Different tropical fish need different bottom sand. Here, I will introduce some common stones in fish tanks:

1 pebble

I believe everyone knows that those small boulders and pebbles are gradually formed by long-term erosion of rocks. Smooth surface and rich colors. Among them, Nanjing Rainflower Stone (also a kind of pebble) is famous in the world. Suitable for small and medium-sized fish tanks, pebbles are also suitable for bottom sand.

2 Taihu stone

I believe everyone should know what kind of stone this is, even if you can't see it, you can hear it.

Whether it is aquarium or garden landscaping, it is a rare stone. Taihu Stone should be used as some large aquarium scenery, and some large aquatic plants can be planted to form a beautiful scenery.

3 axe and stone split

Axe splitting stone belongs to shale, which is formed by long-term precipitation, and its content is mainly calcium and carbon. The color is mainly dark gray and black, but some gray is reddish rust or light gray, which is caused by the change of iron content and other metal content in the stone.

Axes and stones can be used to make strange peaks and different walls.

4. Sandstone (water stone, travertine, sand schist)

Sand and gravel can be divided into fine sand and coarse sand because of the different size and thickness of sand particles. If the sand content is low and the argillaceous composition is high, it is also called mudstone. In the shape of bonsai, it is suitable to show the characteristics of Sichuan bonsai which is high, steep and deep.

Lapis lazuli

Huangshi belongs to quartzite with fine texture and smooth surface. It is named because its surface is wax oil, showing different degrees of yellow.

6 wood fossils

The reason is that when the crust changes, a large number of trees are trapped underground. When the coal-making conditions are not enough, the carbon elements in trees are gradually replaced by SiO2 _ 2 and become very hard silica. According to the different causes, it can be divided into bamboo fossils, pine fossils, cypress fossils and so on. This kind of stone is very stable and suitable for keeping fish tanks.

7 Melaleuca stone

It is formed by the superposition of calcium carbonate and time, and belongs to layered rock deposition type. Extremely hard, heavy and non-absorbent.

Eight stalactites

Stalactites are formed by water containing calcium carbonate seeping from the top seam of caves. Calcium carbonate in water is evaporated and precipitated by water for decades or even millions of years.

Stalactites are easy to affect and harden water, so they are only suitable for seawater or hard-water fish (cichlids in Africa, etc.). ).

9 coral stone

Coral is no stranger to everyone. Coral rocks, like stalactites, are suitable for seawater or hard-water fish (African cichlids, etc.). ). Broken coral stones (coral sand) can be used as bottom sand.

10 quartz stone

Quartz stone consists of silicon dioxide. Pure time is colorless and transparent, called crystal; Milky white is called milk season; The light red one is called rose timely; Smoke yellow is called tea crystal; Impurities are purple, brown, light yellow, dark black and other colors, generally milky white, translucent crystals. Timing is an important part of many rocks.

In addition to using large pieces of timely as aquarium, small pieces of silica sand (Shi Ying gravel) are often used as bottom sand.

1 1 fluorite

Also known as soft water amethyst, soft water green crystal and fluorite. The colors of stones are yellow, green, blue and purple. The effect is similar to timeliness.

12 ichthyolite

Also known as tiger skin stone and pine skin stone. Colors are cyan, cyan, yellow and red, and multi-color clips. There are white spots and holes. Made of limestone, it is not suitable for use and raising soft-water fish in straw boxes. Suitable for hard water fish and marine fish.

13 turtle stone

Also known as aeolian fossils, it is composed of various gravels with mixed colors and vertical and horizontal grooves. It is mainly composed of Carboniferous rocks, in which calcium will slowly dissolve in water, making the water quality hard. Therefore, it is not suitable to use and raise straw-vat soft-water fish in South America, but it can be used for landscaping of aquatic plants in Africa, suitable for hard-water fish and marine fish.

14 chrysanthemum stone

Chrysanthemum stone is a stone with chrysanthemum pattern on the surface of white, gray or deep purple stone.

15 volcanic rocks (pumice)

Formed by the cooling of volcanic foam. Porous surface, soft texture, easy to absorb water, can grow moss.

Here is another introduction about bottom sand.

1 river sand, a very common thing, I believe everyone will not be unfamiliar. It has little effect on water quality and can be used as bottom sand for general fish culture. The color of river sand varies from place to place, including brown river sand, brown river sand and white river sand. Users can choose different river sands according to different situations. (Application: fish in soft water, such as cichlids, small yellow grouper, fish produced in rivers and rat fish, are suitable for landscaping of aquatic plants)

Coral sand, like coral stone, will make water hard and alkaline. (Suitable for seawater or hard water fish, African cichlids, etc. )

Black emery, composed of silicon carbide, is mainly sintered from industrial waste soil.

Features: it is extremely difficult to disintegrate (hardly disintegrated under normal use), and it will not release substances to cause water quality noise. There is no nutrition in itself.

Advantages: it has strong coloring effect on brightly colored fish, high specific heat (which helps to keep the water temperature stable), and is not easy to produce dust due to disintegration. When aquatic plants are used for landscaping, they can strengthen the landscape and facilitate snail catching.

It has a calming effect on timid lamprey, insects such as hydra are not easy to reproduce, black shell shrimp and rose shrimp are more brightly colored, and algae are attached to the shallow layer when algae bloom (it is easy to clean up and shrimp eat very cleanly).

Disadvantages: small particle size causes small gap in the bottom bed, and high-temperature sintering will produce needle-like crystals, which is easy to stab the bottom bed. There is no nutrition in itself, and some aquatic plants need root fertilizer, which has a high unit price. If you are unfortunately sucked into the filter screen, it is easy to wear the fan blades. (Suitable for both soft and hard water fish)

Imported black sand

Silica sand: mostly imported from the United States and the Netherlands, sometimes called Dutch sand, it is very stable in water with fine particles and has considerable ornamental value. (Application: fish in soft water, such as cichlids, small yellow grouper, fish produced in rivers and rat fish, are suitable for landscaping of aquatic plants)

Imported American silica sand

Yilansha: It is beautiful because of its black and white color, but its particles are uneven, and it is rarely used in ecological tanks (suitable for medium and large fish species).

Dark green sand: dark green, the water quality of this sand is alkaline, and it is more suitable for selection when KH and PH value are low.

Glass sand and colored sand: synthetic products with relatively stable performance can be used for small tanks, special tanks, water plants for landscaping or breeding large fish.

8 ceramic sand: ceramic sand has little effect on water quality, and there are many bagged finished products on the market.

Volcanic sand (aquatic grass-based sand): It is a kind of neutral aquarium sand composed of volcanic rocks. Pores in sand can promote the reproduction and growth of bacteria, improve the nutrient release of bacteria to aquarium sand and promote the growth of plants. It contains about 5% boiling iron, which is a mixed fertilizer of zeolite and iron.

10 Taiwan Province cosmetic sand: neutral, does not change the original PH value of water, and is suitable for bed matching in landscape.

1 1ADPSS (power sand/energy sand): It can provide nutrients for the seedbed, provide water for the early growth of grass, effectively activate the seedbed, and be beneficial to the growth of various microorganisms and bacteria. (special for water tank)

12 Ada mud:

Ada red mud, formerly known as Ada South Africa mud, is made of natural soil and high-tech such as high temperature and sterilization, which fully embodies the natural beauty of tropical waters.

Ada black mud, formerly known as Ada Amazon mud, is made of natural soil after high temperature sterilization, which fully embodies the natural beauty of tropical waters.

ADA Southeast Asian red mud (some people call it yellow mud) can perfectly simulate the characteristics of Southeast Asian water bodies.

13 Philippine sand:

Similar to coral sand facies. (Suitable for seawater or hard water fish, African cichlids, etc. )

A, the classification of sediment sand

They can be divided into three categories: natural sand, artificial sand and artificial sand. Their basic characteristics or differences are described as follows:

1 natural sand: the sand series mined from nature is called natural sand, which is divided into rock sand and silica sand, and its sources are coastal sand, lake sand, river sand, sea sand and mountain sand. Natural sand is a granular core formed by grinding rocks or pebbles by wind, rain or water, with high strength, compactness and stable physical and chemical properties. Its advantages are easy to obtain, and can reduce the cost when used in large quantities; But the disadvantage is that it may be mixed with impurities (forged stones), and sometimes it must be removed before it is suitable for use.

2. Processed sand: This is a kind of machined product or recycled product. Machine-made sand is rock particles made by mechanical crushing and screening, but it does not include soft rock, weathered rock, forged rock and other rock particles that may affect water quality. Commodities are generally stone chips with a particle size of about 2~6mm, which are irregular and unsightly and are rarely used. Reclaimed sand is a product that takes natural rock particles or sand particles as raw materials and then gives them certain characteristics after transformation. For example, Ada black soil, Ada PSS.

3. Artificial sand: It can be divided into synthetic sand, chemical sand and combustion sand. Synthetic sand is mainly composed of sand powder or mineral powder, binder and additives (such as pigments) mixed in a certain proportion to make sand particles with required properties. This kind of sand has strong ornamental value, rich color and shape changes (such as white, black and blue), uniform and moderate hardness and size, but its activity is low during use, and the roots of aquatic plants are loose. Apart from being favored by Europeans, it is rarely used in other regions. Chemical sand is mainly produced by chemical industry. At present, there seems to be only one chemical sand product used as bottom sand, namely black silicon carbide. Burnt sand can be divided into sintered sand and burnt sand, which are made of suitable soil (such as red clay and clay). The main products of sintered sand are calcined red jade soil, AZOO active bed, etc. The main products of sintered sand are ceramic sand, foamed stone and so on. Their characteristics will be described later.

Second, da ji sand

Dajisha is a Chinese term introduced from Japan. According to its original meaning, Daji sand refers to sand grains similar to subminiature pebbles mined from rivers, streams, coasts or mountains. It is characterized by being larger than ordinary silica sand, with a particle size of about 5 ~ 8 mm, and the white, black and gray particles are mixed, which are round or flat and have no acute angle. Its material is stable, does not affect the water quality, and is very suitable for use as bottom sand (except for the slightly larger particle size). It is the earliest material used as bottom sand. However, due to different places of origin, there are great differences in personality (such as some forged stones doped more or less), so special attention should be paid to the selection.

The composition of large pieces of rock sand mined from rivers or streams varies according to the upstream geology of the producing area. Most of them are produced by weathering of granite. Therefore, feldspar and mica are the main components, and shells and forged stones may also be mixed together. These mixed ingredients have a bad influence on water quality, so it is best to remove them as much as possible before use. Japanese imported and self-produced products (such as Yilan sand and Taitung sand) mainly belong to this type. There are also many applications in architecture.

Large pieces of rock sand mined from the seaside are sand formed by the collapse and fall of hills or coastal slopes in the sea due to wave erosion. The material is close to pure silica sand, and most of the sand particles are almost round with uniform particle size, but the size is uneven, which may be mixed with coral sand. When mining, it must be screened to reach the particle size and washed with fresh water to remove salt before it can become a commodity. Because of the high mining cost, it is rarely used.

Rock sand mined from the mountains is a mixture of sand, clay and other substances. The separated sand grains are mainly composed of quartz and feldspar, and the entrained minerals are mica, amphibole, pyroxene and magnetite. Mountain sand contains about 5 ~ 20% clay. After mining, it must be used by sand selection and washing measures, and the mining cost is the highest. This kind of big rock sand is rare in the market.

To sum up, it can be seen that the source of Dajisha mainly comes from river beds or streams, or the remaining sand and gravel used for construction. This kind of large rock sand is not difficult to obtain, so it is the cheapest. However, because it may be mixed with forged stone, it is best to wash it in acid water before use.

The purpose of acid leaching is to remove the components of forged stone, which can be soaked in acetic acid solution (with poor effect), dilute hydrochloric acid or dilute nitric acid until bubbles (carbon dioxide) are not produced. The purpose of water washing is to remove residual acid and acid leaching components. If you want to choose large pieces of rock sand as bottom sand, it is wise to use large pieces of rock sand that will not affect the hardness and pH value of water.

Third, quartz sand.

Particulate matter with silicate as the main component is called silica sand, which is obviously smaller than Daji sand. The particle size is about1~ 4 mm. There are two kinds of natural sand and processed sand. Natural silica sand is usually collected from coastal placers and is mainly formed by quartzite or hypersilicate. After years of friction and broken waves, it was washed into the sea and deposited. Because the mined silica sand must be washed and desalted before it can become a commodity, it is also called "desalted silica sand" to distinguish it from "salty silica sand". Another difference between silica sand and Daji sand is that it contains less mica and feldspar, and its main component is quartz sand. High-purity quartz sand is white, but most of it has a specific color because of impurities. The most common commodities on the market are mostly yellow to brown.

The processed silica sand is obtained by mechanically crushing high silica rocks or quartzite, and then sieving. After washing, the refined silica sand has a silica content (mass fraction) of ≧ 99%, which does not contain forged stone components at all, and will not affect the hardness and pH value of water quality. The particle size is about 3 ~ 4 mm, slightly sharp, with high packing density, which can promote the development of aquatic plants and ensure their quality, and the price is higher. This kind of products are rare in Taiwan Province Province, but occasionally in Japan.

Fourth, black soil.

Black soil is actually "sand", not "soil". Why this name appeared in Taiwan Province Province has not been verified. Frankly speaking, this name is not appropriate, because it is hard for people who have not been exposed to black soil to imagine that it is actually a sandy particle with a particle size of 2 ~ 5 mm, a black appearance but a white matrix.

The most representative black soil is the product of Ada. In addition, Cuihu "TBS Dongfeng 1" also belongs to this kind of product. Basically, they all belong to coated acid release agents. Natural acid (pH 5.0 ~ 6.5) saturates the sunken natural pumice as a carrier, and after drying, it is coated with a film made of black soil as the main raw material. This membrane is insoluble in water, but has a certain permeability to water, and the natural acid solidified in the pores of the carrier can be absorbed through the difference between its internal and external permeability.

Pebble is a kind of lava, white, filled with bubbles formed by gas, so its specific gravity is very light, similar to water, and some can even float on water, so it is also called pumice. The porosity is as high as 7 1.8 ~ 8 1.0%, and it can absorb a large amount of liquid like a sponge. Chemical composition: silica, 70%, ferric oxide, 5.5%, ferric oxide, 2.4%, alumina, 1 1.50%, xxx, 0.79%, magnesia, 0.29%, Na2O, 4.1. The chemical properties are quite stable and will not have any impact on the water quality. However, its physical properties are a bit poor. When rubbed, its surface will be pulverized, its texture will be soft, and it will easily disintegrate under pressure.