Gravel For Bottom Dwellers ?

[b3cca]

Hi does anybody know if there is any gravel that is easy to clean and will not harm bottm dwellers.
 
I'm about to set up my 125 litre and really do not want to use sand if possible as everything i read about sand seems to hard for a begginer like me.
 
Undecided which bottom dwellers to get yet but am thinking along the lines of panda cory or zebra/khuli loach.
 
could I even just put mainly gravel but have a small sand area as well ?
 
 
Anybody had these fish with gravel
 
 

 

[fluttermoth]

Sand isn't hard to cope with, not at all. The only problem you're likely to have is if you don't wash it properly before adding it. There is no truth to the idea that sand can develop poisonous gas pockets.
 
Really, if you want corydoras or loaches, it is much better to have sand for them.

 

[b3cca]

well was just reading sand can damage impellers etc , but if i have eheim cannister I'm guessing all the sand would be filtered before getting to the impeller anyways.
 
I was worrying, people saying you must stir it etc or it will kill fish

 
and cleaning it, I must admit I've just got the "no sand" mentality from somewhere. But may try it if it isn't too hard then

 

[Chad]

I second what fluttermoth is saying. Sand is quite nice and not too hard to manage. I have about 170 pounds of it in my tank.

 

[fluttermoth]

Just make sure the intake of your filter is an inch or two above the sand, and it'll be fine; sand is very heavy, so won't get sucked up. 
 
I have sand in nearly all my tanks; it doesn't get stirred up (apart from the very top where the cories dig in it!) and I've never experienced any problems.
 
Sand can seem trickier to clean than gravel; until you get used to it, you'll probably suck a fair bit up with your gravel cleaner, but that's no problem; just give it a rinse in your bucket and tip it back in
 
But the big advantage with sand is that all the 'crud' sits on the top of the sand where you can easily get to it to clean out. With gravel, all that crud tends to sink down through the gaps in the gravel and get stuck; even if you're good about gravel cleaning.

 

[b3cca]

Ok well I will go for sand from the start then.
I have sand in my axolotl tank but obviously his waste is bigger and easy to clean as i just suck it up with my turkey baster thingy and i put his food in a bowl which makes it easy.
 
SOOO next question is which sand ?
I've been reading if it's too fine then it will compact and I read that pool filter sand or silca #2 will be ok to use in tropical aquarium.