What’s the BEST Substrate? Watch This!

[@danielbarrett6026]

Great video!

[@crystalc9036]

I agree. I have a corner in one of my tanks where I put pea pebble and have to stir it to get out the detritus versus swishing over the part of the tank that is sand to vacuum. I hate that. The pebbles are pretty but considering your fish take them in their mouths I would push it towards the back cause my tank is planted and I like height towards the back or push pebbles away from the front of the glass and cover it all with at least 1.5 to 2 inches of fine gravel like you have in the other tank to give the fish room to sift all they want without causing too much disturbance to the the beneficial bacteria in the gravel.

[@pawelmatus]

The Firemouth is NICE!!!

[@longlifeaqua]

Thanks for shaing the info!

[@michh647]

Thanks. Helpful video

[@scottroberts3881]

Hi Ben, I python/vacuum the Caribisea with it attached to my garden hose therefore not worrying about the sand going down my sink pipes. I have it empty into a bucket out on my lawn therefore catching any loose fine sand in the bottom of the bucket. I use this substrate as it is great for my heavily planted tank. My grass and trees appreciate this rich fertile fish water. I have the best looking rose bushes in the neighborhood.

[@tamera6853]

This one Was So helpful! I'm using crushed Coral, with a small layer of colored gravel. Thank You!

[@HalfManHalfCichlid]

good factual content for those who have to make a choice on substrates. One of the best decisions I have ever made is no (zero) substrate for all my aquariums. Planted aquariums have anubias and java fern attached to stones and driftwood, and plants in pond baskets. The plants do so well that you cannot see the glass bottoms of the aquariums. In my cichlid tank with no plants I have a simulated rock bottom mat from aqua decor with a little gravel and some small stones for the diggers to pick up. I love not having to gravel vacuum, and having the detritus removed from the aquariums via wave makers and filter inlets. My filters are oversized to compensate for any lost beneficial bacteria that would grow in the substrate in a conventional substrate tank.

[@Hanz345]

It's funny. I saw this as a short and I instantly agreed without even watching the whole thing. I only have 2 tanks and I've always regretted using big gravel in one. I was just so cheap and bought a bag of gravel from home Depot. Big mistake. Thanks for the video! Love your stuff.

[@brianp6180]

Ben, try Caribe sea peace river substrate. Similar appearance color wise but much finer. I’ve used it for years and love it. Easy to maintain. Heavy enough to vacuum without loosing it down the drain

[@BenOchart]

Good tip, thank you 😀👍🏻

[@tamera6853]

I use Crushed Coral, and decorate with Glass Cats eye marbles, etc!

[@TheSalient1]

Love those neon tetras

[@tristansfishroom7136]

I use sand almost exclusively for my tanks. Only on select tanks do I use gravel, and if I do it's really small. But sand is just better in many ways, especially for my cichlids.

[@awesomenesss]

In my experience a 2 inch deep sand substrate would hold more amount of Beneficial Bacteria than any other filter media.

[@lots33ml]

Ben, i couldn't agree more. That's been what I've determined also. What is the exact sand in the South American tank.

[@BenOchart]

It’s river rock from Home Depot

[@cherokeemary9654]

I use to use pea gravel but had a koi get a piece stuck in it's mouth had to remove it with tweezers, scared me so since then I only use pool filter sand.

[@BenOchart]

Fish surgeon 😉🤣👍🏻

[@cherokeemary9654]

Thx, I wish so although I would do anything for my babies.

[@todddiedrich9106]

I have multiple tanks with every different substrate the problem with sand it’s harder to vacuum and not pull it out of tank. I sifted play sand with screen to get out smaller sand and bigger sand pieces stay in much easier to vacuum but waste more sand. I love the look of the pea gravel though

[@mikejejenich7116]

Hey ben ! Seems like you read my mind. With your videos. Lol. 🐠. Im getting a 150 gallon delivered next week….. and im torn. On what substrate to use. 🤣. The first one you pointed to….. is what i was thinking……. Now. Im kina leaning towards black diamond blasting sand. Still on the fence. On what im gonna use. 🤣🤷‍♂️

[@BenOchart]

I’m a mind reader, so careful what you think 🤣🤣🤣 I’ve thought about blasting sand but with sand sifters I’m afraid it might be abrasive. Then again I’ve heard from those that have used it that they’ve had no issues. It’s certainly less expensive than CaribSea

[@mikejejenich7116]

@@BenOchart yeah. Still on the fence 🤣

[@Knockoutzone5]

Hey Ben, I checked out your guys fish store in tempe, az (cichlid shack), saw some cool fish. Did not know he was right down the street from me (found him from you mentioning cichlid shack in your vids).

[@BenOchart]

That’s awesome

[@Whips_World]

Speaking for myself and ONLY for myself, I'm going to use substrate 10 times that big (black 3" river rock I'm thinking), mixed with a very small grain gravel to fill in the air pockets. I hate sand. It always looks dirty. I suck it up during water changes no matter how careful I am. My fish often spit it into the filter intakes and ruin them. I thought it would grow my plants better, but it doesn't. The reason I'm looking at 3" river rock is, I'm HOPING the excavators with heartbeats won't be able to rearrange it to their liking as easily as do with sand or gravel.

[@Whips_World]

That said... I do appreciate the content. It's that kind of reasoning that drew me back to trying sand after destroying the plumbing in my basement utility sink and replacing a half dozen canister filters after they "mysteriously" quit working.

[@BenOchart]

The sand will settle low and the top bigger rocks will be a poop trap. An all medium size sand, in a neutral color, will get blown clean by powerheads or Wave Makers and if you have sand sifters like geos you’ll hardly ever have to clean it.

[@Whips_World]

@BenOchart I have earth movers, not sand sifters. I'm not sure which one moves more between the jaguar and the oscar. That's why I was leaning towards bigger rock. I was hoping they wouldn't be able to move it around... not like sand and gravel anyway. Riddle me this, Benman. How do you clean the glass down at that last 1/4 inch without worrying about picking up a grain of sand and then scratching the bajesus out of your glass?

[@Jayr2374]

Been trying to find lapis luster for years Ben . No luck

[@rogerglatzhofer4138]

It's from Cemex in Marina Del Ray, Calif.

[@Jayr2374]

@@rogerglatzhofer4138 wonderful but not helpful in finding it locally

[@roelantjonker4360]

Would work with an undergravel filter....

[@sharongordon1254]

That’s why I am doing what Ben is doing, going with Lapis Lustre!

[@sharongordon1254]

I am a little late to the party, but I have been doing some research on this topic and thought I would share. For sand sifting fish, one expert said to not go above 2 mm max grain size for a rounded type substrate. So I thought I found the perfect sand, which is Caribsea Jungle River sand which is between .5 -1.5 mm in size. To me, this is perfect, because there is a little wiggle room for error, it’s not white, and solves some of the problems you have with finer sand. So I searched the entire US and nowhere is it in stock except for a couple of places that seems to be a scam. So my next best option is Peace River gravel which is 2mm in size. I am not super crazy for the brown and tan color (or white.sand) and the bigger size. So then I came across Lapis Lustre #2-/16. (Pedestrian Deck Coat Grade) 50 lb, which is described as cleaned, kiln dried, rounded crystal-silica Monterey sand. Other brands only come in 100 lbs so I am planning to go with this. I like the medium neutral color. I believe #16 refers to 1.18 mm size. Not sure about the #2. I like this because of the color and it is bigger than pool filter sand. I am planning on making a purchase as some fish stores sells this and appears safe. I have seen something like this being sold for 10 lbs on Amazon for a ridiculous price. So my question for Beni is: what size do you have in your South American tank and does this raise ph?

[@migueleespinosa2632]

Finer grain is better. Less than 3.0 for sure. Love sifting by Cichlids, catfish, gobies and many others.

[@72demon7278]

Lapis Lustre Is that a sandblasting sand

[@814tonyp]

Yes, very clean from the start. Easy to wash and works great for Cichlids in my opinion.

[@BenOchart]

It was me described to me but Tony knows about it.

[@lifewithnikka7440]

Ben, with that fine sand tank, get some wooden kabob skewers, zip tie two or even three or 4 to your hose pointy end down with about an inch to inch and half sticking out from hose. Using small circular motions, you can gently stir up the very top of your sand. It will pull the junk up without loosing your sand...kind of like a whirlwind effect. Just be gentle and patient. You may need two inches of skewers sticking past hose with your size hose....just play with it a bit...until you get it like you want it This works wonders for me and has a bonus of chasing off smaller fish and shrimp if I handle it right...Acts as a guard and makes it harder anyways. It's not fool proof ..but does help. A lot!..and really helps get the sand cleaned out nicely. ☺️☺️☺️

[@migueleespinosa2632]

Replace it Ben. Plainful but best for the fish and you.. Special grade reef sand is a good grain size.

[@BenOchart]

There’s a nice layer of sand under those river rocks. I’ll try opening that up first.

[@TheSalient1]

Ben go ahead and send me on of those geos

[@georgedutra8749]

Hey Ben great video as usual you’ve helped me quite a bit. I’m looking at buying a sun sun 304b I know you’ve had some in the past and I’m looking for your opinion on them? Thanks

[@BenOchart]

I think, when set up and maintained correctly, they are great filters. Here’s an entire playlist all about SunSun canister filters: kzbin.info/aero/PLr8ew8o8WXoCiMWEpBFJFJGxTqJH_MdMg

[@cichlid_kings]

Totally agree sand over gravel if you can. A bit more work to wash the new sand when setting up , however less work cleaning during regular maintenance. And yes it is enjoyable watching the fish sift 😀 As far as color I prefer white 😀 White Aragonite (higher ph tank) & Caribsea Torpedo (lower ph tank) The Torpedo is a mix of small/medium grain and has a mix of off white & brown color. Geophagus Sveni like it well 😎

[@JustMyFish]

I use pool filter sand with a bottom layer of mulch media made up of leaf litter and peat. I never have to vacuum the tank it takes time establish but once dune its pretty much self cleaning. 👍

[@ponygirl1624]

Great topic Ben. The longer i keep fish the further I get away from gravel and move towards a finer substrate . Fish seem to appreciate it!

[@zgoalscorer10]

ceramic balls as substate for flowerhorn tank instead of bare bottom?

[@BenOchart]

Go bare bottom. A lot of waste will get trapped in between ceramic balls.

[@Awakendabeast13]

Great vid i almost went with sand but kept thinking about vacuuming now i just need a good brand?

[@BenOchart]

Can’t go wrong with CaribSea

[@Jerry-lj3cf]

Hey Ben I need to ask you a question what fish would you add to a 75 gallon tank with a mating pair of turquoise severam and 5 clown loaches the severam are about 4 to 4.5 inches big. Thanks 😊.

[@BenOchart]

Dither fish like a school of 6 Red Hook Silver Dollars. When the severums pair up and lay eggs you’re going to need fast fish that can stay out of their way.

[@djsuss552]

Just set up my third tank with sand. First time using it, so a bit of a learning curve to vacuum that compared to gravel. But I think it gives more species options for the tank, as not all species do well on gravel.

[@razinfishes1918]

Oh yes Ben your giving me flashbacks haha had same kind of gravel substrate in all my tanks. So I switched the white sand which I love. With a wave maker position right it pushes all the ditritus in the filters/ overflows. My problem with white sand is over time it turns brown or greenish from algea. So now I am thinking to change to black diamond blasting sand. But that is a huge undertaking with large tanks.

[@paulneuman6021]

I know how much it sucks I have same river gravel & Carribe sea mixed together

[@lochie1981]

Yeah it really does suck. We only use different types of sand now in our tanks. We had gravel in one at one point and it was a pain in the butt to clean. Even our Goldfish love sand. ❤