# Substrate for Tanganyika species



## rollingstone (Aug 27, 2010)

I originally posted this in the tank setup section, but on reflection, I'm guessing this part of the forum may have been more appropriate... oops!

IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m just getting the last few bits together ready for the cycling of a 33 gal Lake Tanganyika community aquarium IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m setting up. One of these key items is substrate, but before I invest I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on a few questions I have: 
1) Firstly a simple oneÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ What preferences do people have on crushed coral or aragonite?? What differences (if any!) are there between them? 
2) The tank will have some Brevis (or Similis, if I can find them!) so any recommendations on the best grade/coarseness of substrate for shell dwellers would also be useful. 
3) IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve noticed much of the substrates IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve seen in the shops is aimed at marine aquariums and is supplied wet, with a significant quantity of water evident in the bag. Would this still be suitable for a rift lake aquarium and would it require any additional precautions if used? 
4) Finally, another simple one! What kind of substrate depth would people recommend to keep my shellies happy?

ThatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s about all I can think of at the moment, but I figure if I can get some information on the above, that should be a good start!


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

rollingstone said:


> 1) Firstly a simple oneÃ¢â‚¬Â¦ What preferences do people have on crushed coral or aragonite?? What differences (if any!) are there between them? !


Aragonite (expensive) or pool filter sand (cheap and just as good IME).


rollingstone said:


> 2) The tank will have some Brevis (or Similis, if I can find them!) so any recommendations on the best grade/coarseness of substrate for shell dwellers would also be useful. !


As fine as possible without being a headache. That's what is nice about pool filter sand, grain=20, just right.


rollingstone said:


> 3) IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve noticed much of the substrates IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve seen in the shops is aimed at marine aquariums and is supplied wet, with a significant quantity of water evident in the bag. Would this still be suitable for a rift lake aquarium and would it require any additional precautions if used? !


Hmmm, I guess I need to get to my LFS. Wet makes me think "live". Live marine substrate would be bad. However as long as marine substrate is not live it would be fine for Africans. I used Reef Base exclusively in all my tanks for four years.


rollingstone said:


> 4) Finally, another simple one! What kind of substrate depth would people recommend to keep my shellies happy?


An inch is fine. Deeper is harder to maintain and the shellies will dig to the bottom no matter how deep your substrate is.


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## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

Pool filter sand is great stuff. It has a nice grain size that tends to sink instead of float. It is fairly clean right out of the bag. My fish seem to like it. And best of all, it's cheaper than anything you'll find at a pet store. The only downside is that it does not come in a variety of colors.


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## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

I rock PFS in one setup and aragonite in another. It all depends on what you're going with as far as fish colour.


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## rollingstone (Aug 27, 2010)

Thanks for the advice. I've heard a lot of good stuff about pool filter sand, but hadn't really considered it as I thought it wouldn't have the same effect on PH as coral/aragonite. My tap water hovers around the 7.3 mark and I thought from what I read an argonite substrate would push it up to about 8. If I went the pool filter sand route, does anyone have any tips on getting the PH to a suitable level?
PS The stocking plan is a small group of brevis, a pair of calvus (or maybe comps!) and a another small group of dwarf neon rainbows (as dithers). Would a particular substrate be better for showing off these particular species??


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## IDEAS-NG (Oct 23, 2008)

I found crushed coral or aragonite did nothing notable to my water values. After having it for a few years in my 65 I'm not impressed. My ph out of the tap is 7.4 and it never moved, the hardness went up a bit but nothing worth discussing. 
IMO it's (coral or aragonite) not worth the money, PFS looks way nicer over time, and costs a lot less.


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## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

rollingstone said:


> My tap water hovers around the 7.3 mark and I thought from what I read an argonite substrate would push it up to about 8. If I went the pool filter sand route, does anyone have any tips on getting the PH to a suitable level?


IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve never personally tried using a substrate to change the chemistry of my water. But from what I understand, it isnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t an ideal method to use because you will be shifting your water parameters every time you do a water change. YouÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re better off using a homemade baking soda buffer or one of the commercial products to buffer your water while doing a water change.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

My aragonite substrate and crushed coral in the filters never moved my pH=7.8 even 1/10th of a point either. Agree on the baking soda/epsom salt treatment.


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## mk368 (Dec 31, 2008)

i use cichlid sand in my tanks and crushed coral as a media in my filters and some crushed coral mixed in with black cichlid sand just because i like the contrast it brings


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## rollingstone (Aug 27, 2010)

Thanks for the tips... Decided PFS is the way forward and picked up a bag today! 1/3 the cost of crushed coral and looks great too 

PS The wet looking aragonite was live sand, as thought.... Though how "live" it's going to be after sitting in a sealed plastic bag on a shop shelf for lord knows how long, I'm not quite sure!


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## TexasFishGuy (Aug 20, 2010)

As far as the aragonite and crushed coral goes, I don't think it is supposed to raise your PH, only help in keeping it from dropping.


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## jzdanows (Jun 20, 2010)

I haven't seen any change in water parameters either with my crushed coral substrate, but I bought it because it was cheaper than the carib sea brand cichlid sand and was nicer looking than plain sand. when I do another tank I am going with some form of sand, I think its easier to maintain than rock,coral, ect.


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## wild wally one (Sep 27, 2010)

useing any kind of coral sand or any other, will keep the ph stable. to harden the water more, add some sodium bicarb to the water. Monitor the ph regularly until you meet the required level that you need in your tank. This all depends on what kind of fish that you are going to keep. Good luck and enjoy the hobby!!!!!!


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

wild wally one said:


> useing any kind of coral sand or any other, will keep the ph stable....


Not really. Beyond a short term bump in poorly buffered tanks, substrates will not affect pH.

Dissolution of calcium carbonate does not occur on the time scale of water changes for an aquarium, unless you are adding acidic water. If you add neutral water (low ionic strength, pH 6.5-7.5) it will take quite awhile for enough CaCO3 to dissolve to affect the pH. The ability for a substrate to "keep pH stable" won't happen nearly quick enough to be useful to your fish. :thumb:

BTW, I use Play Sand from Home Depot for several tanks, and got some black colored sand for the show tanks.


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## frontosa9098 (Oct 6, 2010)

I found that sand substrate from the Philippines is a good buffer and easy to take care off.


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