is 7mm Dorset pea gravel OK?

[kevfiz]

is 7mm Dorset pea gravel OK for a tank?

 

[fluttermoth]

Depends what fish you're thinking of keeping...

 

[kevfiz]

was going to start of with cardinals I am new to this. someone said to me Dorset pea 7mm is no use and the food gets under it and roots that I need 3mm think Is I already bought the 7mm. what you reckon?

 

[fish48]

give it a good wash/ rinse. 7mm is as good as any

 

[Byron]

This 7mm is I believe what we refer to as "pea gravel," since the grains are roughly the size of a shelled pea. I would not use this myself, for what you intend, but it does have its uses. The advice about the chunks of food and detritus is well taken, and this is the major drawback of pea gravel (aside from fish concerns which I'll come to momentarily); finer grain substrate is better to develop a good biological bed in the aquarium.

River or stream tanks replicating the Indian sub-continent and Central America/Mexico can be very authentic with pea gravel. I've also used it in an amphibian plaudarium/vivarium.

If you intend fish like cardinal tetra, you may decide to have cories. Sand would be the substrate for these, so I would plan ahead. Play sand is very inexpensive; I have it in all my 8 tanks now, and wish I'd made the change long ago.

Byron.

 

[Rayw]

This 7mm is I believe what we refer to as "pea gravel," since the grains are roughly the size of a shelled pea. I would not use this myself, for what you intend, but it does have its uses. The advice about the chunks of food and detritus is well taken, and this is the major drawback of pea gravel (aside from fish concerns which I'll come to momentarily); finer grain substrate is better to develop a good biological bed in the aquarium.

River or stream tanks replicating the Indian sub-continent and Central America/Mexico can be very authentic with pea gravel. I've also used it in an amphibian plaudarium/vivarium.

If you intend fish like cardinal tetra, you may decide to have cories. Sand would be the substrate for these, so I would plan ahead. Play sand is very inexpensive; I have it in all my 8 tanks now, and wish I'd made the change long ago.

Byron.

I am very interested In the play sand idea. How do you keep it clean? I use a fluval vac to clean my gravel. Afraid the sand would mess it up. But if not then I may try it in my new tank I'm thinking about doing.

Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk

 

[Byron]

I am very interested In the play sand idea. How do you keep it clean? I use a fluval vac to clean my gravel. Afraid the sand would mess it up. But if not then I may try it in my new tank I'm thinking about doing.

Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk

I run the water changer "vac" over the top of the open areas of sand in some of my tanks, while in others rarely. I did much the same when I had gravel. There is no need to dig down into the sand. The detritus that accumulates in the substrate is a necessary part of a healthy biological system. Various species of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria break the organics down. Provided the aquarium is not overstocked with fish, water changes are regular (weekly, 50% or so), fish are not overfed, and the sand bed is not too deep (varies, can be 1-3 inches), you will not have issues with sand over gravel. Quite the opposite actually, as sand provides a better bacteria bed.

Byron.