what kind of gravel to choose
- Thread starter dbacksrat
- Start date
sand or very fine gravel is best for corys.i just found some very fine gravel made by art rock.i don't know what kind of distribuion they have though as i had to go to another state to find the stuff.if you use sand try to get a sand that is smooth to the fingers.don't buy silica sand or masonry sand as both are rough.play sand or sandblasting sand is best but dothe finger check first regadless of what the sand is labeled as.if you are going planted flourite is good and so is onyx sand.but as you may have noticed none of these are good to use in a under gravel filter(ugf) ugf's are workable but not yoour best choice for filtration and even less desierable for the corys.if you still want to use a ugf and keep corys get epoxy coated pea gravel that can be found at any fish store
whew! good thing your about to put in new gravel!
1st thing you gotta do is take out that undergravel filters nonsense!
those things SUCK!!!
you probably only need 15 lbs of gravel in your tank as I'm guessing its got the same footprint as a 10 gallon tank.
You could get random colored gravel, but if your even thinking about trying live plants you should just get a bag of flourite which is only like 17$ at most LFS
considering a 5lb bag of gravel at my lfs is 5$ it works out to be about the same!
1st thing you gotta do is take out that undergravel filters nonsense!
those things SUCK!!!
you probably only need 15 lbs of gravel in your tank as I'm guessing its got the same footprint as a 10 gallon tank.
You could get random colored gravel, but if your even thinking about trying live plants you should just get a bag of flourite which is only like 17$ at most LFS
considering a 5lb bag of gravel at my lfs is 5$ it works out to be about the same!
Hi,
If your going to use a UGF you will need 2-3 inches covering your plates. I have a UGF and a Power filter on my tank and UGF are fine as long as you read up on them and understand the goal of having one and how to take care of it. Also UGF's are far better than a powerfilter with a bio wheel. the only thing better is an out side canister ot trickle filter which cost alot more. If you dont have power heads get some for your UGF these fit on top the tubes and draw water through them.
You want small-medium sized gravel but not too small that its easy to clog up the filter. small pea sized would work fine. One of the keys is never put that stuff that says it clears the water if its cloudy into your tank this will definately help clog up a UGF. UGF's are really effective and last along time if you know how to take care of it. If you dont plan on doing things regularly then getting a powerfilter or canister is an option and easier to mantian.
If your going to use a UGF you will need 2-3 inches covering your plates. I have a UGF and a Power filter on my tank and UGF are fine as long as you read up on them and understand the goal of having one and how to take care of it. Also UGF's are far better than a powerfilter with a bio wheel. the only thing better is an out side canister ot trickle filter which cost alot more. If you dont have power heads get some for your UGF these fit on top the tubes and draw water through them.
You want small-medium sized gravel but not too small that its easy to clog up the filter. small pea sized would work fine. One of the keys is never put that stuff that says it clears the water if its cloudy into your tank this will definately help clog up a UGF. UGF's are really effective and last along time if you know how to take care of it. If you dont plan on doing things regularly then getting a powerfilter or canister is an option and easier to mantian.
I disagree with power filters being less efficient that undergravels. Undergravel filters are not as efficient as power filters with a bio-wheel. One bio-wheel has huge capacity for bacteria and gives them incredible amounts of oxygen via the air for them to work fast. The UGF will slowly clog with debris and its performance will worsen over time. Then when you gravel siphon it will pick up again and slowly decresase from then on...the cycle continues. Power filters with or w/o the bio-wheel are just easier to maintain and usually provide steady performance if you have a good porous biomedia.
A question to add on. For my 10 gallon tank Im having corys in, I bought a large bag of landscaping rock from walmart, its pea gravel. It seems chipped and sort of pointy (not sharp but not smooth either) as alot of the chunks are broken. The pieces themselves are 1-3 cm in size with many tiny chunks mixed in. I realized this is not a good substrate for corys so Im shopping for new ones. I will not do sand because its hard with power filters. My main question is, for substrate for corys are you looking mainly for small size or smoothness? I understand having both qualities is best but how do large smooth rocks wear down their barbels? Alot of small rocks I see seem to be chipped and fragmented off larger rocks, even if its really fine will it still damage their barbels?
Thanks
A question to add on. For my 10 gallon tank Im having corys in, I bought a large bag of landscaping rock from walmart, its pea gravel. It seems chipped and sort of pointy (not sharp but not smooth either) as alot of the chunks are broken. The pieces themselves are 1-3 cm in size with many tiny chunks mixed in. I realized this is not a good substrate for corys so Im shopping for new ones. I will not do sand because its hard with power filters. My main question is, for substrate for corys are you looking mainly for small size or smoothness? I understand having both qualities is best but how do large smooth rocks wear down their barbels? Alot of small rocks I see seem to be chipped and fragmented off larger rocks, even if its really fine will it still damage their barbels?
Thanks
Sometimes it's a false economy to try to save a couple of bucks on one thing when it could lead to large expenses on other things. If you get a gravel that's cheap, but it damages either the cories' barbels or stomachs, then you'll be spending out on meds or new cories.
In some of my tanks I use Schultz' Aquatic Soil, which is like a lightweight gravel. It costs about $7 for a large bag in Walmart or Home Depot, etc. One bag is just about right for a planted 10g tank, but you would probably only need a 1/2 bag if you're not planting the tank. I've used it with cories, loaches and plecos without problems.
In some of my tanks I use Schultz' Aquatic Soil, which is like a lightweight gravel. It costs about $7 for a large bag in Walmart or Home Depot, etc. One bag is just about right for a planted 10g tank, but you would probably only need a 1/2 bag if you're not planting the tank. I've used it with cories, loaches and plecos without problems.
