why is gravel put in fish tanks?? glass pebbles instead?!?
by Aquaboy on Saturday, April 24th, 2010 | 4 Comments
does the gravel in fish tanks serve any purpose or is it just because it looks nicer than a bare bottom?!
i would much prefer to use glass pebbles instead…would this be ok or not?!
Coarser substrates (including pebbles and marbles) are much harder to maintain than finer substrates and are absolutely useless for live plants, as they inhibit root penetration. It is however your choice as to what substrate you use, but I would steer clear of glass pebbles.
Ya there just for show!
A well established aquarium should have gravel, i prefer the natural pea stone, the bacteria builds up and breaks down naturally balancing the nitrite and nitrate levels keeping your aquarium water pristine.
The gravel serves two purposes in the tank, besides decoration. The first is to give the fish an orientation between up and down, and the glass pebbles can do the same thing just as well. The second, and by far the most important purpose, is to provide a place for beneficial bacteria that keep the water from becoming toxic to live. Next to the filter, the largest amount of bacteria is found in the substrate (material at the bottom of the tank). Here, gravel has a definite edge over glass pebbles, because gravel due to its smaller size means the gravel has a much larger surface area for the bacteria to colonize, meaning there are usually hundreds upon hundreds of thousands more beneficial bacteria in a gravel substrate than in a glass pebble substrate.
There is also a problem with glass pebbles eventually wearing down and leaving little pieces of sharp glass all over the bottom of the tank, which can hurt the fish when it rubs against them or worse, swallows some. This can happen with all fish, but is especially problematic with bottom dwellers like Cory Catfish or fish who dig a lot in the substrate like Cichlids.
In short, I don’t think you should use glass pebbles. You should use gravel, or if you prefer sand meant for aquarium use. (Some people also have success using play sand or 3M Colorquartz Grade S sand; to see if the play sand is safe for use put some vinegar on it, if the vinegar bubbles it is unsafe, if it does not it is okay. Colorquartz is always inert, so you don’t have to test that) If you want something round, you could also use smooth round pebbles meant for aquarium use too, which don’t have the problem of leaving extremely sharp fragments about, although they do provide less surface area for the bacteria.