# Help with substrate



## Aramz (Jun 24, 2008)

Hey,

I am setting up a malawi tank for mostly mbuna. I am looking at a white substrate. I like the look of fine white sand. Although i've been told that fine whit esand is not the way to go especially with mbuna. I was told the sand constantly floats around the tank and it always looks a bit cloudy no matter what. I was told to get aragonite that was a bit mroe course. What are your guys thoughts on this issue? Do any of you have active fish like mbuna with a fine white substrate... is your water really cloudy?

Thanks in advance


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## Nor Cal Cichlid (Oct 24, 2007)

I have home depot play sand in my tanks its got a mix of really fine sand and almost pebles sized grain. Also its a mix of tan to brown colors i think it looks really natural. Your tank is going to cloud up for a day or so when you first add the sand, but if you wash it well it does settle. I dont know what sand you are talking about and how small the grain is. But i was told by a worker at the chain pet store that the only sand you can keep with cichlids is cichlid sand. Well obviosly not true. Id say as long as its not like powder youd probably be ok. If you have access to the sand try some out in a clear glass with water and see how long it takes to settle, and you could stick your finger in their and try to disturb the sand and see if it clouds the water.


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## lotsofish (Feb 28, 2008)

The fine white sand may not stay looking white. It is hard to keep clean because the finer it is, the harder it is to vacuum without taking up the sand. You also can't keep filter intakes very low to the bottom or they will pull up the sand.

There are some sands that are very light colored but not so fine they will be a problem. Carib Sea has a substrate called "Torpedo Beach" with has a small grain and is light colored. This sand isn't too hard to vacuum.
http://www.caribsea.com/pages/products/super_nat.html

Their products are very expensive compared to just buying sand from the hardware store but they specify grain size and characteristics. You also don't have to rinse these sands so much to get rid of dust. Personally, my favorite is "Peace River"--it looks very natural to me.


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## Rockydog (Oct 21, 2007)

I use a white sand called White Lightning mixed 50/50 with Caribsea Seaflorâ„¢Special Grade
Reef Sand. It has a texture of 1 to 2 mm and mixed with fine white sand makes a nice substrate.

I have a lot of circulation in my tanks and it does not float around, however with diggers you have to keep your intakes a little higher.

With aragonite you can never wash it clean because the calcium carbonate dissolves but it does settle and with the constant digging of cichlids it always keeps your ph and hardness up.

When you initially set it up it will be cloudy, but over the course of a few days and a couple 50% water changes it will be crystal clear. I only experience a bit of cloudiness when I do my major tank maintenance where I mix up and level all the sand and then vacuum the substrate.

The sand/aragonite mix gives a nice off white color and texture and really nice to not worry about ph or hardness.


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## ArcticCatRider (Jul 13, 2007)

I use All-Purpose sand that I bought at Lowes, but I think HD has it.
It's a good grain size, and it requires very little rinsing, and it's a really light colored sand, but it still looks so natural!!


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## gordonrp (Mar 23, 2005)

here is one of my tanks with caribsea aragonite


And here is one of my tanks with just sand from the hardware store.


I much prefer the caribsea stuff, it is expensive but it required a heck of a lot less washing (almost none) compared to the general stuff. I wish I had know about caribsea when i laid the sand in my main tank.

This is a pic of the exact stuff I'm using


http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... Id=2753226


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## ArcticCatRider (Jul 13, 2007)

Heres my tank, with the All-Purpose Sand

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... p?t=179155


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