Capital Exotic Fish

substrate change

spazmattik

spazmattik

Members
so the appearance of my 125 is disturbing now that I have improved all the other tanks aquascaping. right now i have black gravel mixed with pocono river rock ( it sounded good...in my head..) I was considering taking the time to pick out the 50 lb bag of pocono and keep the black but this sounds like to much work :)

I also want my tank to look more natural (not Sam's idea of natural, consisting of mud, leaf litter and soda cans....all though they do make good breeding caves i hear lol) so I will most likely end up with either leslies pool filter sand as a base, or the basic brown gravel. I am keeping an oscar, severums and eventually a breidohri once big enough to join the heard. will either substrate be beneficial to these particular fish or does it just boil down to preference? what would you do, and why??
 
Andrewtfw

Andrewtfw

Global Moderators
I swapped out a large, natural gravel for leslies pfs. My oscar and other cichlids will sift through it in what appears to be a more natural behavior.
 
spazmattik

spazmattik

Members
does your water stay pretty clear regardless of the oscar? I know they can spook and hit the bottom pretty hard some times. I did read that the pfs sinks fast compared to other sand that normally gets more stirred and sucked into the filter
 
Andrewtfw

Andrewtfw

Global Moderators
spazmattik said:
does your water stay pretty clear regardless of the oscar? I know they can spook and hit the bottom pretty hard some times. I did read that the pfs sinks fast compared to other sand that normally gets more stirred and sucked into the filter
Click to expand...

It is always clear except following a water change. Only down side is you notice poop. I switched the oscar's food to smaller sized pellets and that helped. Also, I feed mostly sinking pellets so the oscar does not get to eat the meals of his tankmates.
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
I primarily use PFS - it's course enough that it (generally) stays out of filters and doesn't cloud the water (even right out of the bag).

I'm of the "less is more" camp with regard to substrate. Unless you're growing plants in it (which I don't/can't), just enough to cover the bottom is plenty...

Matt
 
spazmattik

spazmattik

Members
Oh, and I wasn't planning any plants for my 125.. All I have ever read basically suggests oscars are a living herbicide. It would be nice to have some large swords or mondo grass or something though.
 
zackcrack00

zackcrack00

Members
I just bought a 50 pound bag of PFS at Wal-Mart yesterday for $5.53. It's supposed to be great.... if you want the brand name I'll tell you.
 
spazmattik

spazmattik

Members
zack, have you added it or rinsed it yet? I did look at walmart before but they did not have any a couple months ago. (the did have a bunch of other pool supplies out though)
 
spazmattik

spazmattik

Members
thanks guys.. pablo is my a 55 for another month. the 125 has alot of growouts in it. After a month I am putting my oscar in his permanent home and anything small enough to be swallowed will go into the 55. most of which I am selling. updated 55 vs the old setup... thank god for holly's pet peeve thread. I think my tanks have come a long way already :)

55update.jpg

55setup.jpg
 
spazmattik

spazmattik

Members
thanks. I tried to make it look like tree roots growing down into the tank. Its actually 3 peices i propped up against each other with the backwall supporting. the wood in the 55 is also actually 3 peices of driftwood put together
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top