Substrate Options

[Deep Freeze]

Well I've never kept cichlids from lake tanganyika before so I figured it would give them a try. So my question is what substrate would be ideal for this type of setup? Thanks in advance

 

[Matt_northants]

In a word, sand.

 

[Deep Freeze]

Sorry, I forgot to specify. I know that it was going to be sand, but there are countless varieties of sand and I was looking to see what other shell dwelling cichlid owners would reccommend.

 

[Matt_northants]

You should go for a grain size of 1-3mm

 

[Deep Freeze]

Okay, but of what variety? Crushed coral, aragonite?

 

[ryguy]

and if you like the browner sand you can even get play sand, pool filter sand (white type of sand) though you would have to put someting in the filter to up the pH. there are also black sands now availiable, so it depends on you taste, but in all i do recommend sand as they love it. also crushed coral is know to irritate gills of the cichlids but i have heard of peole using it without problem, and aragonite should be fine as my neighbor uses it and has used it for 20 years with shell dwellers.

 

[CFC]

I use a 50/50 mix of argonite and crushed coral in my Tang set up

 

[Deep Freeze]

Thanks for all of the input people! Aragonite sounds good, but I have heard that it releases calcium into the water which apparently is bad for the cichlids. Is any of that true, or just wrong. Another thing that i'm unsure about is the grain size of aragonite. From all of the aragonite that i've seen, its sized a little smaller than pea gravel and I want some fine sand.

 

[Larissa]

Calcium will increase the hardness of water and in turn the pH, which is good for African cichlids (who naturally come from hard alkaline water) so don't worry about this. It will also increase the buffering capacity of water and make the pH more stable - also good. However, if you want fine sand you should go with silica sand or plain old sand-box sand as aragonite is larger. Keep in mind, silica sand is neutral so it won't alter your water stats. Depending on how hard your tap water is naturally you can decide which type is suitable for your setup. HTH.
-Larissa

 

[Matt_northants]

Its a good thing that it releases calcium carbonate as it increases KH and pH, which are critical parameters for Lake Tanganyika fish. Aragonite comes in lots of different grain sizes the smallest being oolite.

 

[Deep Freeze]

Thanks everyone! I now have all of the info I need. I think I'm going with oolite.

 

[Matt_northants]

Thanks everyone! I now have all of the info I need. I think I'm going with oolite.

IMO oolite is too small a grade, if its too deep you'll end up with compacted anaerobic areas and in places where flow is high it will just get blown away.