My Biggest Decision, Opinions Please.

[Jamie24]

Right so I've actually already bought Black Roman very fine gravel for my tank and I was planning all along to have a plec (small one) and a few oto's however after much thought I've decided I may ditch the plec and buy cory's along with sand.

I've weighed up a few pros and cons about both and for me although Plec's can be some of the most attractive fish they hide a lot and create probably the most waste amongst fish in the tank whilst the gravel is also easy to clean. Cory's on the other hand don't hide much and look like really busy fish in the sand, again some nice colours and I would be able to have more cory's that just one plec but I believe the sand is much harder to clean once in the tank.

I also don't think the tank would create enough algae for both a plec and oto's.

So the question is: Gravel with a plec or Cory's with sand ???

 

[kevin82]

I'm starting to move towards cory's but I've got gravel. there shouldn't be a problem though

 

[Jay1983]

Sand is easier to keep clean than gravel and in my opinion looks better. I switched and would never go back to gravel

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

We need more information to give responsible advice such as...

Tank dimensions?
Is the filter "cycled"?
What fish have you already got and how many of each species?
What temperature do you have the thermometer currently set at?

etc. etc.

 

[cynic]

Having used gravel and now converted to sand i'm not changing back. Just be sure to wash it, and wash it and.................................................................................................
........................and wash it some more. I spent three and a half hours washing 3 bags of sand for my tank and its been crystal clear from the start.

 

[Jamie24]

Those that are asking my tank isn't set up yet, still buying all the stuff needed and finding out all what there is to know, I have however bought a tank AquaOne 620T 61x39x72, 130 litres, 29 gal and don't worry the tank will be cycled "fishless".

How is the sand easier to clean does it not get sucked up by the vac... I'm looking for people opinions on if they prefer plecs or corys, sand or gravel and any draw backs to wanting the said things.

 

[fluttermoth]

Sand and cories for me, though I have gravel and plecs in some of my tanks too.

A lot of plecs are quite shy and you don't see them much. They're also very bulky and use up a fair bit of your available stocking, as well as producing large amounts of poop!

Cories are very funny fish to watch and will give you hours of amusment.

All the mulm sits on top of the sand, so it's easier to keep clean. You don't have to dig into the sand with the gravel cleaner to clean it as you do with gravel; you just 'hoover' over the top. If you do suck sand up, you just rinse it in the bucket and tip it back in with the new water.

Having said that, it's all a matter of personal choice; I'd always have sand for cories though.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Long term, your choice of Corydoras species is extremely limited in the 620T, namely Panda or one of the three "Pygmy" types. I grew a group of Corydoras Sterbai and Emerald Brochis in my 620T last winter and when they approached 5cm they looked too big and cramped in the 620T, but they loved the space of the Rio240 that I moved them through to a month or so before deciding to sell them.

The 620T are very tricky tanks to choose suitable fish full stop, because although they hold 130l, they have very little extra length and width compared to a typical 54l and the surface area for gaseous exchange is poor for such a volume of water. I'm preparing to close mine down to use as a QT and move over the young growing fish to a 48x12x15 (137l, but far more space for fish to wander around in).

Sand is not going to further reduce your fish options further than the tank itself, while gravel will do, so it comes down to how decisive you are about the fish you want and whether you are prepared to spend more money on buying some sand if the store will not exchange the gravel now.

 

[Jamie24]

How much sand would be needed for a tank of my dimensions (see above) I originally bought 16kg of gravel but the sand is in 15kg bags from argos so would I need one or two and what layer of thickness should I be looking when putting in it the tank ??