Gravel For New Tank

[bkopsick]

I'm in the process of starting a new tank that i just got this weekend... I got this idea about gravel and thought it would be cool to use coarser/slightly larger gravel. I went to Home Depot and got 2 bags of pebles from there. I was talking to someone today and heard that is not supposed to used for aquarium gravel. I guess I just want to know, Is that true? Is it bad for that tank? I did rinse it out pretty well before I put it in the tank... I love the way it looks but I don't want it to be bad for the tank. I still haven't cycled my tank yet so I don't have any fish yet but I guess I'm looking ofr some advice before I go to far in the setup. Thanks!

 

[waterdrop]

If you choose to go with the course pebbles you will have to be much more careful about your species choices. Many bottom dwellers will not be able to reach their food down the large crevices. Other experts can guide you when you get closer to those choices.

Since these didn't come from an aquarium shop and are not simple playsand, you can test whether they are going to change your water chemistry by putting them in a bucket and testing the water with a liquid-reagent-based test kit. Test the tap water beforehand and then the rock water every couple days. I would test for pH and KH. Maybe other members will jump in if there are additions to this procedure.

If you know the exact type of rocks these are you could post it here and maybe there are some experts who could say they are ok and you needn't do all this.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[sykogngsta]

I used the gravel from home depot for my tank and my fish have been fine. Just make sure you wash it well because the gravel may be alittle dirty at first.

 

[bkopsick]

Well first off, thanks for the replies.... I really appreciate it alot... this is my first tank setup and I think I have learned alot so far from here but I know there are still plenty of mistakes that I will make.... haha I tested the water in the tank and the results are as follows: GH:75; KH: 80; pH: 7.6 Those numbers are after the tank has been sitting with the new gravel in and filter on for 24hrs.

Also, I have another question! I got some filter media from an established fish tank from my LFS and i've had that in for 24hrs. The test results I got for that are: Ammonia: 0.5; Nitrite: 0; Nitrate: 10... I've read the pinned topics in the forum but am still not 100% sure... What is my next step? How will I know when it is safe to start adding fish?

Thanks