Which Air Pump And Sand(Substrate)! Help!

[fishlover2012]

I am looking for a good air pump for my 20 gallon long tank!!

It must be very quiet! Price is not matter.



Second!! What substrates I can used for my fresshwater tank!!.




Thank you!!

 

[Noahs ark6]

There are two main types of substrate- gravel or sand. I prefer sand as it looks more natural and is easier to keep clean, but the choice is yours. If you prefer bright colours (pink/blue/orange/yellow etc) theres plenty of gravel and sand like that.

Airpump- interpet airvolution pump number 2 here would be sufficient

to the forum!

 

[NeonNeptune]

At pet stores they have many different colored sands. But they are expensive though. 50 pounds of play sand at a hardware store is only like 4 dollars. You can also use pool sand and blasting sand which are cheap and larger grained.
I personally use play sand but make sure you rinse very well, you might spend hours outside rinsing it.

 

[Aquamaniac]

Whatever you like and does not change your water.
I've used:
Gravel
Akadama
silica sand (just same as playsand,pond filter sand)
tesco's catt litter
There is of course more expensive substrates made especially for tanks and especially planted tanks,but those are quite expensive and almost any renowned fishkeeping brand have their own version of substrate.
I tend to think out of the box and search for cheaper alternatives. A 240 liter tank like mine takes quite alot of substrate.
Don't go for the coulored versions as they don't look natural in a tank. By coulour i mean the one's that don't look natural.

As for air pump i never use one. If you have a filter with a good flow and a lot of movement in the surface of the water that alone should provide enough oxigen for your fish.The movement make's the absortion of o2 by the water easier.

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum fishlover2012.

My favorite air pump, in terms of being quiet, is the Rena product line. I would choose one a bit bigger than you expect to need and turn it down as needed to support your tank. It has an adjustment for flow and whenever it is not operated at maximum, I can barely decide if it is running. My best clue is the bubbles, not the noise.

 

[KISSfn]

My favorite substrate is CaribSea's Naturals Tahitian Moon black sand. It's expensive but looks great. I have a Fusion and a Top Fin air pump and they are both silent.