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Cat litter

This is brilliant guys, I am sitting here lmao at how simple an effective this is! Now it has been used by many for a while now any adverse effects?

After reading this thread I now plan on using it in my shrimp tank I am setting up, how deep is recommended and have there been any problems with using it with shrimp to date? I will be using plain old Neo's as a first try with shrimp.

Cheers
 
Danny said:
This is brilliant guys, I am sitting here lmao at how simple an effective this is! Now it has been used by many for a while now any adverse effects?

After reading this thread I now plan on using it in my shrimp tank I am setting up, how deep is recommended and have there been any problems with using it with shrimp to date? I will be using plain old Neo's as a first try with shrimp.

Cheers
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I've been using it for a while now. I wouldn't use it again if I'm honest.

I washed the living hell out of it for about 6 hours and stuck it in the tank after getting fed up of washing it. It gave off a smell that apparently made the house smell like a hairdressers lol. The smell went after about 2 weeks, but came back last weekend after I pulled out some plants with huge roots structures.

It hasn't had any affect on my fish or shrimp though.
 
Antipofish said:
Lol foxfish I think "thousands" might be an exaggeration of the number of people using cat litter as a planted substrate. .
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Well, I obviously don't know the real answer however I would think that world wide, baked clay is a well used substrate & thousands is a fair estimate!
I personally favour aristorcat cat litter because of its larger grain size.
 
I bought the Tesco stuff just a couple of months ago and didn't notice any smell when I opened the bag or whilst washing it. Either I was lucky or they're not adding fragrance to it any more? o_O
 
Aqua sobriquet said:
I bought the Tesco stuff just a couple of months ago and didn't notice any smell when I opened the bag or whilst washing it. Either I was lucky or they're not adding fragrance to it any more? o_O
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Or you have no sense of smell :lol:
 
Aqua sobriquet said:
I bought the Tesco stuff just a couple of months ago and didn't notice any smell when I opened the bag or whilst washing it. Either I was lucky or they're not adding fragrance to it any more? o_O
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The smell when opening the bag and washing it wasn't nearly half as strong as what it smelt like after sitting in the tank for a couple days.
 
Antipofish said:
Or you have no sense of smell :lol:
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I've got a very good sense of smell, which can be a real pain sometimes as I hate the smell of fish! Cooked, raw, makes no difference. Really puts me off MY food if someone on my table is eating it!
 
mikeappleby said:
Really can't understand why anyone would buy the tesco version when you can get the same stuff, unperfumed, with smaller grain sizes, delivered to your house from the bonsai place earlier in this thread!
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Agreed Mike. The akadama is the only way I would consider using this stuff again.
 
Danny said:
This is brilliant guys, I am sitting here lmao at how simple an effective this is! Now it has been used by many for a while now any adverse effects?

After reading this thread I now plan on using it in my shrimp tank I am setting up, how deep is recommended and have there been any problems with using it with shrimp to date? I will be using plain old Neo's as a first try with shrimp.

Cheers
Click to expand...


Six month's ago , I tore down 80 gal planted tank and built new substrate.
On bottom I placed approx three cups of osmocote slow release fertilzer ,followed by about and inch of "special kitty cat litter"(plain grey :rolleyes: unscented) .I then added 3/4 of fifty pound bag of miracle grow organic potting mix,and covered this with 50 lbs of Black diamond blasting media.
I believe the cat litter was/is helping to hold nutrient's from Osmocote and miracle grow, but I also add a bit of KNO3,KH2PO4,CSM+B once a week or two.
Tank holds numerous fishes and shrimp (cherry), which are numerous enough to survive some predation and plant's are doing much better than with old gravel substrate over top of Eco-complete.
Plan on trying to post some pics as soon as tiger lotus bulb's get a bit larger.
I also have a 29 gal plain potting soil ,same cat litter, but hate the grey color .(loads of cherry shrimp)
Most other litter I have found of suitable color, also contains scented stuff or is too large of grain size for my liking .
Have never seen the Tesco that is opular with you al here in the U.S.
 
Right guys.......decided to give this a shot, firstly there is barely any smell almost none but I have been washing approx 1L of this stuff for about half hour now and seems to be having no effect lol

How long does it take to get this stuff clean and does the water actually clear like a normal sand or gravel would when washed enough?
 
I used a sieve, you won't get all the dust out but once in the tank it clears quickly enough, at least mine did.
 
Gave it a few rinses and just chucked it in then filled slowly, a bit hazy now but sure it will clear in no time. It is only really a shrimp tank and think as long as there in minimal disturbance to it it should be fine and not cloud the water once settled.
 
Danny said:
24hrs on and the tank is crystal clear, also un-capped.
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Glad its clear...why would you cap cat litter ? It would be like capping Aquasoil or Florabase.

Oh yes, I HAVE Florabase capped :lol: :lol:
 
Danny said:
LOL just that I read in this thread that a lot have capped it.
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OK well its personal choice. I think some use it to bulk up the substrate but its very light and will work its way to the top in any case if capped. It can be used as a substrate on its own though. :thumbup:
 
Antipofish said:
Danny said:
LOL just that I read in this thread that a lot have capped it.
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OK well its personal choice. I think some use it to bulk up the substrate but its very light and will work its way to the top in any case if capped. It can be used as a substrate on its own though. :thumbup:
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Yeah I think it will do fine as it is as only a shrimp tank with plants and perhaps a few Tetra's, looks nice though :thumbup:
 
Tetras or pencilfish or microdevario kubotai or bororas briggatae... all lovely fish that compliment shrimps well :)
 
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