Substrate Questions

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
aramirez8689;4221020; said:
wheere can you still get colorquartz

iono its super hard to find these days. only some stores have it... but thats all they have since 3m doesnt make it anymore.
 
aramirez8689;4221412; said:
I really wish i could get ahold of some. I hear its the best for black substrate.

you can try other 3M sand... you can try tahitian moon sand.
 
Awesome! Yeah I think that I will go ahead and switch to sand. Now here are the million $ questions. Where is the best place to get some without spending a ton of money? I need to fill a 130 gallon tank that is 6ft wide. Also what color scheme is the best looking? I was thinking about going with black because I enjoy the way bichirs darken up with black sand. I've also seen a few with a brownish/white mixture that looks very good as well. What do you guys think?
 
Any ideas?
 
Don't know it helps or not, but I use a mix of river sand (something you can buy in NZ garden shops, no crushed shells or salt) with Flourite Black Sand; 50:50mix. Works great with my senegals and delhezis.

Also you could use pool filter sand and/or abrasive sands, the kind used for sand blasting... but make sure it's 100% quartz/silica. Some have other 'muck' mixed in that you don't want.

Stu :)
 
Sounds good. I appreciate the advice. I plan to make the conversion over to sand within the next few weeks and when I do I'll be sure and post pics
 
They have extra fine colored Crayola brand sand at Walmart for next to nothing price wise. As others stated, it does not work well with fish that like to seriously dig in it. I have severums, EBJD & Datnoids with my Delhiezes a tank with the emerald green color Crayola sand for over a year and no challenges to date.

On a side note. It was disasterous in a tank with the royal blue color cand and freshwater flounders. They seemingly nonstop fanned fine sand particles into the HOB intakes. I went to intake socks and had to clean them AT LEAST once every day to maintain the flow rate.
 
I'll check out walmart and see what size bags they have as I'll try and get about 125 lbs of sand to fill my tank with. My bichirs for the most part are fairly lethargic and don't do to much rustling about, but my delhezi have completely buried themselves in my gravel before so they will most likely do the same with sand. I'm at the point where I feel that my tank needs a complete overhaul and a completely new look. I'm looking forward to it.
 
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