Sand & gravel mix?

kim68048

Hi! I have a 55 gallon planted community tank with angelfish, platys, mollies, tetras and 3 Virginiae corys (and probably eventually BN pleco). The substrate is sand but I am thinking I would prefer the bottom to be darker as it looks kind of washed out. I have been doing some reading on the option of mixing some gravel I have in with the sand and see different opinions on it. Anyone have any thoughts/suggestions? Would it be better to leave as just sand for the corys? Still undecided on the background. I am also adding a nice big red flame sword plant tomorrow for some color. Maybe that will help
Thanks!

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AK Fresh Water

Sand is the best substrate, especially for corys.

cwmorrow

Your tank and plants look great, I wouldn't mess with it.

What fertilizer do you use for your plants in sand?

Sanguinefox

I have several sand loving loaches and ran into no problems when I mixed in a bag of eco-complete plant substrate by Carib Sea. It really comes down to it you like the look of the mix.

It looks good for now though and you may not get much of a benefit from messing around. If your plants seem to do well enough keep it as is. Make sure you at least dose with a liquid fert though.

kim68048

Thanks cwmorrow & Sanguinefox : ) I have been using Flourish Ecxel Organic Carbon (once daily) & Flourish Comprehensive Supplement (once/week). I have some root tabs that I plan on starting tomorrow. Attached is a more recent picture of the tank. I have cut down the large Red Flame sword on the left as it was bigger than I thought when I bought it. I'm thinking of gradually adding some more gravel and sand. Liking the combo of both sand and gravel so far.

Attached Images

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LADY K

tank looks great.

Freshcatch

The tank looks great with the rock and sand combo!