# tesco cat litter



## MrLarner

I'm off to tesco's tomorrow to buy cat litter and wondered if someone could send me a link to which 1 it is i need.
i've been looking on tesco website and they have a big list and couldnt work out which 1 it is i need.
so can someone that knows take a quick look here and tell me which 1 it is i need to get....

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/ ... t%20litter


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## stan1973

This one

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/ ... =265235247


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## MrLarner

cheers stan, thanks for the quick reply, thought i'd have to sit here all night waiting for a reply.
cheers again.


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## stan1973

No problem, are you using anything else with it or just having it on its own?


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## MrLarner

im currently using eco-complete but the depth aint enough, and i cant be arsed to order another big bag, so im going to put cat litter over the top and just hope for the best.
alot of people said to put the cat litter underneath, but i prefer the look of the cat litter, i think it looks really natural so thats what im going to do.


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## hixy

Sorry to hijack the thread is the tesco stuff safe for fish.?


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## Antipofish

hixy said:
			
		

> Sorry to hijack the thread is the tesco stuff safe for fish.?



Its perfumed so you need to wash and wash and wash it, and then when it looks like you have washed it enough, do the same again !!!  I did that and STILL it took a good few days for the tank to clear.  Actually I had problems with my tank and the cat litter.. whether it was to do with the wood I also put in, or the JBL aquabasis+ I put in or a combination of all three, I do not know.  I ended up ripping mine out but there are tons of people who have used it.  I would think it is NOT safe for fish straight away though, but judging by other very good looking tanks on here it must be OK after its cleaned     Good luck.


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## hixy

Hello again.I have opened the bag and it doesnt smell of anything.


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## stan1973

Antipofish said:
			
		

> hixy said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sorry to hijack the thread is the tesco stuff safe for fish.?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Its perfumed so you need to wash and wash and wash it, and then when it looks like you have washed it enough, do the same again !!!  I did that and STILL it took a good few days for the tank to clear.  Actually I had problems with my tank and the cat litter.. whether it was to do with the wood I also put in, or the JBL aquabasis+ I put in or a combination of all three, I do not know.  I ended up ripping mine out but there are tons of people who have used it.  I would think it is NOT safe for fish straight away though, but judging by other very good looking tanks on here it must be OK after its cleaned     Good luck.
Click to expand...


I used it and washed very well and then allowed it to dry before using it in tank, this takes the perfume smell away. 
I set the tank up with it and bought a pair of kribs and they immediately bred and the following week i had babies swimming round, I also put some endlers in and there's also lots of their babies too so doesn't look to be harmful.


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## MrLarner

its not harmful at all, as long as its washed well before going into tank.
giving it a good wash also removes the dusty parts of it which is a good thing.
but once the smell has gone, your good to go.


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## Christor

Thanks for this, saved me hastle looking it up  did everyone run theres under a tap or such until it ran clear basically? mine too is scentless, well nothing I can smell


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## Alastair

It will run clear but once put in the tank and filled the water will cloud from it anyway. Best way would be to lay the litter, then lay newspaper over the top of it when filling so as to not disturb it. That way you should have a clearer tank 


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## Christor

Thanks, Im hearing from a guy that to me knows his stuff and he personally finds it to cloud everytime he moves something in the tank and it doesnt hold plants very well, it does it but maybe not aswell as others

any personal experience or solutions?


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## foxfish

the cat litter in question (tesco) is made from hard backed clay, it is "rock" hard.
The litter does not cloud the water.


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## Christor

Ah fair enough, I do actually think now he may not have used the same one to be fairas he said it was light in colour, to me this is pretty dark indeed!

How are you finding it foxfish?


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## Alastair

I use the same stuff and it never caused the water to cloud when I move plants. 


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## foxfish

You might like to read this viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8572


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## Christor

Thanks guys, Yeah I have seen that post and it convinced me to go that way, mostly as its more benefits to it than sand or regular gravel, however  I will be using it as a cap to my potting soil beneath, I have a very fine mesh between the two however so there should be minimal if any dirt rising up...however reading posts im unsure whether I could use it on its own, as I wont be using any ferts or Co2 so worried it will therefore be useless, anyone got an idea?


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## Antipofish

Alastair said:
			
		

> It will run clear but once put in the tank and filled the water will cloud from it anyway. Best way would be to lay the litter, then lay newspaper over the top of it when filling so as to not disturb it. That way you should have a clearer tank
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



+1  This method works well.  I actually put clingfilm on top of the newspaper too   (The idea was not mine it was nabbed from Oliver Knott.... saw him do it in a workshop video.


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## Antipofish

foxfish said:
			
		

> the cat litter in question (tesco) is made from hard backed clay, it is "rock" hard.
> The litter does not cloud the water.



Hey foxfish.  I used the exact same cat litter we are all talking about on this thread and mine sure as hell clouded.  Took 3 days to clear properly, and that was with 3 hours of rinsing.  I think it depends how slowly you fill the tank, and also how dusty the bag is you buy to be honest, so everyone's experience is likely to be different.  It is something people need to be aware of as a possibility though.


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## foxfish

What you mean is - how well you wash it?
I have found the best way to wash away the dust is by placing a half  filled with litter  bucket under a running tap & stirring until the overflowing water runs clear.
Hard baked clay does not actively breakdown or produce any dust while it is underwater in an aquarium.


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## Antipofish

foxfish said:
			
		

> What you mean is - how well you wash it?
> I have found the best way to wash away the dust is by placing a half  filled with litter  bucket under a running tap & stirring until the overflowing water runs clear.
> Hard baked clay does not actively breakdown or produce any dust while it is underwater in an aquarium.




I rinsed mine in small amounts in a sieve until it ran clear and put in a bucket.  I then ran the hose through the litter stirring until it ran clear as you state above.  The process took over three hours for one and a half bags of litter.  I placed it in the aquarium and filled up with water, by running the water indirectly onto a large dinner plate sat on top of the litter.  I used a slow fill method from multiple buckets of water.  The following three days were required for the cloudiness in the water to dissipate.


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## dento

I'm trying not to butt in but would anyone have a photo of this cat litter as I'm going though the 'buying everything stage'
and I'm not sure what colour it is.


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## Christor

Page 7 of the Tesco cat litter topic dent

Hmm I have washed mine and letting it sit to dry out  a bit, may help in less clouding but we shall see, will wash it again as going on what you guys say I havent done it long enough, I do foxfishes method but to pseed it up tip the water out, gets rid of it faster as some particles wont flow out, meh all trial and error just get the dust out ^^


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## biffster

sorry to open this old chestnut we spent a lot of time 
washing it and finally got rid of the perfume smell 
for the first few weeks of it been in the tank i did 
get high nitrate readings but with a few water changes 
that was reduced at this time the tank  started to clear
its is now crystal clear and sustaining plants and fish


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