perpacity

I will not be running a planted tank (save a few anubias attached to driftwood), but since this forum seems to be well educated on substrates, I have come here to ask my questions.



1. What is the grainsize Colorquartz S grade and T Grade? How does the T-Grade look up close? Would it be safe for bottom dwellers like cory catfish (It sounds like it may be sharp)?

2. What is the grainsize of the charcoal Soilmaster? Is the Soilmaster physically tough? (As opposed to something like ADA amazonia, which can be crushed into dust with just my fingertips). Would this work as a substrate for bottom dwellers?


I have not noticed any posts that directly address these issues with said substrates and I feel that this post could help some of the aquascaping newbies.

AaronT

I use the T-grade color quartz. The grain size is that of course sand. It doesn't cloud the water and it is very heavy so it stays where you put it. I definitely recommend it. It's not sharp at all.

MatPat

1. I have some of the T-grade Colorquarts but do not have it in my tank yet. My plans are to replace the Eco Complete/Tahitian Moon Sand mix with it. Several of the SWOAPE members are using the t-grade and have Cory Cats and various Ancistrus sp. in their tanks. I have not heard of any issues. The S grade seems like it would be too small and may compact, but I have not used it either.

2. I have been using Soilmaster "Select" Charcoal in my 75g for a while now. Note that the Solimaster "Select" is a much smaller grain size than the regular Soilmaster. It is not sharp either. In this tank I have several Yo Yo Loaches, Sidthimunki Loaches, and Amano Shrimp who are all doing well. No cories or Ancictrus yet but I do plan on having some in the future.

The Soilmaster is "physically tough" and is very similar to other substrates like Flourite or Eco Complete in "toughness". It is initially "lighter" in weight but I haved had no issues with 'topped" stem plants not staying in the substrate. You results may vary if you use the regular Soilmaster versus the "Select".

hoppycalif

I use Soilmaster Select Pro Charcoal in my tank, with a cory, a couple of cherry shrimp, an oto, and several guppies. All seem to enjoy the neighborhood. The cory is the survivor of 4, but the others died by becoming snared in a hairnet I used to hold Java moss in place on a cork back wall, now removed. I have been using this since last December, and it hasn't broken down at all. Planting in it is easy.

perpacity

Does anybody have any pictures of the Soilmaster Select up close, perhaps next to a coin for scale?

perpacity

I just found a picture:


http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...t=100_1968.jpg

wiste

Is the photo just posted soilmaster? Curious about the size difference between soilmaster and soilmaster select.

perpacity

The picture is of soilmaster select. From what I've gathered by reading posts, the select is much larger and less consistent in grain sizenot to mention that it is not available in the charcoal color.

MatPat

Actually, just the opposite. Soilmaster Select smaller and more uniform in grin size than regular Soilmaster. I used to have pics of both for comparison but can't seem to find them anymore. Soilmaster Select is also available in charcoal but I'm not sure if the regular Soilmaster is available in charcoal

perpacity

Matpat is correct. Wow, major typo there.