# Round cobbles / pebbles



## Antipofish (26 Sep 2012)

Hi all. I am going to be setting up a bit of a central american biotope and as such I will have sand as the substrate with varying size gravel strewn around the base of medium and large size round pebbles, increasing to 3 full on large rounded cobble stones.  There will be "driftwood" in amongst it and I will be using some plants.. some floaters probably and also some hardier species of plants that are less likely to offend the cichlids that will find this environment as their home.

Can anyone tell me a good place to find the rounded stone I am after ?  Do you find them in streams ? If so in any part of the country or only certain locales ?  Im no geologist (failed physical geography A level first time around, lol) so I cant think where to look.  Im in the lovely chalk ridden south !!


----------



## hinch (26 Sep 2012)

get a shovel and a sieve goto your back garden dig a hole about 2x2x2 foot.

By time you've sieved all the soil you'll have a bag full of the pebbles/cobbles.


----------



## Ady34 (26 Sep 2012)

Hi Chris,
Garden centres may have some of the larger rounded stones your after, and the smaller ones too for grading. They'll be much cheaper than aquarist stores. If your looking for free then some farmers fields often have stone piles at the sides where they have raked them out for planting crops, you may get lucky shape wise there. Or of course nearby rivers/
Streams....not sure on the legalities of taking them from these waterways though but they'll most likely be exactly what your looking for as nature will have crafted them!
Cheerio
Ady


----------



## darren636 (26 Sep 2012)

down your local beech, nice and weather worn.


----------



## Morgan Freeman (26 Sep 2012)

Where do you live? I've picked up a few from Brighton and West Wittering is great for larger pebbles.


----------



## Antipofish (26 Sep 2012)

Morgan Freeman said:
			
		

> Where do you live? I've picked up a few from Brighton and West Wittering is great for larger pebbles.



Im in Eastbourne Morgan  Where are you ?  Are they quite colourful ? I always thought what I saw around here was dull.  Probably not looking hard enough though.  The stones in the rivers of New Zealand were spectacular.  Pity I could not bring a few back with me.  I found one rock (about quarter of a metre in diameter) with a seam of Jade running through it once.


----------



## Morgan Freeman (26 Sep 2012)

Antipofish said:
			
		

> Morgan Freeman said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I'm in London but have friends in Brighton so I'm down there quite a bit. Sometimes head to the Witterings to go camping.

They weren't especially colourful so I'd imagine it's pretty much the same as Eastbourne!


----------

