New 75gallon, need substrait suggestions

[gt3guru]

I've got a 30 gallon with some plants in it that got over run with black hair algea.. the tank use to look incredible so i've decided to upgrade to this 75 i got on ebay. i used a cheap mixture of clay, vermiculite and soil covered with fine rocks as the substrate to a good result (not great)

What i want is the eco-complete but it would cost hundreds of dollars at retail rates. ( i won't spend more on substrate than i will on the tank ya know?)

is there any better deal locally than this online http://aquariumplant.com/cgi-bin/cart/SS695.html because at 22 bucks shipped thats as good as i've seen (too good to be true?)

And are there any cheaper yet effective substraits I could create?

I won't be able to set this take up for a while so i can take my time researching or waiting on slow shipping
maybe some people here would do a group by on some eco complete??

[SCOTT]

Re: New 75gallon, need substrait suggestions

Personally, I preffer play sand. There are a couple reasons for this, first, it's cheap, very cheap. At $2.00 for 50lbs it's a steal. Second, it is easily enriched, you can simply mix whatever you want into the sand with no worries of an adverse reaction. Third, geophagian fish love it, this is the closest you are going to get to a "natural" substrate for your fish. With fish that are constantly shifting the substrate around, Africans in particular, it just cant be beat. It wont harm the mouth, wont foul the gills, and holds micro algae in much larger proportion than regular substrates. There are a couple drawbacks to sand tho, the first being that if the sand is to deep you will get a souring effect. Sand should be no more than an inch deep to prevent this. Souring is caused by a lack of water circulation to the lower layer of sand, due to sands small particle size and compaction an inch is about the limit. Souring is caused by the decomposition of particulate matter, which in turn produces methane gas, which is toxic. The second drawback to sand is that is needs to be thoroughly rinsed before use. While not a big deal, it is time consuming and will still leave you with cloudy water for a couple days. Be sure to turn off any filters during this time period, as the cloudiness is caused from micro particles of sand free floating in the water, and as such can easily destroy the impeller and the magnetic portion of your motor. Sand can also be difficult to clean until you get the hang of it.
At $2.00 tho, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages, in addition to those listed above the other advantages are:
plants root readily in sand,
you can mix not only enriching matter but also bulk matter, such as blasting grit to increase your overall substrate depth,
for those who want as natural a habitat as possible, whats more natural than sand,
micro algae proliferates in sand, which is a dietary supplement for the geophagian species,
will not injure your fish in any way,
will not cause any adverse reactions to any additives which you may decide are neccessary as it is inert silica.
Overall, sand is a bit of work until you get a feel for it, but once you get the learning curve behind you, sand is hard to beat. I use sand in about 90% of my tanks.

[gt3guru]

Re: New 75gallon, need substrait suggestions

This new tank is going to be mainly about the plants. fish are going to be small tetras, dwarf puffers, and maybe a discus or 2 in a while. but the focus at first will be plants so i want something specificly for them.
I've e-mailed the sales department about a group buy for eco-complete planted substrate. i'll let you know.

[buddha_red]

Re: New 75gallon, need substrait suggestions

remember, discus do not favor quick motions or anything but calm. I have a buddie that raises them, he dedicated the tank to them. No active fish like loaches. because they are always zipping from place to place.

Play sand is awesome, i went with it on my moms tank. I have black sand. expensive!! use grow sticks to fertilize root growing plants.

HTH please let me know if i am wrong, i exjoy learning.

[gt3guru]

Re: New 75gallon, need substrait suggestions

responce from the eco-complete sales rep.

Dan,

Thanks for your inquiry. Unfortunately, we are not set up to sell to
the
public at this time. We do actively support clubs however. Get me some
more
information on what you are looking for (quantity of Eco) and I will
gladly
see if there is a way for us to help you out.

Sincerely,

Tony Wagner
Sales Manager
CaribSea, Inc.
419-781-2183 fax
610-750-4748 cell


So, it sounds like it COULD happen. Would be better if some nice LFS would help us out.  
But we'd need probably dozens of bags worth to make it worth their while.

[Jose]

Re: New 75gallon, need substrait suggestions

Finally my internet is back up! gt3guru, whats the minimum order amount? I can probably order it under my business. Scott, where can I get the sand at locally?

[szidlon]

Re: New 75gallon, need substrait suggestions

I'm certainly not Scott, but I believe you can get the play sand at Home Depot.  I haven't looked myself, but I've heard it's available there.

[alanb]

Re: New 75gallon, need substrait suggestions

hey guys and or gals,
i have a 55 and am working on getting a 125 or a little larger....i jumped into the 55 gallon too quickly and purchased all the wrong things.....what i want is a planted discus tank....i have small gravel in the 55 right now and it is planted......is there anything that i can do so the plants will grow better.....i  placed fetilizer tablets all over the tank a few weeks ago...the plants seem to be doing okay.....for now.....not sure in the future.....i also bought the $12 bulbs at petsmart that are supposed to have the right light but they don't seem very bright.  one of my hoods is brand new and the other is used......any suggestions as to what i can do for my 55 right now
thank you,
alan

[szidlon]

Re: New 75gallon, need substrait suggestions

alanb...

I'm not a plant expert but I'm sure there are some that frequent the forums.  It would help if you could give a little more detail.  I believe the total wattage of light as well as the kind is an important factor.  Also, the types of plants you are having issues with.  Different plants, as with different species, of fish have different light, water and temperature requirements.  I've been really lucky with my plants, but then I have a lot of Anubias that do not require a lot of light and are quite hardy.

[gt3guru]

Re: New 75gallon, need substrait suggestions

I sent a message back to eco-complete guy asking about quantities and price now that we have a business to go through.

Also, if u want cheep lighting, I built my good (styrophome and carbon fiber!) and added some $1.50 sockets and 26watt fluorescent bulbs from walmart, and got the first O2 bubbles i've seen out of my plants. Probably cost me 12 bucks to add 78 watts. actually broke one bulb though, still very bright.

With my new tank I plan on doing that also, going to take about 8 26 watt bulbs though. So I'm shopping ebay for a good deal.

Anyone know where I can find stainless steel sheet metal? 5foot x 3 foot so I can build my own aquarium hood!

[SCOTT]

Re: New 75gallon, need substrait suggestions

Home Depot and Lowes both stock play sand, rough cost is $2.00 for 50lbs.

[Smokin_Cache]

Re: New 75gallon, need substrait suggestions

Is there a problem with putting sand over a UGF. I don't plan on using it for filtration, but I like having it between the substrate and glass. The slits in the UGF are so small I don't think there will be a problem with the sand falling though. I would like to put at least 1.5" of sand on top of it.

[SCOTT]

Re: New 75gallon, need substrait suggestions

Using the UGF strictly as a weight buffer, no, there is no problem. If you plan to try to use it as a filter tho, yes, there is a deffinate problem. Sand is to fine for a UGF, you will simply vaccuum the sand thru the filter and spray it back into the tank. Usefull if you plan to build mounds for cichlids to tear apart, not so usefull as a filter tho.

[Smokin_Cache]

Re: New 75gallon, need substrait suggestions

LOL! Are there any bottom fish that I should stay away from if I use the sand?

[SCOTT]

Re: New 75gallon, need substrait suggestions

Not that I can think of. I mean look at it like this, in the wild, what kind of substrate do fish have? For the most part I would say either sand, mud, or gravel. We use sand and gravel because mud is well, muddy.