The April FOTM Contest Poll is open!
🏆 Click to vote! 🏆
I bought substrate to use!Definitely play sand.
Products designed for "planted tanks" are likely to leach ammonia into the water, some for a long time. Once the ammonia is gone its just expensive sand
So what did you wind up getting?
Imagitarium black sand. I heard it could change ph so what could I do about that
Not sure if it will. that's why I'm going to test first.Do not use this. See if the store will take it back. In the other thread members go into this in a bit more detail. But substrates that change water chemistry can be problematical and risky.
I didn't know when I bought it. I washed it pretty good for 30 mins. Testing the Ph for today and I will check if it does anything but reviews I seen say it's ph neutral so maybe they did something else to cause it or unless they are lying for some reason.oh and btw Seachem Flourite does NOT leach ammonia into the water. The product helps plants, helps Cory's and similar bottom feeders because it is softer and slightly smaller than gravel. it allows for better root growth and is softer on the skin of the fish when foraging. I test the first day without any ammonia (there is ammonia in our tap water so I will see that) and there is no excess ammonia - I go on to add ammonia to cycle the tank - nothing extra leaching. Once it finally cycles there is no spike in ammonia until I do a water change - then the city water causes about a 1-1.5 ppm ammonia spike. I've talked to the City Water Manager and he's looking into it - because it shouldn't be happening.
Always check the reviews on Amazon even if you're buying things locally - you'll get a lot of free advice and experience. Some reported that Imagitarium causes PH level changes (so why did you buy it?) others said they didn't notice any problems. Sometimes it's best to spend a little more money and get a quality product.
But a number of Amazon reviews said they had no problems with this substrate - so you may be just fine. I hope you rinsed and rinsed and rinsed the black substrate or you're going to have a brown cloudy water for ages.
I also put a little of my water into the tank i put my corys in. They look fine after 1 day of adjusting them.Do not use this. See if the store will take it back. In the other thread members go into this in a bit more detail. But substrates that change water chemistry can be problematical and risky.
I didn't know when I bought it. I washed it pretty good for 30 mins. Testing the Ph for today and I will check if it does anything but reviews I seen say it's ph neutral so maybe they did something else to cause it or unless they are lying for some reason.