Pea Gravel / Shingle As A Base

[Matt75]

Hi there,
 
Thinking of a pea (10mm) base for my tank, mixed in with a patches of sand - after shamelessly covetting Biohazard156's TotY 2012 winner as a concept. Even though its considered a 'small' tank for 320L and I've got a 125L*.
 
Now - has anyone used 'ordinary' pea shingle / gravel and rinsed it through prior to usage to make sure its dust / bug free ?
 
Thanks !
 
M
 
* Soft tested the idea of a 180l bow front to the other half this morning and got skype shouted at at the very concept. This might take a while....

 

[the_lock_man]

I feel your pain, my friend, my wife has a similar view to additional tanks. If you discover the secret, please let me know!
 
BUt, to answer your question, no reason why you shouldn't use it. If you want cories or plecs, though, they do prefer send, but can be ok with pea gravel, where all the edges are smooth.

 

[Matt75]

Thanks TLM.
 
She has a reasonable argument I have to confess. Especially as the 125L has been in situ for less than a week and was bigger than the permitted / agree size (we were going 90L apparently). So...she may have a point that I'm taking over the house without stabilising the current stock.
 
We're going from a 60L to the 125L and a 20L with the Betta going into the 20L. I've got sand in the 20L to try it out but Bios blend of pea and sand looks amazing.
 
I'm rehoming two big plecs that came with the 125L at the moment, thanks to help from Fluttermoth in identifying, but I'd love a more tank appropriate one in the future. The chap taking mine has some bristlenoses looking for permanent homes and I'm tempted to look at one, however, wondering if still too big for my tank and if a clown is the max I can hope for at sub 5 inches.
 
So its the plecs / my current bronze corys thats leading me away from standard gravel (which I suspect is easier to manage but not kind current stock) and the pure sand I'm not sure of for the cleaning routine into a more balanced blend.
 
Then of course, I was in Malvern Aquatics yesterday for Plec Tablets + Odds N Sods and met my first tank crusties -> black crabs ! Very cool little critters.
 
{edit to ident my pleco saviour correctly}

 

[Lunar Jetman]

Isn't 10mm a bit big for small fish like Corys? Surely you want something no bigger than 5mm. I think anything large looks too out of place in an aquarium with small fish.

 

[fluttermoth]

Personally, I wouldn't try mixing sand and gravel; they won't stay separate, and all the sand will end up underneath the gravel!
 
If you want to keep cories, go with the sand; it's really no trouble, although you will need to get the 'knack' of cleaning it without sucking up too much sand; even if you do, you can just tip it back in though

.
 
 
I'm fluttermoth, btw; emo kid's just my 'undername', like yours is 'new member'

 

[Matt75]

Sorry, I realised that and now resolved

 
Hmmm. Clearly more thought needed on this topic.
 
I've got small gravel in the tank right now, but its frankly awful (red and black  -

  - like crushed dartboards!) - that looks around 5mm though. Moving to a sand base with fish in is going to take me a while though, and will inevitably lead to red / black pebbled sand !
 
Advice from the store was to stir the top with a fork or stick and then when the sand starts to drift down hoover up / net the floater waste as they'll take fraction longer to settle again -> that part of the knack ?

 

[Lunar Jetman]

Sorry, I realised that and now resolved

 
Hmmm. Clearly more thought needed on this topic.
 
I've got small gravel in the tank right now, but its frankly awful (red and black  -

  - like crushed dartboards!) - that looks around 5mm though. Moving to a sand base with fish in is going to take me a while though, and will inevitably lead to red / black pebbled sand !
 
Advice from the store was to stir the top with a fork or stick and then when the sand starts to drift down hoover up / net the floater waste as they'll take fraction longer to settle again -> that part of the knack ?

Have you considered getting the same sized but natural coloured gravel rather than what sounds like artificial coloured stuff?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Sorry, I realised that and now resolved

 
Hmmm. Clearly more thought needed on this topic.
 
I've got small gravel in the tank right now, but its frankly awful (red and black  -

  - like crushed dartboards!) - that looks around 5mm though. Moving to a sand base with fish in is going to take me a while though, and will inevitably lead to red / black pebbled sand !
 
Advice from the store was to stir the top with a fork or stick and then when the sand starts to drift down hoover up / net the floater waste as they'll take fraction longer to settle again -> that part of the knack ?

 
 
Not exactly... Holding the siphon a little above the sand with very small circular motions will actually cause the lighter detritus to just move along the surface and up the tube - a bit of the very lightest sand can be picked up this way, but not much.  Its actually pretty easy - just takes a bit of practice - and constant monitoring of what you are doing, which you should always do anyway - so as to not suck up a fish (or fry, in the eventuality that mating may take place).

 

[Matt75]

Yes - I think looking at it its sub 5mm stuff, will need to sample size some but looks 3-5mm in sizing.
 
Whats the right size for small plecs / cories in your opinion(s) ?
 
I've been looking at 1mm, but wondering if I should look at sand instead.
 
I have to confess, I never thought that substrate could be such a big area of uncertainty for me !

 

[Lunar Jetman]

If you're going 1mm you might as well just get sand. I think mine about 3-5mm and my Corys are fine. Plecos will be more interested in any wood you have than poking around in the gravel.

 

[fluttermoth]

Personally, after switching from gravel to sand for my cories, I wouldn't ever keep them on gravel again. I know many people do keep them successfully on smooth gravel, but it's part of their natural behaviour to snuffle through the substrate, and it seems a shame not to allow them to do that.