# mixing substrait



## wicca27 (Oct 13, 2008)

i was wondering. im wanting a black substrait and was thinking of sand. but wont it compact without using mts? could you put a sand border and black gravel in the middle (would help the roots spred) and top with sand. do you think this would work with out using mts to keep the sand loose


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

wicca27 said:


> but wont it compact without using mts?


Probably, but it depends on how small the sand grains are. Smaller = it will compact more easily.



wicca27 said:


> could you put a sand border and black gravel in the middle (would help the roots spred) and top with sand.


You could, but gravel isn't the best substrate for plants.



wicca27 said:


> do you think this would work with out using mts to keep the sand loose


It could work, but it depends on how big the grains are, how often you siphon the sand, how many fish you keep (and how much you feed them), and the plants you keep.

You should be careful of sands in general because most of them will leech chemicals or minerals into the water and change parameters that shouldn't be changed. There aren't too many black sands that are safe for freshwater tanks.

Have you looked at eco-complete, Tahiti black moon sand, and fluorite black and dark?


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## bradac56 (May 9, 2007)

Zapins said:


> You could, but gravel isn't the best substrate for plants.


The difference between sand and gravel is 2mm (1mm vs 3mm) nothing else.
As long as you stay in the 1mm to 3mm range your fine.

~
Everything will compact over time even ADA products so it's a matter of not going over three
inches of substrate and to periodically poke your substrate with a stick to make sure you do
not build up gas pockets.

~

You could use a flexible peace of plexiglass between the sand section and the gravel to keep
them apart I've seen several diy projects that do similar things.

- Brad


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## wicca27 (Oct 13, 2008)

i am wanting it for a shrimp tank and have not looked at any yet i will be moving soon and dont plan on setting it up till im setteled just doing research


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