bobo

Falstaff,

One possible substitute for the kitty litter that is a bit more stable and less likey to go all mushy and soft after a few weeks in water would be the "Oil Dry" type clay granules one can find in most Auto Supply stores. It's used to soak up petroleum product spills, like gas and oil. Almost all gas stations and garages would have some on hand and could probably tell you where to get more.

It's dirt cheap-- here in the USA a 50lb bag is $5.00 so I'll bet in Mexico it's like $1.00. It works and I'm sure you can find some.
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It does tend to be a bit light in weight, making the initial planting of some species a chore but you could always use it to "bulk out" whatever else you find in the way of substrates there.

In any case I'd lose those marble chips like veryone is advising.

Now you will have a good amount of light with your upgrade and can consider more light hungry plants if you can find them. Mexico City is at a fairly high elevation and not exactly tropical -- but I'll bet you could find a lot of plants growing in canals, irrigation ditches, lakes, etc. Doesn't Mexico City have a big lake with lots of canals and floating islands or was that back in the time of the Aztecs? Whatever. Just look wherever you might find shallow water and any plant growing there is a potential candidate for your aquarium.

Good Luck!

Bobo

Falstaf

Hi Bobo!!

Thanks a lot for the tip, i'll go check tomorrow on auto workshops around (those we have plenty and i'm sure i can find it!

And well the place you mention here in Mexico City is called Xochimilco (awesome place BTW), well today i went there i was most impress to hear in all aquariums that aquatic plants where all imported, it just didn't made any sense since we have such prolific lands.

Well i can happily inform you that there are THOUSANDS of aquatic plants there, and as you mention it is a lake with lots of canals and Chinampas (floating islands), where people grow mostly flowers, vegetables and of course corn. It wasn;t easy finding then though, not many people buy them, but i found this guy that he only grows aquatic plants, he has his own canals where he grows national and imported plants, and he also gives amazing prices!

Of course i was like a kid on a candy store, he has this beautiful tanks to display all his varieties and then you can go back and pick them up yourself (not a nice thing to put your hand in the canal though eewww LOL). Anyway it was a lot of fun, and i spent hours there and got:

2 Trichomanes Javanicum "Aqua Fern"
1 Little pot of Hydrocotyle Verticillata (notice how i'm starting to use scientific terms?!?!
1 Moss Ball
2 Peat balls (one for my filter to lower the PH as suggested)
2 Amazonian
1 Daisy (Margarita that's what he called it, and says it's a native plant, looks like a little tree sprout)
1 Cabomba (it was a left over that nobody wanted so i brought it home hoping she will come to life with few care and love)

I'm so excited and it took me like 2 hours to plant them all and give them their right space in the tank, i think it will look awesome once they start growing!.

Thanks a lot everyone i'll keep nagging you and reporting my progress.

PS. Now i want another big tank