eliz Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 My youngsters are upgrading from a 3ft to a 6ft tank which we bought secondhand. They would like to have white gravel, but will need a lot. The guy we bought the tank from told us that there is a place in Matamata that imports the gravel and sells it much cheaper than the LFS. We can't find it, has anyone any ideas please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 If this isn't a marine tank I would advise against white gravel. White goes green very quickly as it gets a nice coating of algae. The fish much prefer dark gravel for camouflage and will never show their true colours against a white substrate. They will be pale as they try to blend in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiverJohn Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Just my 10c worth... I agree with Caryl. IMO you should probably go for a dark gravel. I had a mixture of white & tan gravel and my tank looks heaps better since I added a heap of dark brown gravel. You might be thinking the fish show up better?? I think you will find that the white gravel will actually reflect light straight into the eyes of whomever is looking at the tank actually making the fish harder to see. Hope that helps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eliz Posted January 31, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Great. Thanks for that, they can see the logic. We have the gravel that was in the tank before, which is a mixture of dark stuff (pea gravel) and white. Some of the white is small white chips. We thought at first it was coral sand as there are a few broken shells, but now we don't think it is, but are concerned it might be Aragonite. It was used before for Oscars, but my lot have a Black Ghost Knife Fish, Gourami, Khuli Loach, etc. Would it be a problem if it was, and is there anyway to tell? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 What is the pH of the tank the gravel is in? If it is around 7.0 then it shouldn't be a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted February 1, 2005 Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 Sharp stones and broken shells can be a problem with fish that spend a lot of time on the bottom like your knife fish and loach, they can damage their mouths etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eliz Posted February 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2005 The tank was all dismantled (no water) when we saw it, so we don't know the pH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawi_man Posted February 2, 2005 Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 never seen a place here, if you find it could you notify me?? thanx in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eliz Posted February 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2005 Caryl. Decided to set the tank up and see what happens to the pH. The fish can stay in the old tank for a while longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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