CaribSea "instant" aquarium substrates?

[AmyLynn]

Anybody have good luck with these? Not with the cycling, just with it in general. Any problems with the filters?

I ask because I just bought 2 bags for the 29gallon for my future shellie tank. I decided to use part of it for my 5 gallon beta tank and made the switch today. It is dirty dirty dirty stuff. And so light weight and super fine I'm afraid the filter is going to suck it up.

Is there a better way to use this stuff? Or am I worrying needlessly?

Edited to add a link to it: Sunset Gold (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+10742+21412&pcatid=21412)

[MCHRKiller]

It will settle out and be fine :22: The insta-clear stuff they provide with the substrate works great at clearing it up. I almost bought the Suset Gold for my 150G but opted for the Torpedo beach as it was a tad larger grained. But anyway, it should be heavy enough not to mess with your filters...it is a finely crushed quartz not an actual sand. Plants also love these lightweight fine substrates, just give them some root tabs.

[AmyLynn]

It's finally clearing up. But OMG what an ugly orangey mess. LOL I do eventually want to give Naughty betta some plants too so good to know on that. Thanks :thankyouyellow:

Another thought.......... Will this stuff be TOO fine for the shell-dwellers? Do I need to change to something like the torpedo beach?

[Taurus]

Whoops, I spoke to soon. The 29g is reserved.

[AmyLynn]

Whoops, I spoke to soon. The 29g is reserved.

Good try though! LOL

[Taurus]

Keep trying for that 75g. :ssmile: LOL..I'm such a trouble maker.

[AmyLynn]

a 75 would be wonderful and is definitely on the someday list. LOL

[Taurus]

Do shellies need crushed coral as substrate?

[AmyLynn]

Everything I've read says sand is the best since they like to move and rearrange it. But I found a small bag of crushed coral on ebay that I may mix in with the sand. I have high pH and hardness already, but that should help keep it stable for them.

[Aydreean]

I posted a thread about this exact thing a couple of days ago. Should have just simply searched.

About settling though...

I just upgraded my 10 gallon to a 55 and put in the sand. It is just a mess but I can see it slowly buy surely clearing it. I took everything out of the 10 gallon so still have all the bacteria including the gravel.

If I can see the water clearing up but it's still cloudy, can I add my cichlids? pH is at exactly 8 right now and the water besides being cloudy is conditioned.

[AmyLynn]

I posted a thread about this exact thing a couple of days ago. Should have just simply searched.

About settling though...

I just upgraded my 10 gallon to a 55 and put in the sand. It is just a mess but I can see it slowly buy surely clearing it. I took everything out of the 10 gallon so still have all the bacteria including the gravel.

If I can see the water clearing up but it's still cloudy, can I add my cichlids? pH is at exactly 8 right now and the water besides being cloudy is conditioned.

First off..... you'd be better off posting that question in a new thread instead of my old one.

Second............. is your tank cycled? If you don't understand cycling you need to read the free e-book listed in the menu to the left.

Good luck :ssmile: