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cat litter

I've used Sophisticat Pink for my 2 tanks. Lovely looking stuff, but perfumed so it needs a couple of days to let the smell go away. As said above, it is difficult to get carpeting plants to stay fixed in it if you are planting underwater, so dry start might be a good way to go.
Cheers
D
 
devo said:
I've used Sophisticat Pink for my 2 tanks. Lovely looking stuff, but perfumed so it needs a couple of days to let the smell go away. As said above, it is difficult to get carpeting plants to stay fixed in it if you are planting underwater, so dry start might be a good way to go.
Cheers
D
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That's what I use for my cats, do you have a photo of it in your tanks?
 
bridgey_c said:
After all I have read about cat litter I had to have a bash with it!!

I emptied the 60l planted tank I have dedicated to shrimp last weekend and used the tesco kitty litter. I just left it under the shower in a colander for 10/15 mins and that washed most of the dust off it. I guess you could wash it all day and still get some fragments coming off though. I honestly didnt have much of a perfume to mine, even at the beginning before any washing it was never strong and since it has been in the tank I have never smelled anything. I carefully poured the old tank water back in and the tank was completely clear after a couple of hours. A handful of osmocote fertiliser underneath and bob's your uncle! Lets see how the plants like it now...

The only, but major, downside is its weight.... I had a HC carpet and trying to replant this in the CL is almost impossible. I ended up breaking the HC into very small pieces and pushing 90% of each clump under the CL in order for it to stay down. As soon as you try and place a clump nearby the previous clump comes floating up!! I knew before I tried planting the HC that I should have used a dedicated sand area for it. That would be my only advise, if you are trying to obtain a carpet with a plant with shallow roots I would put a small layer of sand over it. I am sure the sand will fall through the CL over time and mostly vanish but at least it will give you a base in which to hold the roots..

A fully inert, good looking, high cec, long lasting substrate for £3 !!!
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Very interesting read,i am just about to try a 3 foot planted tank,and am just deciding on substrate,just wondering how your tank is doing ,a few months down the line,well of to have a look at more pic,s get me a few idea's,
also,where do you get your plant supplies from,not a lot of choice up where I live,
Ian
 
I have 10 lires of Tesco kitty litter and that's covered with 9 liters of Ada Amazonia , seems ok to me .


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I've had it submerged for 2 weeks but I have separated the two with a fine mesh to stop this problem occurring , ada is very lightweight but the cat litter is even lighter . So far all looks good


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Not sure on that one ,
I used cat litter to save some monies to bulk up my substrate . I've used the mesh and I really don't think the Ada can sink past it . It's trial and error but I highly recommend it if you don't wanna spend more £35's on 9litres of Ada . Although orignally i bought enough ada for my tank i wanted to save some so I used the cat litter :) . Also the cat litter has a good cec .



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I used "Sophisticat Pink". OK, so it stinks something rotten, but a few days in a bucket outside and the smell is gone, after that it is great.
 
When I did my research on cat litter I read to a avoid clumping cat litter as it basically clumps, its alot more fluffy and more porous, so it absorbs more moisture , apparently it can lead to a sludge 'mess' , Traditional litters are harder, more solid chips of the same sort of clay.
Cheers


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Ah! Damn. Guess I got my thinking messed up - what you say also supports what I've read. Back to the store for me. But on the plus side the cats can try out the new litter :)


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Aside from the Tesco and other brand mentioned - are there any other proven cat litters that would make ideal substrates?


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