# Substrate for new 200 gallon.



## ozzyboo (22 Jun 2011)

I am in the process of planning the set up of my new 200 gallon tank.
I am planning to use pool filter sand with some sort of baked clay substrate underneath,maybe akadama or cat litter,as it seems that people are having sucess with similar combinations.
The main reasons i have for the above substrate, the cost of some of the planted substrates for a large tank and I want to transfer my stock from my old tank asap and dont want the substrate altering the water parameters.
Also using sand is really a must as the stock will contain loaches,I know not ideal planted tank inhabitants,and corries.
Does anybody foresee any problems or has another suggestion that would work well.
Thanks in advance
Joe


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## Alastair (22 Jun 2011)

Tesco non clumping cat litter is ridiculously cheap in my opinion, 2.70 for a 10 litre bag, and I use it to good effect. I have a couple of kuhli loach and corys and it's doesn't do any harm to them what so ever. However i think you'll find that Sind being such fine particles, it will work it's way through the cat litter or akadama. Saying that if the ratio of sand to the clay stuff is significantly greater it might not.


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## ozzyboo (22 Jun 2011)

Thanks Alastair for the info re the Tesco's cat litter.It is also good to know that it is Ok for loaches and cories.
I am not really sure of the ratio's.I was thinking of using 1"-1.5" of cat litter/akadama and then capping it with 2" of pool filter sand,does this sound OK?
I dont really want the cat litter visable so thought that 2" of sand would be OK.


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## foxfish (22 Jun 2011)

Swimming pool filter sand can be quite course depending on the grade but fine, lime free, sand is readily available from garden centers anyway.
However the sand will permeate into the baked clay, you could set aside a sand area in you tank just for you bottom feeders as they really do enjoy a sandy area to feed on.
You could build a ring of rock & fill that with sand & use the sand clay mix else where in your tank?


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## Alastair (22 Jun 2011)

ozzyboo said:
			
		

> Thanks Alastair for the info re the Tesco's cat litter.It is also good to know that it is Ok for loaches and cories.
> I am not really sure of the ratio's.I was thinking of using 1"-1.5" of cat litter/akadama and then capping it with 2" of pool filter sand,does this sound OK?
> I dont really want the cat litter visable so thought that 2" of sand would be OK.



I'd think that would do the trick. Half and half :0)


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## ozzyboo (22 Jun 2011)

foxfish said:
			
		

> Swimming pool filter sand can be quite course depending on the grade but fine, lime free, sand is readily available from garden centers anyway.
> However the sand will permeate into the baked clay, you could set aside a sand area in you tank just for you bottom feeders as they really do enjoy a sandy area to feed on.
> You could build a ring of rock & fill that with sand & use the sand clay mix else where in your tank?



The grade I am looking at useing is 16/30 (0.5-1mm),one of the main reasons for planning to use PFS is that the grain size is big enough not to get disturbed to easily but fine enough not to be gravel like.I did look at play sand but it is just to fine and normally very light colour which is not really what I am after.
Someone on another forum has suggested having a look at the unipac range of sands that some MA stock,but I have not had a chance to go and have a look.
Although the idea of just keeping one area that is just sand for the loaches/cories is not a bad idea


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## Alastair (22 Jun 2011)

MA have a really nice sand in but can't remember the name of it. It's a hood grain size to and has slight varying colours in it


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## foxfish (22 Jun 2011)

Ok, well you might want to check out the swimming pool sand doesn't contain to much shell as this might not be to the liking of certain fish. Not so much of an issue to the plants but personly I don't think you cats would like it?
In my locale garden centre they have a large selection of fine gavels & sands for horticulture use, silver sand, river sand, lime free sand, lime free grit, cactus sand, fine sand, course sand etc ect...
I am using cat litter in my tank at the moment, seems to work ok.


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## niknaksky (22 Jun 2011)

congo sand is nice from unipac ma sell it it has about 3 different grades and colours mixed.

I mixed it with limpopo to darken it a little.

I tried the tesco cat litter but could not get rid of the smell so gave up.


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## ozzyboo (22 Jun 2011)

foxfish said:
			
		

> Ok, well you might want to check out the swimming pool sand doesn't contain to much shell as this might not be to the liking of certain fish. Not so much of an issue to the plants but personly I don't think you cats would like it?
> In my locale garden centre they have a large selection of fine gavels & sands for horticulture use, silver sand, river sand, lime free sand, lime free grit, cactus sand, fine sand, course sand etc ect...
> I am using cat litter in my tank at the moment, seems to work ok.



The PFS I have looked at contains no shell at all and the grains seem quite rounded to touch as apposed to angular,and having a look on some of the US forums a lot of people have used it with loaches and corries hence me thinking about using it.
I will take a trip up to my local garden centre and see what they have available,I am trying to avoid anything like play sand if possible as the grain size is just to small and it is forever getting disturbed.
Do you have a cap of anything on top of the cat litter or just that as the substrate?



			
				niknaksky said:
			
		

> congo sand is nice from unipac ma sell it it has about 3 different grades and colours mixed.
> 
> I mixed it with limpopo to darken it a little.
> 
> I tried the tesco cat litter but could not get rid of the smell so gave up.



I have just had a look online at some of the unipac sands and the congo seems great a nice colour and grain size.
I also really like the senegal sand that is available,the grain size seems fine as well a 1mm
I think I have had limpopo in a previous tank and that also seemed good but want to move away from the really dark substrate.
Just need to find out the closest MA that stocks senegal and congo to go and have a closer look.


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## foxfish (22 Jun 2011)

Well this forum is great for every form of advice toward a successful planted tank.
The issue of what type of sand to use is interesting but to be honest pretty superficial compared to how you are going to distribute the C02 around a 200 gal tank LOL   
So have you got any plans for the tank or just one step at a time?


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## Alastair (23 Jun 2011)

I personally now just have the tesco cat litter, with aqua basis underneath. No capping. The colour is nice and grain size is nice too. 
The Senegal sand is the one I've seen at MA which looks good.  It's all down to your personal choice at the end of the day. I went with the cat litter purely for the benefit of the plants bit I really like how it looks. The colour contrast between that and the plants is what made me decide to keep it.


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## ozzyboo (23 Jun 2011)

foxfish said:
			
		

> Well this forum is great for every form of advice toward a successful planted tank.
> The issue of what type of sand to use is interesting but to be honest pretty superficial compared to how you are going to distribute the C02 around a 200 gal tank LOL
> So have you got any plans for the tank or just one step at a time?



Yes the sand issue is really down to personal likes and dislikes I suppose,just wanted to see if my propossed substrate setup was OK or if it could be made better.
I have some plans for the tank.Here it is as it stands now,empty 





There will be a few bits of bogwood in there.This is the star attraction a very large peice of bogwood




I am probably aiming for 50-60% planted,not like some of the tanks on here fully planted.The filtration will be via a sump and a large eheim canister,the sump will return via a spray bar the full length of the tank.I will be using koralia circulation pumps to provide circulation lower down in the tank and move the CO2 around and hopefully stop any dead spots.
Not really sure on the plants yet but there will be some mosses on the bogwood,I had some Vallisneria spiralis var. leopard in a previous tank which I really liked.I would also like some of the easier red stem plants as I like the colour contrast.I would also like to use some really fast growing plants to help with any start up imbalances.
One of my main concerns is lighting but I will address that in the correct forum.


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## Alastair (23 Jun 2011)

wow thats a tank. get a journal started. im sure there will be lots of interest in it. i thought my wood was big ha ha


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## ozzyboo (23 Jun 2011)

Yeah the wood is awesome,it is just under 30" tall and just over 2ft wide.
I will try and start a journal over the next couple of days


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## ghostsword (23 Jun 2011)

That is the motherload of a tank. Really big! 

For plants, crypts, easy to deal with co2 and they do creep up nicely.

About Corys, their barbels get damaged easily, so the sand has to be smooth, anything sharp will mess them up.

Great tank! 


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