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On_a_dishy
Guest
So, having made every mistake in the fishkeeping book, I have ended up with a 145l tank containing only 6 corys, 1 bristlenose pleco and 2 dwarf gouramis. All other fish went back to my wonderful LFS this morning. The gouramis might be joining them as I turn my attention to cichlids (I have hard water).
I have a gravel substrate which has become mixed with the soil-like substrate (which was supposed to be underneath the gravel but which has combined with it thanks to some vigorous gravel cleaning). The soil has produced some really good, dense plants, but my problem is that I'm falling out of love with the whole gravel thing. I can't ever seem to get it very clean, and although the corys do an excellent job, I know they would prefer sand.
I'm planning to get cichlids eventually but am going to do a deep-clean before then and want to move away from gravel. Does anyone have any alternatives to sand? Would plants grow in sand without the additional soil substrate? Would my pleco be ok with sand? Is sand easy to keep clean? All substrate opinions gratefully received!
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10 mg/l
GH between >7 and >14d
Carbonate hardness between 3 and 6d
pH 7.2
I have a gravel substrate which has become mixed with the soil-like substrate (which was supposed to be underneath the gravel but which has combined with it thanks to some vigorous gravel cleaning). The soil has produced some really good, dense plants, but my problem is that I'm falling out of love with the whole gravel thing. I can't ever seem to get it very clean, and although the corys do an excellent job, I know they would prefer sand.
I'm planning to get cichlids eventually but am going to do a deep-clean before then and want to move away from gravel. Does anyone have any alternatives to sand? Would plants grow in sand without the additional soil substrate? Would my pleco be ok with sand? Is sand easy to keep clean? All substrate opinions gratefully received!
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10 mg/l
GH between >7 and >14d
Carbonate hardness between 3 and 6d
pH 7.2