# 125 gal tropheus tank, substrate



## matthew1884 (Jul 24, 2009)

Should I use a fine white sand or crushed coral for my 125 gal tropheus bemba tank?


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

Sand


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## NorthShore (Feb 3, 2006)

noddy said:


> Sand


ditto


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## matthew1884 (Jul 24, 2009)

alright thanks.
or should I do a mix of mostly sand with a bag or 2 of coral?


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## Heyguy74 (Aug 11, 2005)

Stick with all sand


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## TriniBrad (Mar 27, 2010)

why would you say sand? i would think with the coral and the PH levels and Trophs preferring that ph, the coral would be better for that reason. IMHO. that and *** for the coral sand in my Troph and Front tanks. and they seem to love it.


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## Afishionado (Jun 6, 2006)

My one and only Tropheus tank has a Caribsea african cichid mix substrate that is mostly crushed coral I believe. The Trophs seem to love it and this tank has worked very well. It is ground finer than the straight crushed coral I've bought at lfs though - that is rather coarse and sharp feeling by comparison.


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## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

white sand?
standard sand?
dark sand?
a mix of lighter/darker?


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

TriniBrad said:


> why would you say sand? i would think with the coral and the PH levels and Trophs preferring that ph, the coral would be better for that reason. IMHO. that and I've for the coral sand in my Troph and Front tanks. and they seem to love it.


I say sand because it looks more natural. I used to use crushed coral in all my tanks, I switched over to sand a few years back because of the look and the fact that it's easier to syphon waste off the top of it than it is to vac the coral. IMO coral does nothing to effect the P.H level. Also, all the fish that I keep (featherfins, gobies, sandsifters, Trophs and petros sift through it in a way that they can't with a larger substrate.


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## swk (Mar 16, 2010)

Your tap water needs to be quite soft to dissolve any of the calcium in crushed coral, aragonite, etc. This is extremely simplified explanation but it's true. My tap is at 8 and my tanks are the same with or without aragonite. But if you have a tap of 7 then you will see results from a buffering substrate.


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## trophlover (Sep 13, 2010)

I'm in the same position, setting up a 125 tropheus tank,
Sounds like pool filter sand is the best and cheapest choice. Do all brands look the same ? and they come in 50lb bags how many do I need for a 125 gallon tank. How deep should the sand be if all I'm keeping are trophs?


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## Afishionado (Jun 6, 2006)

trophlover said:


> Do all brands look the same ?


If the stuff I got around here is any indication, no they don't. In a filled aquarium the stuff ended up looking a slightly purplish grey, and I hated it. Try to find a broken bag or ask to actually see the stuff to be certain it'll be acceptable to you. If it is actually sand-coloured it'll certainly be better than what I tried.

I would think one 50 lb bag should pretty much do. I'd start with that and see if you realy think you need more, but I'm pretty sure 100 lbs would be overkill. It doesn't need to be more than 1" deep, and can be as little as 1/2".


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## trophlover (Sep 13, 2010)

Where can I find White Pool filter sand??? is there somewhere online that won't charge an arm and a leg?


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## MbunasandMapleleafs (Mar 23, 2004)

silica sand. AKA blasting sand. It's cheap and it looks amazing. I use it in all my cichlid tanks.


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## punman (Oct 24, 2003)

I find that sand looks lighter (whiter) when wet and under lights than when dry in the bag.
I had some pool filter sand that was very very white and I did not like it as it showed debris more and it showed algae more.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Pool filter sand is my go-to substrate for everything. You just can't beat the consistent and just-right grain size.


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## ken31cay (Oct 9, 2018)

I've tried most and IMO for africans, central and south americans that i've kept, pool filter sand is the best.


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

trophlover said:


> I'm in the same position, setting up a 125 tropheus tank,
> Sounds like pool filter sand is the best and cheapest choice. Do all brands look the same ? and they come in 50lb bags how many do I need for a 125 gallon tank. How deep should the sand be if all I'm keeping are trophs?


There a re a number of materials used for PFS. http://www.redflint.com/aquarium_sand.htm is one that may be available to you because of where you live. Their PFS appears to be exactly the same as the Aquarium sand. I have some of their 1/8" grain gravel and really like the darker colour.


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## BlueSunshine (Jul 13, 2014)

swk said:


> Your tap water needs to be quite soft to dissolve any of the calcium in crushed coral, aragonite, etc. This is extremely simplified explanation but it's true. My tap is at 8 and my tanks are the same with or without aragonite. But if you have a tap of 7 then you will see results from a buffering substrate.


This is my understanding too.


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## BlueSunshine (Jul 13, 2014)

Guess if we are going to dredge up an old thread we might as well go with it. :lol:
Here is a pic of one of our tanks with a 50/50 mix of pool filter sand and nature's ocean aragonite sand #1. This is what we like the best. We keep it about 3 inches deep in all of our tanks.


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