Recommended substrate for a 20Gal

[Coho]

My son and I are in the process of setting up a 20 gal Tall ( i think they are called) ..we are in no hurry and want to do this very slow and correct..

 

We are a lil confused about the ls and non ls substrate.. If i have read correctly i think we are gonna need about 4 inchs of something on the bottom...does this need to be all live sand or can it be 3 inchs of regular and 1 inch LS..will this seed the other 3 inchs...I am confused...we do plan on going with the 2lbs of rock to 1 gal of water..if that helps..

 

any help in this matter would be much apprciated and we egarly wait any replys..

 

 

Shawn and Brian

Medford Oregon

[Phish]

I would take your 20H (high) back for a 20L (more aqua scapeing) so you have more space, I would suggest picking up 20-30lbs of live sand, I run 20lbs in my 10g, or you could get 'dead' sand and sprinkle like 2-3lbs of LS on top to seed the whole tank, Your rock is fine, but if you go for DSB you should put it all in at once, then with your hand spread the thick layer in the front to the back, like a gradual slope 'shallow' in the front 'deep' in the back, and that would make the tank look cool too.

 

Have fun and dont forget about what lighting you plan to keep, the price of lights are what make most marine aquariums cost a lot of money.

[~_~]

It doesn't really makes a difference.

 

Just do and use whatever looks good to you.

 

You only need a few cups of live sand (actually not even that much) to seed your sandbed, but if you wan't it seeded faster or with more life, then buy more.

 

If you buy some good live rock, then you don't even need to buy any live sand, as that will seed it in time.

 

Oh and btw, some people refer to "live sand" as sand that just has bacteria coated on it (like that live sand in a bag they sell)...others (me) refer to it as sand that has living creatures in it like pods and worms.

[Coho]

Thank you folks for your replys..You have more then answered our question. '

 

I did some checking and it it looks like i have two types of LR in my lil town..Fiji (3.99)and Tonga(7.99)

 

IS there a preferance there?

 

Shawn and Brian..

[Kingpin]

if you got money do a combo.

if your cheap do fiji.

i use fiji and i like it. i never had tongo, but i think it looks awsome.

[Beaker]

Yeah with tonga you're kinda just paying for the look of it. I have all Fiji too, and I'm happy with it. However, if the Tonga was being sold where I bought my LR I probably would have bought a branch to mix things up a bit. I saw a branch of tonga covered with some yellow polyps at the LFS and it looked pretty sweet. Just go with what you and your son like, that's the best advice I can give.

[katydidit]

The fiji rock that I bought was nearly covered in corraline, but maybe it differs from place to place. If you think about it, most of it really depends on how you plan on aquascaping. I bought a 3lb piece of lalo rock (10.99 a lb), I dont know how I'm going to use it once I get corals after the cycle, but it does look cool. Generally, the more expensive the rock, the more likely you will get hitchikers. Just look at it, and you can tell.