Reddit mentions of Flourite Black Sand, 7 kg / 15.4 lbs

Check out some pictures in my profile of the 10 gallon I have set up. Here's what I would do if I were you. Can you start fresh? Here's what to do:

Buy one 15 pound bag of Seachem Flourite substrate. It comes in many colors, I prefer black. It comes in gravel type and sand type. I personally started w/ gravel type but the sand type is more fun, in my opinion. I added sand on top of my gravel afterwards and it will stay only because I already have plants established. But when I move everyone to a 20long or 29 in the near future, I would just use the sand. Just REMEMBER TO WASH IT THOROUGHLY! It is VERY dusty. But this stuff is worth it, I promise. Your plants will grow 10x better than if you used regular gravel or regular sand. This is the only stuff I'll use for planted tanks. It holds onto some nutrients and helps bring it to plant roots. It's inert, so it won't change your ph. And it NEVER breaks down, unlike most of the other good plant substrates, which have to be replaced every 1-3 years. So it's the best choice imo. It is economical, compared to other plant substrates. It will help you achieve success with your plants.

For plants, I recommend a few basic ones to start out with, bulletproof. You should buy as many plants as you can physically fit in your tank, they will do better that way. You can get the following at most pet stores too. Anubias and java fern have what's called a rhizome and you should superglue it to driftwood, rocks, or decorations. Lots of Youtube vids of this for inspiration. And Amazon sword (echinodorus) a root feeder which won't do as good in gravel, but does awesome in Flourite and looks beautiful when it's grown in. Jungle Val (vallisneria) is a long, grassy looking plant which is a great filler plant. Cryptocorne (wendtii and parva are a couple I love) give some nice variation in heigh and texture. And red dwarf lily, which comes as a bulb, is a beautiful red plant with big drapey leaves and it sends lily pads to the surface. All of these are easy growers. Throw a root tab deep under the substrate every few months (i use 2 broken in half, four pieces, as a 10 gallon isn't very big. Api brand or Flourish tabs are p good)

And the other part of the equation for plants to thrive is light. You can go basic for this or fancy, it doesn't really matter. Just find an LED light between $15-50 that has good reviews and fits your tank, it will probably have enough light for the plants I recommended above. Please get a timer to set your light to be consistent. You can set the timer for 5-8 hours at first so algae doesn't have as much a chance to grow, but if you stuff your aquarium with plants, you will have easier time with that. They will outcompete most algae in the right cases.

You will have to cycle the tank, I hope you know about this but if not please research the nitrogen cycle as it is crucial to the health of your tank. Get an API freshwater master test kit and do frequent water changes if you do fish-in cycle.

For fish, a few you can get at pet stores are:

For a centerpiece fish, imo a betta is the best easy and fun option. Only 1 to a tank. My heart belongs to my female betta Serafina, she is amazing, the queen of her 10 gallon. I would get one with short fins, a king betta, or a female, please, because they do better with the bigger space, the ones with long flowing fins are fighting against the weight of them and can have a hard time in a 10. But a plakat or female will be sharky and awesome to watch. Sometimes they are aggressive to tankmates, but if you set the tank up as thickly planted as i suggest, they usually do quite well with the right tank mates. Usually, this means bottom feeders. You have a few options.

Pygmy corydoras, you can start with 4 and have up to 6 or 7 maximum, start with a lower number and add a few more after a couple weeks if you do the fish-in cycle. They are really fun little fish who are quite active when they are in a proper group, easy to keep, and really fun.

You can do otocinclus instead of corydoras. I would suggest not, because they need a well seasoned tank with a good amount of algae and biofilm and can be challenging to keep. Nevertheless, I have 5 of these in my 10gal and they do awesome. 3 females, 2 males. They are fat, peaceful, happy, and mine have some iridescence to them since they grew up nice and healthy. I love them!

With either betta and corydoras or otocinclus, doesnt matter, you can also have up to 3 mystery snails in your tank if your filtration is really really really good. These guys are a little messy and can get big but they are amazing! Only pick really active ones, if they are all lazy at the store get different ones or wait for another shipment. They have so much character and can get as big as like, a lemon! I have 3 beautiful grey ones in my 10gal, and in my 5.5 gallon amano shrimp and wild female betta tank I have 1 ivory colored and 1 golden colored mysteries. In my Fluval Spec V, I have 1 black mystery snail. They are really really cool and I would be sad to have a tank without them.

And that is a good complete stocking for your tank. I also have red cherry shrimp in my 10, but those can be hard to find. If you want, you can add some of those or amano shrimp.

My 10 gallon is a blast to watch and it's because I set myself up for success from the beginning. I never get bored, it's like a whole ecosystem and there's always something cute or funny going on! My tankmates get along really well, and often hang out together, it is really fascinating.

There are two of them listed on Amazon with a 5 dollar difference, do you know the difference between the two?

Flourite Black for $20.63

Flourite Black Sand for $25.25

Aquaclear filter either this size or the next size up, but not smaller.

Some other lighting options include this one which is brighter than the one you've selected or this one which is both brighter and far more customizable.

Flourite black sand

Fluval heater

Amazon (Canada) Seachem Flourite Black

Is this an appropriate substrate for a planted tank? Can anyone recommend anything better?

I was told I should use a dark top layer as well for CPD's. Once you have a substrate picked out does the top layer matter (Whether sand or gravel) beyond its colour/roughness?