Tank Gravel
#1 Guest_bills79jeep_*
Posted 27 August 2007 - 12:07 PM
Thanks.
#2 Guest_scottefontay_*
Posted 27 August 2007 - 12:18 PM
What are you all using as substrate for your native tanks? I want something that is pretty natural looking, ie- not pink and blue gravel. The more neutral color stuff from the LFS looks ok, but it is expensive! I don't want to spend $50+ on rocks. Are there other options out there? I would like to simulate a local river like the Olentangy or Scioto rivers. Mostly rocky bottoms where I fish.
Thanks.
Get some gravel from the Olentangy or Scioto rivers. Take a collander and wash some gravel or pebbles from a bar. All it costs is your time. You can get a lot in a short time if you find the right spot. If you want to plant the tank you may need some other or additional materials.
#3 Guest_bills79jeep_*
Posted 27 August 2007 - 12:38 PM
#4 Guest_Scenicrivers_*
Posted 27 August 2007 - 12:45 PM
I had considered that, but I wasn't sure about the legality of taking rocks from riverbeds.
It is legal to take cobble, gravel, sand, etc... from a stream or river. Just make sure that when you access the stream or river you have landowner permission.
#5 Guest_fuzzyletters_*
Posted 27 August 2007 - 12:59 PM
#6 Guest_farmertodd_*
Posted 27 August 2007 - 01:28 PM
http://www.farmertod...e_fish_tank.pdf
You could see it with gravel from a stream, and then not remove too much in materials. It's kind of a slippery slope between filling your tank with gravel and gravel mining But this way you'd get the benefit of ecosystem services of some of the critters, while having a natural, attractive substrate that does a lot work for you.
Todd
#7 Guest_fuzzyletters_*
Posted 27 August 2007 - 03:21 PM
#8 Guest_farmertodd_*
Posted 27 August 2007 - 05:35 PM
wow... really nice article. very interesting and illustrative.
Thanks If you'd like to see more on the topic, and haven't found your way there yet... Hop on over to: http://www.farmertodd.com/aquaria.asp
If you scroll down, there's some more pictures, and if you have broadband, there's a lot of video, and I'll be placing more online shortly. Might give you some ideas about things you might like to try
Todd
#9 Guest_seanmc_*
Posted 27 August 2007 - 06:21 PM
I've just setup a 90G tank using Home Depot "Construction Sand" as the substrate (with a handful of river pebbles scattered on top).
There are some pictures of the tank here: "Ontario Lake" themed tank
The link is to another forum, and you'll have to scroll down a bit to get to the pictures.
Note that the theme is "Ontario Lake", not "Lake Ontario", and we wanted the tank to look as natural as possible, which is why I didn't use LFS gravel, "Play Sand" or "Pool Filter Sand", as all of these have uniform grain sizes (and those sands are also uniform color and quite "bleached" looking).
The Construction Sand is only $5/50lb bag at Home Depot, and we used 1.5 bags for the 90G tank (48x18 footprint to about 2.5" deep).
Cheers - Sean
#10 Guest_farmertodd_*
Posted 27 August 2007 - 07:01 PM
Todd
#11 Guest_Irate Mormon_*
Posted 27 August 2007 - 10:37 PM
#12 Guest_bills79jeep_*
Posted 29 August 2007 - 11:26 AM
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