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ive only had this tank up and running about 2 weeks and the gravel is already dirty.its kinda brown stuff.what elese can i use for a ground cover?

If you mix with some of the gravel that is varigated it will be quite white from a distance but the waste wont show as much.

I know this as I had a SA cichlid tank with varigated substrate and added white grit to convert the tank to African cichlids. It looks light.

All the best for your tank. Hope you get just as you love it asap.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

Thats a real good idea. Mixing white gravel with red gravel, gives the tank a very nice look. Try to make sure the size of gravel is similar. 2:1 ration of RED and WHITE, looks GREAT !!!

Hi,
There are several reasons for the white gravel to turn
brown.

Age is one. As the gravel ages, it will be come stained
by bacteria, algae, or organics in the water. Yours is
just two weeks old, that's probably not the reason.

Depending upon what the gravel is - is it a carbonate,
such as crushed coral, crushed limestone, or crushed
dolomite? If so the brown stuff is probably an outbreak
of diatoms. This is normal in a new tank. Increasing
the light (it thrives in poor light) or adding some
algae eating fish will resolve that problem.

Lastly, it could be just plain "dirt." The bottom of the
tank should be cleaned weekly. You should mentally
divide the tank into thirds or into quarters, and each
week clean, with a Python or something similiar, a portion
of the tank. That will eliminate the fish waste, excess
fish foods, and any dead or dying plant material.
Regular vacuuming will keep your white gravel white for
much longer.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

frank,i may just take the white gravel out and redo the whole tank,mabey with the play sand ive seen alot of people talk about this.

the tank doesntlook anything like i wanted it to,its only about 3 weeks old and i have 7 neon tetras,and 1 srab and two bala sharks,..by the way any other fish suggestions?

thanks for your help

dolphinfan, not to get off topic, but what size tank is it that has a bala shark. They're schooling fish that require a 125 gallon tank as a minimum.

If you do decide to go with play sand you will need to fully understand the different requirements it has.... Many people have switched over to playsand without the proper research and ended up with a mess or dead fish or both on their hands (well in their tanks really but you know).

I'm of course very pleased with the sand in my tank, and think it's great for certian aquascapes.

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how can i put a pitchure of what im talking about here?

Have a look @ [link=this thread]http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/The%20Recovery%20Room/32301.html?200403032150" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link] dolphinfan.

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