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[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

d

 

[Fishmanic]

Hint hint
FOTM for catfish mid October
TOTM 31 gal & larger for
November

 

[Back in the fold]

Hint hint
FOTM for catfish mid October
TOTM 31 gal & larger for
November

Ever the promoter .

 

[GaryE]

If you use acrylic paint and dislike it, removing it with a painter's razor blade is no effort and really quick. Spray paint is another story.

The outside of the glass won't hurt the silicone. If it did I would be knee deep in water right now.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

d

 

[Wills]

This is sounding like its on a great track Really glad you are going for a natural sand rather than grey with dragon stone I think it looks really natural.

I've been substrate shopping today actually I was going to go for a Wio sand but it was super super fine so I've come away with some Hugo Kamishi grey quartz sand, not the super fine grade but it is very fine. Going to use it in my big tank too. The Unipac Fiji is a nice colour with dragon stone and comes in a few grades and a gravel, so you could get the fine stuff for most of the substrate and get a small bag of the gravel to add a bit of detailing between the rock/wood and the sand.

Wills

 

[mbsqw1d]

The only essential hardscape I already have is this wood piece I got for cheap when my LFS closed down (sadly...) specifically with my plecos in mind. I knew they'd love the cave like curved bit as a hideaway, which is uneven and dimpled and works brilliantly as a pleco hide, and Ziggy went straight for it when I put him in the tank! lol. I also glued a buce and a Hyrophilia pinnatifida to it, so it has to stay for Ziggy and the plants.
View attachment 165309
Not a great photo I'm afraid, but was trying to grab shots of something else when he came into the open. You can just about see Ziggy on his wooden cave


Then I have my Bolbitis heudelotii glued to that chunk of dragonstone, and I also have a decent amount of dragonstone, so think I'll stick with dragon stone for the new set up since rock work isn't cheap, and I don't want it to be wasted after buying it for a tank that only lasted three months!
View attachment 165310

Sorry for terrible photo quality, gotta grab the pic when you can with a pleco, they really don't pose for the camera! Also see on the right how the cories use it as a hidey spot/committee meeting hall;

View attachment 165322

For substrate, since I think I want something lighter, yet still a colour that looks natural, I'm seriously considering Argos play sand. Much cheaper than aquarium sand, 'normal sand' colour, I've seen people like @mbsqw1d (hey dude!) grow beautiful plants successfully in it, and fine enough for cories. Not sure whether it would work well in a layered height scape though?

Also spotted this red sand that appealed to me - but it's labelled for reptiles, and no idea whether it would be aquarium safe... says it's collected from the desert...
View attachment 165325

Also looked at Unipac options briefly.. I really wish the sample photos also showed the sand when it's in an aquarium! Looking at photos online doesn't work at all to show you how it would look in a set up, since it can look wildly different based on computer settings and when it's just a small square close up of the sand. Going to have to visit some stores and see it in person I think. Possibly go for Unipac Maui fine quartz;

View attachment 165327​

Or Unipac aquarium silica sand
View attachment 165329

You've just inspired me to clean the tank out but lights have just gone out,so, in the morning I'll take a pic and find an old one to do a comparison, as the sand has definitely darkened over the years. Play sand is by far the best for corydora in my humble opinion. And yeh, I've never had a problem with a fairly wide range of plants. Root tabs ftw! And if you don't mind mt snails, they do wonders, earthworms of the aquarium. Could also go for the leaf litter approach too so you'd actually only end up seeing a small amount of the substrate once heavily planted and that

 

[mbsqw1d]

This is sounding like its on a great track Really glad you are going for a natural sand rather than grey with dragon stone I think it looks really natural.

I've been substrate shopping today actually I was going to go for a Wio sand but it was super super fine so I've come away with some Hugo Kamishi grey quartz sand, not the super fine grade but it is very fine. Going to use it in my big tank too. The Unipac Fiji is a nice colour with dragon stone and comes in a few grades and a gravel, so you could get the fine stuff for most of the substrate and get a small bag of the gravel to add a bit of detailing between the rock/wood and the sand.

Wills

Hey Wills how's tricks? Have you a tank thread on the go too? I've got some catching up to do

 

[Essjay]

I have Unipac Samoa fine sand in my main tank. It's a lot lighter in colour than the photo on Unipac's website. It has one of the smallest grain sizes that Unipac make but I would call it fine gravel not sand. I have some spare so I'll put some in water and take a photo for you tomorrow, and include a tape measure so you can judge grain size. I don't have cories or other bottom dwellers, so I don't mind that the grain size is larger than what I call sand.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I have Unipac Samoa fine sand in my main tank. It's a lot lighter in colour than the photo on Unipac's website. It has one of the smallest grain sizes that Unipac make but I would call it fine gravel not sand. I have some spare so I'll put some in water and take a photo for you tomorrow, and include a tape measure so you can judge grain size. I don't have cories or other bottom dwellers, so I don't mind that the grain size is larger than what I call sand.

n

 

[Wills]

Hey Wills how's tricks? Have you a tank thread on the go too? I've got some catching up to do

Yep good thanks - 2 tanks on the go getting a third on bank holiday Monday Rescaping the 600 today/tomorrow.... its a long process.

Wills

 

[Essjay]

Unipac 'aquarium silver sand' is the finest they do. The other sands are much coarser. You mentioned Maui and silica sand, and they are both much coarser than their silver sand (both types).

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

This is sounding like its on a great track Really glad you are going for a natural sand rather than grey with dragon stone I think it looks really natural.

I've been substrate shopping today actually I was going to go for a Wio sand but it was super super fine so I've come away with some Hugo Kamishi grey quartz sand, not the super fine grade but it is very fine. Going to use it in my big tank too. The Unipac Fiji is a nice colour with dragon stone and comes in a few grades and a gravel, so you could get the fine stuff for most of the substrate and get a small bag of the gravel to add a bit of detailing between the rock/wood and the sand.

Wills

b

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I did chuckle a bit when I saw what you said about using some gravel to do detailing between the rockwork and fine sand - you're not really a cory keeper, are ya... I do love how some aquascapers do that, and it looks gorgeous in your tanks!! But cories have no respect for the scape and will have spread that gravel everywhere on the first day...

@Wills After I said that, turns out I may be wrong! Well not about the cories shifting it all - they would, but I went to Maidenhead's website and saw this stuff;

Obviously just for detailing, not all over. Might be a pain to keep clean though, but doesn't look sharp, and could work as detailing between the sand and the dragonstone, that isn't easy for the cories to knock everywhere and mix into the sand? Just an idea!

The Samoa gravel is really growing on me, although I find the photos of all of the unipac gravels look a bit different, colour wise, depending on what site you go to. Really want to see the sands in person, but going to be difficult or impossible to do that... Stores near me are Maidenhead and Pets at Home, and it seems from their website choices that they only sell their own sand/gravel products, right? So wouldn't have any Unipac in store?

 

[Naughts]

Soft Play Sand 20kg

Soft Play Sand. Fine grade silica sand, ideal for playing in the garden. Make sand castles and more. Size: 20kg (Approx.) - B&M Stores.

www.bmstores.co.uk

This one is a slightly darker and warmer colour than Argos. A fair bit cheaper too.