i'm thinking of changing the substrate in my tank to pea gravel
does anyone know where to get any locally?

my current substrate is spectra stone gravel and i dont like it anymore

Are you looking for a gravel smaller than regular aquarium gravel? I know a lot of people consider regular aquarium gravel to be "pea gravel". I remember Cavan had some awesome gravel that was in between sand and regular aquarium gravel. It was like the size of the new Red Sea planted substrate.


Tim

ya something like that

I had a very bad experience when I used real Pea Gravel from Lowes. When I started injecting CO2 I had horrible cloudiness and skyrocketing KH & GH. Apparently there were limestone contaminates mixed in w/ the Pea Gravel. The acidity from the CO2 greatly inceased how quickly the limestone was dissolving. Had to empty the whole tank and replace all the substrate; and yeah, it was my largest tank - the 75g. GRRrrrrrrr!

Be very careful choosing any gravels that aren't labeled for aquariums or sure 100% inert.

Estes Company manufactures inert substrates for aquarium use.
http://www.estesco.com/index.html

Their products look similar to the 3M Colorquartz stuff. The main allure in the planted hobby, of the 3M, though, it it's available in dark, solid black.

Some of the substrates are listed as Pebbles and the smaller size ones are called Gravels. The one called Bits of Walnut gravel looks very natural and darker. I think I saw some the last time I was in Elmers, but it's been a while, six months maybe.

Here's a pic comparing Pebbles and Gravel:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ct ... s%20Gravel

Also from the EstesCo website you can also download a catalog that shows a color chart of their Aquarium substrates.

chapons greehouse on streets run rd. sells it for 3.99 per 50# bag. its a tan color.

what's the gravel size? A larger gravel size can sometimes make it more difficult for certain plants to root well.

its a little bigger than a pea. no good for most plants to grow in i guess

runner plants and fine-rooted plants will have a harder time. Not saying they won't grow but you wont get as vibrant growth and possibly some stunting....

im looking for something tan or black, something natural

I can't recall the color of the Shultz aqua plant soil, but that may be an option as well. It's a little bit pricier than Soil Master Select, but SMS is basically unavailable now (Lesco no longer carries it).

That's why I have a personal 50# bag of SMS Charcoal secretly sitting at home

Hahaha how do i still have the last post in this forum?

That SMS bag is open for bidding. Let's start at $100