Tank overhaul and rescape, advice needed

[Reuben]

Probably not going to do this for another couple of months, but I intend to rescape my 125L tank which is currently planted and stocked with fish.

At the moment I am using pea gravel and have an area of sand too. The area of sand will stay but get moved a bit but I would like to add a substrate other than pea gravel, mainly as I've never liked how it looks, but I am also thinking it would be good to get something in there with some nutrients in too.

Problem is, I am going to plan out what I am doing then in one day remove the fish into a container do the rescape and refill and put the fish back in, so I can't use a substrate that will leach ammonia.

Any recommendations would be very welcome.

Thanks.

 

[Michael W]

Why not try Cat litter or Moler Clay. They have will take nutrients in from the water column and release it slowly and plants could take the nutrients in from the roots. Both won't release ammonia.

 

[Reuben]

Thanks, yes they look like good suggestions. I'll probably go with the moler clay or akadama - think they are fairly similar aren't they?

 

[Michael W]

They are indeed, there is a thread on the substrate section regarding the use the Akadama which applies to Cat litter and Moler Clay. I too am re-making my substrate in my 30L tank using Cat Litter because I'm on a tight budget.

 

[foxfish]

Akadama is a bit different from Molar clay, Moler clay is the same as the popular cat litters & is a very hard baked clay material.
Akadama is not so hard & will in fact degrade into a sludge over time however both work very well!