Woohoo

First topic message reminder :

Just scored a 29 g w hood, filter, heater, gravel vacuum, and extras for $25 on craigslist . Now what to put in it? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Can yellow labs or blue dolphins go in a 29?

Fern wrote:

If you are on a tight budget theres cheap ways to do planted tanks.

That would be me, lol

Read my '240g tank with sump- the redneck way' I went into some detail on how to prep the dirt and what sand I used, thats the method I do in all of my planted tanks, takes some effort but is a whole lot cheaper than buying all the funky planting stuff from the lfs.

I've used one on a 10 gal for over a year. I used black netting and a black rubberband so it blends in. I like the netting because it's easy to clean and cheap to replace if needed. Do you know what brand and model filter it is? Find the companies website and email them they may send you the part.

My NPT (natural planted tank) was a cheap redneck way for a 55 gal. potting soil and river rock from Lowes under $10 and filled 2 55 gal tanks.


Double post shoot me guys.

I top mine with sand and boil the dirt. Still about the same price.

There are many options for planted tanks. Sand looks great I have that set up in a 10 gal tank.

What happens if you don't boil the dirt?

as long as there is no additive or bark filled nothing . Do not use soil with additive and if there is bark you will get tannin water if you do not boil it.

Ok, another bummer, my wife wants to do colored gravel

vampyrekrab wrote:

Ok, another bummer, my wife wants to do colored gravel

yeah but if the wife is not happy then no one is happy lol.

Holey Rock of Texas wrote:

vampyrekrab wrote:

Ok, another bummer, my wife wants to do colored gravel

yeah but if the wife is not happy then no one is happy lol.

exactly!! lol

boiling dirt? Is my wife cooking again?

redfishray1968 wrote:

boiling dirt? Is my wife cooking again?

that was wrong! funny as heck, but wrong!

soup ready!

I did sand in one of my tanks (30 gallon), and I will NEVER do it again.

Yes, it looked GREAT and really natural, but it ate up my magdrive in my filter with in 2 weeks.

I have freshwater eels, earth eaters, and frontosa, and I have found that the best substrate for them is medium course chicken grit. You can get it at Agway, Farm stores etc. All it is is crushed granite. Does not hurt the fish, and doesn't hurt the water params.

Excuse the crappy photo, but this is what it looks like in a tank.

Thanks for the heads up mshill, but none of that matters as my wife took over the creative aspect of MY new tank . I'll post pics in another thread. It went from natural which is what i wanted to Petcorific!!

vampyrekrab wrote:

Thanks for the heads up mshill, but none of that matters as my wife took over the creative aspect of MY new tank . I'll post pics in another thread. It went from natural which is what i wanted to Petcorific!!

D-I-V-O-R-C-E

Sound like another man wants his man cave filled with tanks. my cave woman stay out ahg!

FishVixen wrote:

as long as there is no additive or bark filled nothing . Do not use soil with additive and if there is bark you will get tannin water if you do not boil it.

I do it to sink and sterilize it.

The crystal sands brand silica pool filter sand is pretty coarse so it's hard for fish to get it stirred up and into the filter. I can pretty much vacuum it like you would gravel.

good to know Fern, Thanks