# Brown Substrate That Doesn't Crumble



## cheekycharly (29 Jan 2014)

Hi all does anyone know of a Reddy Brown substrate that's good for plants that doesn't crumble and cause dust clouds?

I did use standards pettex black gravel but it loses colour way too quick then look wishy washy and gives no growth benefits.

Cheers

Cheekycharly


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## Henry (30 Jan 2014)

Moler clay works well, and is dirt cheap. I'm using it in my current tank, here
The Grotto (Formerly Ghetto Badis) | UK Aquatic Plant Society


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## cheekycharly (30 Jan 2014)

Smashing Henry sounds like the stuff I'm after. Where can I get this reddish brown molar clay.


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## cheekycharly (7 Feb 2014)

Found a website selling it fairly cheap but the pictures on the link you sent me look a mixed array of colours as opposed to red clay colour alone. Whats the difference to this and Tesco Pink cat litter? Is it the same stuff? I have read that the cat litter after a while goes soft and mud like and crumbles easily... Is this true?

Cheers

CC


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## dw1305 (7 Feb 2014)

Hi all, 





cheekycharly said:


> I have read that the cat litter after a while goes soft and mud like and crumbles easily...Is this true?


 No, I've got a tank with "Tesco light weight Cat litter" in it, and it is still intact after 3 years.

cheers Darrel


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## cheekycharly (7 Feb 2014)

Is it a reddish colour submersed?


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## Henry (8 Feb 2014)

Due to the fact it's a natural product, there are variations in colour, althought the overall effect is a natural reddish colour. Both cat litter and moler clay are the same, just one is cheaper, and the other needs less rinsing. Hard grade Akadama has a more uniform colour, but may have more of a tendancy to crumble after a couple of years.


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## cheekycharly (27 Apr 2014)

I bought the 25kg sack and I'm cleaning bucket number one full now and it is taking forever! It just keeps running red. Any tips?


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## Henry (28 Apr 2014)

Give up cleaning it, and just be very careful when you pour the water into the tank. Four or five rinses should be enough.


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## cheekycharly (3 May 2014)

Put it in the tank tonight and slowly let the water rise and it's just cloudy as hell. I could not have rinsed the stuff more to begin with and its appearance in the water hasn't changed in the last five hours...

Please tell me this goes as I think taking this back out and starting from scratch before getting going will end me.


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## Alastair (4 May 2014)

cheekycharly said:


> Put it in the tank tonight and slowly let the water rise and it's just cloudy as hell. I could not have rinsed the stuff more to begin with and its appearance in the water hasn't changed in the last five hours...
> 
> Please tell me this goes as I think taking this back out and starting from scratch before getting going will end me.



Hi Charly 

Did you lay a plastic bag or bowl down on the substrate when you were filling? 

Either way as long as you pop some filter floss in your filter it should soon clear 

Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk 2


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## cheekycharly (5 May 2014)

Hi Alastair good to see your still around here you helped me out on my previous setup my vision 260 which sadly I will be selling due to lack of space so I downsized to the Rio 180. 

Might sound daft but as the tank was brand new I added the substrate and then slowly increased the water level with a pipe on trickle which still resulted in the clouding.

The main issue was I didn't have a filter running on it at this point didn't know if gravity would do its thing alone and the murky water would settle to the bottom... Anyway overnight it did and left a spooky strange lumpy foggy Bizzarre skin on the surface of the substrate so I gravel vac over the top to take to excess away then got one of my Eheim 2217's and run that last night with fresh floss in and all is clear today.

Only other issue is that I have a dent in my substrate where my filters flow has been moving the gravel with the flow.

This stuff is very light!


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## cheekycharly (5 May 2014)

As you can see...


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## Henry (5 May 2014)

I wouldn't worry about such little movement, if I were you. Once your hardscape and plants are in, it won't be a problem. I'd consider it a good indicator that you have got your flow pattern right


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## cheekycharly (25 Aug 2014)

Just thought I'd follow an old post up and let you know that the Molar clay has worked out a great substrate and no longer dusts. Still has that lovely natural clay colour too.


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## ~firefly~ (30 Aug 2014)

Can we see an updated tank shot?


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## cheekycharly (31 Aug 2014)

Just took this on my Iphone so quality won't be too great. It's starting to grow out just need some suggestions for plants for the back of the tank that won't melt when using liquid carbon so no vallis.


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## ~firefly~ (31 Aug 2014)

I use loads of Easy Carbo in my tank (350 litre empty...dosed with 15ml EasyCarbo a day) and I have a great val carpet. So long as you don't spot treat near the vals they are fine.


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## cheekycharly (2 Sep 2014)

Struggling to get my Lilly's to gain hight they used to grow tall and like crazy when I had the same plant in my vision 260 but now I've moved them and they got trimmed they grow short. I have added root tabs but found I only get more leaves that grow short still.


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## ~firefly~ (2 Sep 2014)

Yeah it can be weird with them. The small one at the front has always been small. It took a year before the others gained any kind of height really. In truth, I have no idea what I'm doing. Lol.


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## cheekycharly (4 Sep 2014)

What ferts are you dosing firefly?


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## ~firefly~ (4 Sep 2014)

30ml Profito once a week
15ml Easycarbo daily (unless I'm out)


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