GrayLadyPat
01-23-2013, 04:13 PM
I am curious about something I saw and I don't know if it would work in a discus tank, but...
The other night I went to a dinner party at an aquaintance's home that I had not been to before, and they had the cleanest rift valley cichlid tank I have ever seen. I asked them how they keep the sand clean, and they said that the sand isn't really sand...
They had mixed play sand (from home depot) with a clear acrylic polymer that "set" the sand into place when dry. They had mixed it, spread it while it was wet, set in their rocks, and then let it dry for a week. They said that the acrylic is non-toxic, similar to the acrylic bonding agent used to manufacture large tanks, and that the sand makes it look like a substrate but act like a BB tank. Easy to clean, pretty to look at, and no ill effects in the fish. I am not sure how they handled the alkalinity necessary for the cichlids...
I wonder if any of you all had seen anything like this before, and if you would think it's do-able? If so, it might be something I would be very interested in trying. If it would work, one could make little hills and valleys, and the "look" would be much more natural than plain glass, and it might be possible to use other substrate than sand, such as maybe small gravel.
Cheers!
The other night I went to a dinner party at an aquaintance's home that I had not been to before, and they had the cleanest rift valley cichlid tank I have ever seen. I asked them how they keep the sand clean, and they said that the sand isn't really sand...
They had mixed play sand (from home depot) with a clear acrylic polymer that "set" the sand into place when dry. They had mixed it, spread it while it was wet, set in their rocks, and then let it dry for a week. They said that the acrylic is non-toxic, similar to the acrylic bonding agent used to manufacture large tanks, and that the sand makes it look like a substrate but act like a BB tank. Easy to clean, pretty to look at, and no ill effects in the fish. I am not sure how they handled the alkalinity necessary for the cichlids...
I wonder if any of you all had seen anything like this before, and if you would think it's do-able? If so, it might be something I would be very interested in trying. If it would work, one could make little hills and valleys, and the "look" would be much more natural than plain glass, and it might be possible to use other substrate than sand, such as maybe small gravel.
Cheers!