hello!

[jsteele]

ok so im not actually from Ottawa.
im in Waterloo right now
could be in the Ottawa area working for a few months though:)

im here to get info, maybe share some images, and experiences ...once i set up my tank

on a side note it is best to start with a question!...does anyone know if home hardware / rona / home depot / canadian tire / any other stores that are common carry any inert 1 - 4mm sized fine gravel that can be used for a freshwater planted aquarium as a top dressing and that is not sharp?

thanks

[RoxyDog]

Hi, welcome to the site.    I can't answer your question though, sorry!  What are you going to be putting in your tank, fish wise?

[darkdep]

Home Depot DOES sell several inert substances that would work as aquarium gravel; I haven't looked in a while but many people have purchased white sand from them with good results, and the price can't be beat.

[jsteele]

yea im not that interested in sand

someone from townsend is bringing up a bucket of some schultz aquatic soil for me
but i dont know if that will be enough so i may have to buy some extra

also.  i was looking at the Rona page and they have fafard aquatic soil.  Has anyone had any experience with it? or even know if the granules are within a good size range?  and if anyone has used it...do they know if it alters the properties of the water column?

thanks

oh. as to fish.  im going to be starting with some form of cory and then either a tetra or similar fish in a medium to large school.
and then i will go from there... thats the main plans right now...first i will need to get some inexpensive plant cuttings that i can root.
and on that note. if anyone lives in Ottawa near the downtown and is willing to part with some plant cuttings on the civic holiday weekend i would love some low light ones

[kennyman]

I used to sell the Fafard soil when I worked at a greenhouse. It was a heavy clay soil and I would be concerned about it trapping anaerobic pockets in an aquarium. I used a bag of Black Earth in my planted tank but I mixed with with a coarse sand to promote diffusion. So far so good at around four months.