# Suggest a substrate for me...



## Curiosity101 (24 Feb 2018)

I'm looking for some options for a tank I'm going to set up. 

I'm particularly interested in tan/brown sand type substrates, but open to suggestions. I've had white play sand before that felt too bright (which could be more about the lighting I had on the tank, although it was a standard Fluval Roma 125). I've also had Tahitian moon sand. So I'd like something this time that feels a bit more natural.

It *must *be soft / round as I plan to have corys.

This is probably the type of colour I'm currently thinking (found this picture on another thread):



 
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/what-is-the-best-aquarium-sand-to-go-with.27743/page-2

Ideally I'm after something inert, doesn't need to be a specialist planting substrate.

So far all I've found that even comes close is Unipac Samoa Fine Sand. But that's probably still quite a bit lighter than I'm after, and I'd like something that is reasonably consistent in colour.


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## Curiosity101 (24 Feb 2018)

I've found another substrate that might be suitable: Shirakura Red Bee Sand and Unipac Aquarium Silica Sand


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## alto (25 Feb 2018)

Have you looked at the Dennerle Quartz gravels - rounded 1-2 mm - though not a "sand" but likely less costly than the Red Bee sort

Aquarium Gardens has the Hugo Kamishi line

Depending on your plans for the tank, fine gravels may be more suitable than actual "sand" which tends to pack quite densely & can develop anaerobic pockets unless consistently maintained


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## sciencefiction (25 Feb 2018)

Curiosity101 said:


> I'm looking for some options for a tank I'm going to set up.
> 
> I'm particularly interested in tan/brown sand type substrates, but open to suggestions. I've had white play sand before that felt too bright (which could be more about the lighting I had on the tank, although it was a standard Fluval Roma 125). I've also had Tahitian moon sand. So I'd like something this time that feels a bit more natural.
> 
> ...




He, he, this was actually my tank.

The sand is play sand, pretty certain its called Westland play sand as I found a copy of the invoice of my old order. The picture on the box is bright sand but the actual sand colour is beige, as in the picture exactly.  If you find its data sheet, it should say beige colour. The sand is fine, and perfect for corys. I must get myself another bag...

Here it is:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/20kg-Westland-Play-Sand/dp/B0039P2WLI


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## Angus (25 Feb 2018)

Can't go wrong with unipac substrates, pick the colour that suits you best.


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## sciencefiction (25 Feb 2018)

fozziebear said:


> Can't go wrong with unipac substrates, pick the colour that suits you best.



Unipac is artificial to start with and not good for corys in my experience.


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## Angus (25 Feb 2018)

I've had cory's on lots of substrates including larger ones, they have always been absolutely fine, i don't agree with the opinion that cory's need sand.

*edit* my favourite substrate that i have kept cory's on is tahitian moon sand, it just makes their colouration so much better.


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## sciencefiction (25 Feb 2018)

Yes, they're fine but they don't sift through unipac sand. Tahitian moon sand is also not sand....The best behaviour you'd get out of corys is quartz sand...

Edit: I kept mine on unipac for about 3 years. When I moved them to an actual sand tank, the first thing they did was bury themselves halfway through the sand...They were ecstatic...


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## Angus (25 Feb 2018)

Cory's aren't reliant on sifter feeding in the wild anyway, the only cory's i had do it religiously were bronzes, i see where you are coming from though, if you want the best of the best, go for a soft round grained sand.


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## sciencefiction (25 Feb 2018)

fozziebear said:


> Cory's aren't reliant on sifter feeding in the wild anyway, the only cory's i had do it religiously were bronzes,



That's probably because you kept them on volcanic sand and unipac sand for the most part? Try play sand or small type of sand, you'll see the difference. My corys go all day long sifting through sand, non-stop....At feeding time they simply eat as the rest of the fish but for the rest of the time they sift the sand for hidden treasures...


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## Angus (25 Feb 2018)

sciencefiction said:


> That's probably because you kept them on volcanic sand and unipac sand for the most part? Try play sand or small type of sand, you'll see the difference. My corys go all day long sifting through sand, non-stop....At feeding time they simply eat as the rest of the fish but for the rest of the time they sift the sand for hidden treasures...


I've kept them on absolutely all sorts and seen minimal differences in behaviour apart from pea gravels, but i have always fed them a sinking pellet.


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## sciencefiction (25 Feb 2018)

fozziebear said:


> I've kept them on absolutely all sorts and seen minimal differences in behaviour apart from pea gravels, but i have always fed them a sinking pellet.



I've always fed mine sinking pellets. The point here is not about feeding. They'll eat food anyhow, regardless of the type of substrate. But they do like sifting through sand.


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## Curiosity101 (25 Feb 2018)

Lots of food for thought, thanks everyone.

*Sciencefiction - *Have you had more than one bag of that play sand? I'm just wondering if it's consistently that colour? Also do you have any other pictures of your tanks that have it. I'd love to browse a gallery if you have one? I'll be filling a 4ft x 2ft x 2ft so definitely need to get this choice right.. I don't fancy taking it out again!

Also... when it come to the sand safety debate.
Just out of interest has anyone ever known of anyone who's had a problem with sand in tanks? I've always had sand of one type or another and never had issues with gas pockets, it's always at the back of my mind because you hear about it when you start talking about sand, but I've never met anyone who's had issues.

Then I wonder have I been lucky, is it more of an old wives tale or is it because I have always used it with lots of plants and fish that like sifting through the sand + digging (eg. Corys and small cichlids)...


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## sciencefiction (25 Feb 2018)

Curiosity101 said:


> *Sciencefiction - *Have you had more than one bag of that play sand? I'm just wondering if it's consistently that colour? Also do you have any other pictures of your tanks that have it. I'd love to browse a gallery if you have one? I'll be filling a 4ft x 2ft x 2ft so definitely need to get this choice right.. I don't fancy taking it out again!



I bought just one, but read a bit on the comments on amazon today from the link I posted and they're complaining about its brown colour 
I had more pictures of that tank but imageschack claimed them all. I broke the tank, literally gushed on the floor, so its no longer running. The colour is as you see it on the picture you found. 




Curiosity101 said:


> Just out of interest has anyone ever known of anyone who's had a problem with sand in tanks? I've always had sand of one type or another and never had issues with gas pockets, it's always at the back of my mind because you hear about it when you start talking about sand, but I've never met anyone who's had issues.



The safest substrate in any tank is sand because it traps less organics. If you're worried about sand, then you should be even more worried about any other bigger grain substrate....

I once tore down a sand tank in which I never did substrate cleaning, only the surface of it.  I had very few plants and inhabitants were corydoras and clown loaches. There was no smell at all from the sand when I scooped it out after about 5 years. You don't need to have very deep substrate, just enough to hold the plant roots.


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## sciencefiction (25 Feb 2018)

That's an old video of the same tank from 5 years back.  It doesn't show the sand well though because I had leaf litter on top...My kuhli loaches now live in my mini indoor pond with clown loaches.


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## Angus (25 Feb 2018)

Wicked tank that sciencefiction, i've never had problems with substrates but i always use double the volume of filtration on a tank than is rated on the filter.


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## sciencefiction (25 Feb 2018)

fozziebear said:


> Wicked tank that sciencefiction, i've never had problems with substrates but i always use double the volume of filtration on a tank than is rated on the filter.



I am not suggesting you'll get issues with corydoras because of the substrate. I am saying sharp, large grain substrate is not their preference. They will not sift! They'll stand around waiting for food but are not as active as they are on sand substrate. Other than that, I agree, they'll be healthy and getting by.  As for filtration, I hugely overfilter my tanks...10x and even 20x flow rate the volume of the tank in low tech tanks is common for my set ups...

The kuhli loach tank on the video is 120 litres and had 1800l/hr filtraton


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## Angus (25 Feb 2018)

i was referring to gas buildup issues, never had those ever i can only assume it is because of convection currents due to overfiltration, i would agree with you on most points about the cory's, but i've had a few different types of cory's on fine round grain play sand and they didnt really sift, just the odd chug here and there.


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## Curiosity101 (25 Feb 2018)

fozziebear said:


> i always use double the volume of filtration on a tank than is rated on the filter.





sciencefiction said:


> I hugely overfilter my tanks...10x and even 20x flow rate the volume of the tank in low tech tanks is common for my set ups...



Glad I'm not the only one who does this. I'm actually considering getting a Fluval FX6 on my 4 x 2 x 2.


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## sciencefiction (25 Feb 2018)

fozziebear said:


> but i've has a few different types of cory's on fine round grain play sand



No sand is really round. If you look at it via a magnifying glass, quartz sand is squarish but the grain size determines if they can sift or not through it. I don't believe corys won't sift through sand if its fine enough for them to do so unless the sand is not natural quartz or is synthetic.  The sand my corys really disliked is black sand from volcanic origin. It totally wasn't their thing.  They did not touch it, less so than even the unipac sand. What the "sand" is made of matters to corydoras.....


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## Angus (25 Feb 2018)

Have you looked at the idea of getting a pond prefilter and then the fx6 for ease of maintenance? seems a really sound idea for a big tank to me, as you can just washback the prefilter to the drain without opening anything up.


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## Angus (25 Feb 2018)

sciencefiction said:


> No sand is really round. If you look at it via a magnifying glass, quartz sand is squarish but the grain size determines if they can sift or not through it. I don't believe corys won't sift through sand if its fine enough for them to do so unless the sand is not natural quartz or is synthetic.  The sand my corys really disliked is black sand from volcanic origin. It totally wasn't their thing.  They did not touch it, less so than even the unipac sand. What the "sand" is made of matters to corydoras.....


 i just used natural silica play sand, overall  in my opinion cory's are pretty bombproof and will do well on most substrates, if you want them to exhibit the best natural behaviour put them on a fine silica play sand, but like i said i had 4 or 5 species that just weren't that into sifting, the bronze cory's on the other hand would wreck the place and make a mess of all the sand and sculpt it over time.


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## sciencefiction (25 Feb 2018)

fozziebear said:


> i was referring to gas buildup issues, never had those ever i can only assume it is because of convection currents due to overfiltration



Yes, I'd agree that could be a factor in keeping substrate healthy, the more flow, the more oxygen getting down to the substrate, better aerobic decomposition within the substrate that minimises anaerobic pockets/anaerobic decomposition.


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## sciencefiction (25 Feb 2018)

fozziebear said:


> i was referring to gas buildup issues, never had those ever i can only assume it is because of convection currents due to overfiltration, i would agree with you on most points about the cory's, but i've had a few different types of cory's on fine round grain play sand and they didnt really sift, just the odd chug here and there.



Any videos?


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## Angus (25 Feb 2018)

i don't have any videos of my old tanks due to losing a harddrive unfortunately, i would be the first to be posting pictures and videos haha!


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## sciencefiction (25 Feb 2018)

fozziebear said:


> i don't have any videos of my old tanks due to losing a harddrive unfortunately, i would be the first to be posting pictures and videos haha!



What happened to the fish? Corys can live for over 20 years, some recorded at 35....


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## Angus (25 Feb 2018)

Had to take down the tanks and take em to the fish shop unfortunately, ive not had a single tank running for about 4 years now, just set up 2 new planted tanks last week.


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