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I'm a new freshwater tank owner . . . It's still in the setup stages (no fish yet).

What kind of gravel is recommended. Someone at my local fish store recommended Seachem Tital marine substrate.

Any thoughts?

Bev

Most marine substrate has shells in it. For a freshwater tank, that's usually not good, unless you're going for rift lake cichlids. The best substrate is just washed gravel you can get at any pet store. Most of it is epoxy coated and won't interfere with your water chemistry at all. Best of all, it's the cheapest. I prefer natural colored gravel, but you can find it in a wide assortment of colors as well. Well-rinsed playground sand is also good, but it takes time to settle.

I like pea gravel just got about 70-100 pounds of it and put it in my 29 and 10gall.. but what kind of fish do you whant?

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I have a couple of black moors in another too-small tank which is why I bought the 20 gallon . . . .I'll probably add a couple / few more of the goldfish variety.

A good substrate must be clean, and not too fine. A nutural colour is usually the best unless you are experienced and wish to do special aquasaping. The best size is 1mm-3mm this is ideal for live plants. The depth should also be a as close to 3ins as possible.

Visit as many LFS as possible also read lots and lots of information ther is plenty of free info around. Finally ask plenty of question remember there is no such thing as a silly question.

What type of fish are you interested in?

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Keith

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just a note on ur stocking,

2 goldfish are way overstocked for a 20 gallon, so i wouldn't think of getting any more.

while black moors will not grow like a koi or comet, they will still get around 8 + so a 20 gallon isn't enough for them or other goldfish.

Most goldfish get too large for a 20g. They need atleast a 55g and thats only for a couple.

I don't think goldfish are good with plants. I think they like to eat or destroy them, so I'd go with a non-planted tank (or fake plants). You can use colored gravel if you wish, but usually the outside color coating will peel off over time and turn the water that color, so its best to go with natural colored gravel.

I like the small ~2-3mm natural gravel from Walmart. I get mine from the fish section, but Blazeybird got his from the garden section in a bigger bag, that was cheaper.

I wouldn't use the marine substrate unless you are going to keep cichlids that require a higher pH.

I'd really consider trading the goldfish in for some smaller tropicals. Goldfish will really outgrow that tank and anything smaller you have them in.

*Kristin*