Cat Litter And Sand

[quartex2003]

Hi Planted section,

I have just purchased a Fluval Roma 125 and are on a tight budget. I'm on the look out for cheap or free cuttings of plants just so I can see what I can get to grow and what I like he look of but I would also like to have sand in my tank for some Pygmy Corys to dig around in.

I've read about using cat litter as a cheaper alternative to other products so was thinking of a 1cm layer of cat litter capped with about 4-5cm of sand. Would this be correct and is there a particular brand of litter that I should purchase? Also does anyone know what volumes of sand and cat litter I would need to achieve 1cm layer of cat litter capped with about 4-5cm of sand.

Thanks in advance

 

[ian]

The cheap Tesco value cat litter seems to be the weapon of choice at the minute. It needs to be the unperfumed one. You'd only need a couple of bags. They aren't a lot of money. Then play sand would be a good idea if you're on a tight budget. For a 125 you'd probably need about 10kg for a 4-5cm layer. Again a bag of play sand can be picked up for £3-4.

 

[Gav935]

This is the exact cat litter here: http/www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=265235247. It needs a fair bit of rinsing to get all the dust out but works a treat.

 

[StandbySetting]

I've used the Pets at Home one and I am doing currently, It's not baked like the tesco stuff so wont need washing other wise you'll end up with a sludgy mess.

 

[quartex2003]

I've used the Pets at Home one and I am doing currently, It's not baked like the tesco stuff so wont need washing other wise you'll end up with a sludgy mess.

Hi SS

I've just had a quick look on the Pets at Home website and to my surprise there is something like 20 different sorts of cat litter, could you let me know the exact one you recommend.

Many Thanks
Darren

 

[StandbySetting]

This is the one I used:

http/www.petsathome.com/shop/ultra-clumping-cat-litter-5ltr-by-pets-at-home-15277

But I bought a smaller bag from a store.

 

[Shogunblue24]

From the research I did, I found out that the cat litter stuff is moler clay. It's likened by many bonsai enthusiasts to be similar to akadama clay (also used by some aquarium owners), but is considerably cheaper. I initially bought the Tesco cat litter stuff, but accidentally got the perfumed variety! Luckily we have cats so it won't go to waste. As my local Tesco only does the perfumed variety, I decided to just buy it directly from a bonsai website. I'm pretty sure I got mine from here: http/www.bonsai-uk.co.uk/moler-clay-biosorb-bonsai-soil-general-grade-litre-p-1321.html. 40 litres was more than enough for my 180 litre tank. It needed a lot of washing out, but it appears to be working fantastically well in the tank.