Gravel

[squirrel1973]

Hi all,
I have just bought our new tank and decided to get the bright pink gravel. I washed it for a long time and put it in the tank. However there was pink scum floating on the water and it smelt (like highlighter pens!!) so this evening I decided to take all the water out and clean the gravel again. I have spent 2 hours cleaning it with a powerful hosepipe and have put it all back in the tank and refilled the water. sadly though the pink scum is still there and I am really worried that I will buy fish and kill them off because of the gravel.
Does anyone else know if this stuff is ok? All the tanks in the pet shop had the same stuff and the fish all seemed ok.. am I being silly?

grateful for your help.

J

 

[mlawson]

Please don't use coloured gravel.

It may seem like a good idea at first, but you'll soon come to realise
that it will look taccy and a more natural looking substrate will suite better.
The other downside is that it is stressful for fish and they will not act normally
in those surroundings.

They are also a pain to clean, and if you wash it too much you may pull off the
covering paint. The pet shop is obviously not very good if it is keeping fish in those
surroundings, it is vital to keep a stress free environment while being quarantined.

Try to stick to a more natural type such as pea gravel.

 

[raptorrex]

Please don't use coloured gravel.

It may seem like a good idea at first, but you'll soon come to realise
that it will look taccy and a more natural looking substrate will suite better.
The other downside is that it is stressful for fish and they will not act normally
in those surroundings.

They are also a pain to clean, and if you wash it too much you may pull off the
covering paint. The pet shop is obviously not very good if it is keeping fish in those
surroundings, it is vital to keep a stress free environment while being quarantined.

Try to stick to a more natural type such as pea gravel.

its a valid opinion, but not one i agree with, i.ve seen many different colourds in tanks. and my blue gravel is no harder to keep clean than the peagravel i used before. but its just a matter of taste.

 

[TerraDreamer]

I have to agree with mlawson. I've been in a lot of lfs and I've yet to see one use colored gravel, and I wince each time I see a photo of a tank with hot pink or other colored gravel.

IMHO natural gravel is always best, especially for appearance sake.

 

[freshwaterfishlover]

I have green, blue and white gravel and the white is the hardest to keep clean.

If I am right, I think I know what your talking about. In a day it will be gone.

 

[Htw]

Coloures gravel seems to vary. Some seems to actually be that colour, so to speak, and I imagine is dyed. I've used this and it seems fine.

The other seems to be actually coated on the outside with a colour. i had this supplied with a tank and used it. This is the one that smells horrible, and the smell doesn't seem to go away. When you lift up the tank lid, it hits you!! This is the one to avoid. It comes in garish colours as opposed to the more subtle dyed stuff. I can't imagine what must be leaching into the water if it smells so bad! Poor fish!

 

[raptorrex]

Coloures gravel seems to vary. Some seems to actually be that colour, so to speak, and I imagine is dyed. I've used this and it seems fine.

The other seems to be actually coated on the outside with a colour. i had this supplied with a tank and used it. This is the one that smells horrible, and the smell doesn't seem to go away. When you lift up the tank lid, it hits you!! This is the one to avoid. It comes in garish colours as opposed to the more subtle dyed stuff. I can't imagine what must be leaching into the water if it smells so bad! Poor fish!

yuk!! but its far from clear the colours surrounging fish, have any effect on them! as far as i know. indeed fish seem to be blind to reds. so whilst its fine to give the nautral look to a tank. there is no ill effects to the fish if your tank is neon! providing the fish are well kept, why cant someone express them selfs in their tank? if neon pink and gold are your thing, so what, you keep your fish well that should be good enough! IMO

 

[Htw]

I wasn' t referring to the colour of the gravel affecting the fish. I'm sure the fish are'nt bothered. I only used the word 'garish' to distinguish it from the other type.
However if your gravel has been coated with a substance to colour it and this gives off a very chemical smell through the water, I can only assume this chemical will be in the water that the fish is swimming in. Doesn't sound very healthy to me.
If you want to use it that's fine. I am only going by my own experience. Yes I have had the non coated gravel in my tank in a nice shade of blue and liked it very much. But then it didn't smell horrible.