Hi Cougs,
I live in Brisbane and today I went to a stone merchant, who had excellent black gravel. I bought 2 X 20KG bags of 4mm-5mm gravel, and 1 X 20KG bag of very small 1mm-2mm (and very well cleaned) gravel. I am setting up a 6ft X 2ft X 2ft tank, so I think I have enough, if not it is no drama as he is not too far away and I got it at half the price of some shops I have seen.
He also had slate offcuts (all sizes to make walls/caves), basalt rocks and petrified wood, which look good in tanks as well. I saved a lot of money as aquarium shops are his customers as well, so I just cut out the middle man (and margin). If you can find a stone merchant I highly recommend it. If they do not know much about gravel for aquariums, just look for 4mm-5mm gravel that is rounded instead of sharp. I got the smaller gravel to mix so that the plant roots could bed in a bit easier.
I was at a nursery after the stone merchants and asked them out of interest (I was seeing if I got a bargain) and they only had very small bags. The assistant recommended going to a landscaping supplier so you could try one of them as well.
If you are in Brisbane, I am happy to give you the stone merchants' details.
Also, always thoroughly clean your gravel before putting it in the tank. I will be using a bucket, filling it with a little gravel and some water, swirling it around with my hand, pouring the water out and repeating until clean. Will take a while but it is worth it for the health of the tank and the extra darkness of the gravel.
If anyone has any other suggestions I am keen to hear them as this will be the first time in ten years that I have set up an aquarium.
HTH
James
