Best Mbuna Substrate? 4 Choices

[Zagggon]

Im redoing the substrate and wana know what you all think!!!

Gravel
Sand
crushed coral
none

 

[jayjay]

What rocks are you using in the tank? You will want something to buffer the water either rocks or gravel.

 

[Zagggon]

I have a big limestone holey rock in there atm with some gravel.

 

[Boids-n-more]

I would use some pea size natural gravel or sand depending on what type of look you like. You can also take some crushed coral and put it in a empty filter sleeve and place it in the carbon spot your filter has. If you use an undergravel filter the sand won't work.

 

[Cheffi]

I have a ph of 7.8 - 8.0 and use crushed coral sand and ocean rock. Tried playsand first but then saw the crushed coral in another tank and it looks good.

 

[Nick Sw]

Sand without a doubt.
Crushed Coral looks very good but I think sand replicates there natural Habitat more and I`m sure they enjoys digging around more in the sand along with the fact that crushed coral can be sharp and I`ve read can potantially damage their gills.

 

[Druchii]

Sand without a doubt.
Crushed Coral looks very good but I think sand replicates there natural Habitat more and I`m sure they enjoys digging around more in the sand along with the fact that crushed coral can be sharp and I`ve read can potantially damage their gills.

Agree with Nick completely.....


I started out with coral gravel but it disintergates over time and that leads to gill irritation for the fish....

if you need to buffer the water then also as mentioned the coral sand needs to be placed into an old pair of tights and chucked in the external filter...

buffering only works properly if the water passes through it..... coral sand on the bottom of the tank does not buffer the water on its own sufficiently to make any difference...

I have sand and ocean rock combination and it looks great - i throughly recomment it


Hope this Helps,

Justin.