend to produce the most detritus for me (all that fiber)).