Oscar Tank: Sand/gravel

[xdaCostax]

Hey guys
Im setting up a 75g Oscar tank in about a month and my real question isnt really which one do Oscars prefer, but which one is better on a canister filter.
Im going to be using a Rena Filstar xp4 and I was wondering if anyone ever had sand damage there filters? (Canister or HOB for that matter)
Also I asume vacumming sand is abit of a pain with a python, do you lose alot of sand? I have gravel in a 16g tank and whenever I vacumm the gravel its too heavy to come all the way up threw the syphon. Im thinking the sand would go right threw along with the water.
I want to put in sand but might this be a bad idea in an Oscar tank?

Thanks!

 

[roadmaster]

I would go with gravel of fairly large size with Oscar and depth of no more than an inch or two. This will make vaccuming the gravel much more effective than deep substrate.
Another option would be undergravel filtration with reverse flow using powerheads, and a canister or large Hang on the back filter to clean that which reverse flow pushes into the water column.In reverse flow water is pushed up through the gravel and keeps debri and waste (poop) from settling on/in substrate.
Sand in my view,,would not be consideration with a large fish such as the Oscar who could (with good care),achieve 10 inches in length ,inside of a year depending on size when purchased.

 

[Monty-2010]

I'd stay away from the rena, i just got rid of my xp3 as it caused no end of trouble!

 

[hamfist]

Gravel vaccing sand in the traditional sense is basically a no-no. Can't do it without sucking up virtually all the sand. You have to hover your vac or tube over the sand to pick up debris.
Sand could be done with an oscar no problem, but it would be a lot of effort and you'd probably want to syphon up the poo most days to keep the tank looking reasonable.

Gravel is good with fish which produce lots of big poo, as it tends to visually hide the poo somewhat. In one of my tanks I have 1-2mm gravel, which actually looks and acts much like sand, but you can also gravel vac it. It's a good compromise between the two.
Personally, with an oscar I would use a smooth 3-5mm gravel. They will enjoy digging in it. It won't hurt their mouths, and should be pretty easy to vac and maintain for you.
No substrate is another option, bit personally I don't like the look of that, and also it removes the enjoyment an oscar might have of digging in it.

 

[roadmaster]

Gravel vaccing sand in the traditional sense is basically a no-no. Can't do it without sucking up virtually all the sand. You have to hover your vac or tube over the sand to pick up debris.
Sand could be done with an oscar no problem, but it would be a lot of effort and you'd probably want to syphon up the poo most days to keep the tank looking reasonable.

Gravel is good with fish which produce lots of big poo, as it tends to visually hide the poo somewhat. In one of my tanks I have 1-2mm gravel, which actually looks and acts much like sand, but you can also gravel vac it. It's a good compromise between the two.
Personally, with an oscar I would use a smooth 3-5mm gravel. They will enjoy digging in it. It won't hurt their mouths, and should be pretty easy to vac and maintain for you.
No substrate is another option, bit personally I don't like the look of that, and also it removes the enjoyment an oscar might have of digging in it.

Sand and Oscar's Would only NOT be a problem if you don't mind replacing impeller's on filter's at unreasonable rate.
even with intakes suspended high in the water, and covered with pre-filter sponge, the propensity for digging that Osacar's are prone to do would make sand substrate problematic(damaged filter's) as the fish matures.

 

[xdaCostax]

I'd stay away from the rena, i just got rid of my xp3 as it caused no end of trouble!

Really? I heard Rena filters are decent.

Thanks for the replies, I think its going to be gravel that I put in.

 

[mattlee]

rena xp series are good filters. i run 2 xp3 on my 55g tank and have never had any trouble with them. i have however heard that the xp4 is prone to leak but not actually having one i cant comment on that.

i also keep my oscar in with sand and to be honest my catfish make more mess than him when it comes to kicking up sand! i think i would go with gravel though as hamfist said in a new tank as the sand as nice as it looks does show off the poo etc very obviously

 

[xdaCostax]

Well the reason Im looking hard into getting a Rena xp4 is because I can get one for $180 brand new. The only downside is that I wont have a store warrenty to back it up if it goes poop in the first year.
I dont know if its worth going with another filter like an Ehiem 2217 for my 75g.

 

[kaivalagi]

Do you have an Ehiem already? If so it might be advantageous to get the same model again so you have an easier time when replacing spare parts / fixing things up etc...just a thought

 

[GShorty1981]

I just changed my red devil tank over to black gravel...i did have white sand and it was a nightmare to keep clean.

 

[kaivalagi]

I just changed my red devil tank over to black gravel...i did have white sand and it was a nightmare to keep clean.

Malaysian Trumpet Snails can help with sand

Sometimes though it is just a pain in the backside, having sand in my smaller breeding tank was a bad move (although it wasn't meant to be a breeding tank when setup)...I am slowing switching to gravel on every water change....

 

[GShorty1981]

I don't think a colony of MTS would last long with the Catfish i have (2 x Raphaels, 1 x Syno, 1 x Gibbi Plec) let alone with Damon my RD

 

[kaivalagi]

Mmmmm, I am not so sure...MTS are pretty hardy and are not normally eaten to extinction in a tank...Lots of loaches (Botia) tend to hunt and eat them but even then they'll not rid a tank of them where they are actively breeding. Plecs and Catfish tend to leave them alone I think.

The fact you haven't got any sand means it's pointless for you to try as they wont get on in gravel but they're worth a shot for most people with sand I'd say, even with big fish such as you listed or an oscar....I got my MTS from a guy on this forum who keeps big cichlids and snakeheads and had MTS population overload They turn over the sand nicely and breakdown left over food/waste as best as can be and they don't eat live plants (not that I have any with my Sevs)

 

[mattlee]

when i had my tank full of big cichlids they left the mts well alone except for Keith my oscar. i use to find him crunching up an MTS now and then ans spitting out the broken shell

they do an excellent job of turning sand though

 

[kaivalagi]

Why did I half expect somewhere someone had an oscar who munches on MTS

I'd say if you can get some for nothing or very little then get some and give it a whirl...I guess it depends how much you want sand in a tank really...I have my Geo's to think about so sand is a must for me