Gravel question

[Lefty469]

I didn't know where to post this.  It's kind of fish and plant related.  I'm looking to put gravel into a new 125 gallon being setup.  Has anyone tried the "Rain Forest" gravel from Lowes?  It says stones are sorted by color and then crushed to size.  I assume that means no dye is used.

TYIA

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Rain-Forest-30-Pound-s/5000894579

[KBOzzie59]

Says "natural stone gravel"  so I would say no dye.  And I will be checking some of that out myself.

[Patrick_G]

I’ve bought this: 

https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lawn-and-garden/landscaping/landscape-rock/7100399

I’m not sure if it’s exactly the same but it looks similar and is $6 for 50lbs. 

[Lefty469]

1 hour ago, KBOzzie59 said:

Says "natural stone gravel"  so I would say no dye.  And I will be checking some of that out myself.

My thoughts exactly. Did you notice the different colors? In the picture of the red vs the pink, the stones look sharper. Would that be something to worry about with bottom dwellers like loaches and Cory's?

[Lefty469]

1 hour ago, Patrick_G said:

I’ve bought this: 

https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lawn-and-garden/landscaping/landscape-rock/7100399

I’m not sure if it’s exactly the same but it looks similar and is $6 for 50lbs. 

That's a deal with looking at, but isn't pea gravel lager in size?

[Eric R]

8 minutes ago, Lefty469 said:

My thoughts exactly. Did you notice the different colors? In the picture of the red vs the pink, the stones look sharper. Would that be something to worry about with bottom dwellers like loaches and Cory's?

Corys seem to do better with just sand. If you plan to keep corys, I'd be sure to keep a large portion of the bottom of the tank covered in sand. I like pool filter sand from ace personally.

[KBOzzie59]

I have eco complete and various other gravels and our loaches and corys are doing fantastic.

 

 

[Lefty469]

Thanks for the help. I'm going to order it up. I'll probably get the plants situated and strong then see how the Cory's respond to it before adding anything else. Then if it doesn't work out it's not too terrible to change out. 

[Eric R]

9 hours ago, KBOzzie59 said:

I have eco complete and various other gravels and our loaches and corys are doing fantastic.

 

 

Well I'll be damned. Thanks for sharing. I do notice that my corys like to dig through sand in search of food, so maybe keep a small part of the tank with sand where you feed them? Seems like they'll do okay though with the gravel, so choose what you think looks good!

[Tanked]

You may want to contact Margo Garden Products  I believe they are the supplier.

https://www.margogardenproducts.com/product-category/gravel/

or

Home Depot is selling Vigoro Pea gravel for $3.48 /.5 cubic ft.  

Internet #202523000

Model #54255

Store SKU #440773

 

[Schwack]

I'd like to replace the white sand in one of my tanks, but haven't really been thrilled with the Black Diamond Blasting Sand I've got in another tank. It's very soft to the touch, perhaps it's too fine, but took forever to settle out and still leaves little bits of "glitter" all over any hardscape in the tank. I've seen Ace Hardware pool sand recommended. How coarse is it? I was sort of hoping to try a bit of a chunky grain this time around.

I'm loathe to buy specifically aquarium substrate these days. The price always feels way out of whack compared to non-aquarium sand/gravel.

Edited April 14, 2021 by Schwack

[Maggie]

I would just suggest any non-aquarium-specific substrate be rinsed extra carefully and examined for any abnormally sharp pieces. 

[Hobbit]

I also would recommend testing whether or not it will leach anything. Get two bowls of water, put a handful of the gravel in one, and let them sit for a few days. Then test the GH. I’m doing that right now with gravel from our yard.

[Patrick_G]

16 hours ago, Lefty469 said:

That's a deal with looking at, but isn't pea gravel lager in size?

I’m not sure. The Lowe’s stuff says .5 and less. 

Here’s the ACE that I have 

[Fishdude]

Jumping in at the tail end of this, but one thing to consider is your budget and the depth of the substrate you plan to have. I really like eco complete but for the sake of dollars and efficiency I've started doing mixed substrate with a combination of Eco complete and pool filter sand. Everytime I'm at the hardware store I can find an opened and half-off bag of pool filter sand, 40 to 50 pounds of it, for like $6. I don't know your budget but I've found that was a big help so that I could put more money into lighting. Similar thing with a tank I set up at my kid's school - it was a 75 and I got pool filter sand so that I could afford to order a Fluval Planted 3.0 light. Just depends on budget and priorities.

Glad to see someone linked the short video of the riverbed with sharp rocks - I've found my cories do fine with just about anything.

[Lefty469]

4 hours ago, Patrick_G said:

I’m not sure. The Lowe’s stuff says .5 and less. 

Here’s the ACE that I have 

 

Cool.  I think I'm going to stop out there this weekend and take a look.   Thanks for the info and picture.

[Lefty469]

4 hours ago, Fishdude said:

Glad to see someone linked the short video of the riverbed with sharp rocks - I've found my cories do fine with just about anything.

Right.  Thanks @ererer for that.  I was worried too about the whole Cory's / Loaches on gravel thing, so I'm really glad I got to see that video.

I usually use eco-complete, but after watching the plant101 videos, I decided I didn't need it, and if I ever do a carpet, I can add some then.

@CoryJust wanted to say thank you for your insight and for sharing your knowledge and thoughts.