Best Substrate For Cichlids Sa/ca

[snake007]

What is the best substrate for cichlids?
Gravel or Sand? SA/CA Cichlids, (eg; oscars, convicts, firemouths)

???

 

[minnnt]

Sand as most Cichlids like to dig themselves a pit to call their own.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

I would go for sand, as most cichlids like to move it around. With sand, you can almost always expect a cichlid to rescape for you

 

[snake007]

I use sand now and its a nightmare to keep clean, maybe if I go for black sand it wont see all of the fish waste all of the time.
I use a siphon and wave it above the sand while its sucking water into a bucket but the waste doesnt move, especially the pleco poop.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Turkey baster

 

[minnnt]

You're not doing it correctly if it isn't picking it up. Get some hose pipe and use that as it is a bigger bore it will have more suction. But yeah, people use turkey basters/ladels etc.

Dark sand is usually 99.99999999999% best anyway.

 

[snake007]

Thanks will try that and I will definitely go with black sand, I heard it brings out fishes colours a bit more.
Do I wash it the same way I did with play sand?

 

[minnnt]

Yeah. It's not as bad as play sand, but still needs rinsing.

 

[snake007]

This is what im looking at getting but it looks like it has miny little stones in there, will this be fine?
http/www.seapets.c...arine-sand.html

Also will this fill a whole 48 inches?

 

[minnnt]

I would say 3 or 4 bags... Costly...

 

[snake007]

so much for my budget.
I would of gone play sand but I would like black sand, Is there a cheap alternative?

Perhaps small black gravel?

 

[minnnt]

Unipac Limpopo is a darker sand substrate. (It's in my Vicenza planted journal) I paid £20 for 25kg which was enough to fill my 4ft to about an inch and a half.

Unipac Black 2-3mm gravel is what i used in my planted Puffer tank. Have a look and see what you think. That is £30 for 25kg at my LFS.

 

[snake007]

First thing I see is this http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/unipac-black-micro-aquarium-gravel-125kg-p-3793.html

I like the look of it but its a smaller bag to the one you got, all the gravel and sand in my lfs are really expensive.
Is it worth buying a few of those or look for a bigger bag?

 

[minnnt]

Thats the stuff. Tis very nice indeed.

2 of them would probably be ok if you used some rocks etc as well.

£4 more than what it is at my lfs... Sup to you.

 

[snake007]

Im going to go with that, Looks wicked

Going to do a journal as well in march, and you can have as many pictures as you want

Thanks for recommending that