Sand Or Gravel Question

[Madam Macaw]

I have a little over half of my 55 gallon tank small pea gravel and the other part sand. I have noticed when cleaning that the sand is so much easier to clean. The pea gravel seems to let waste and debris settle down further, while not in the sand. I do have cories - so maybe they are helping keep the sand free of fallen food. If this turns out to be the case, I might just replace my pea gravel with sand. Suggestions?

 

[fishyfreak]

I used to use sand exclusively, as long as you clean it to prevent any gas buildup (air pockets) underneath (this is accomplished by mixing it up on occasion). Only problems I've ever had are with certain filters and discoloration, you get a grain of sand in your motor and it will grind away at it, while white sand will darken over time. I've heard other things like when certain fish like Cichlids sift the sand through their gills, over time some sands tend to file down the outsides of the gills. But I'm thinking that they were using the black silica sand which has sharper edges and is designed for sandblasting.

Nice looking tank BTW

 

[ox5477]

The sand allows everything to sit on the surface (may be worse if you have large waste producing fish) while the gravel lets things fall between as you have stated. The cories would prob like the sand to play around in but the gravel is much easier to clean with a vac. But the sand may also look better. I guess the easiest way to decide is to make a list and weigh the pros and cons for yourself. When it comes down to it, it's your tank, so you do whatever you want

 

[paul_219]

I use gravel it is fine with me.

 

[Madam Macaw]

I used to use sand exclusively, as long as you clean it to prevent any gas buildup (air pockets) underneath (this is accomplished by mixing it up on occasion). Only problems I've ever had are with certain filters and discoloration, you get a grain of sand in your motor and it will grind away at it, while white sand will darken over time. I've heard other things like when certain fish like Cichlids sift the sand through their gills, over time some sands tend to file down the outsides of the gills. But I'm thinking that they were using the black silica sand which has sharper edges and is designed for sandblasting.

Nice looking tank BTW

Sorry - don't know what happened there and I couldn't delete it.

 

[Madam Macaw]

I used to use sand exclusively, as long as you clean it to prevent any gas buildup (air pockets) underneath (this is accomplished by mixing it up on occasion). Only problems I've ever had are with certain filters and discoloration, you get a grain of sand in your motor and it will grind away at it, while white sand will darken over time. I've heard other things like when certain fish like Cichlids sift the sand through their gills, over time some sands tend to file down the outsides of the gills. But I'm thinking that they were using the black silica sand which has sharper edges and is designed for sandblasting.

Nice looking tank BTW

Mine is really nice marine sand and not sharp at all. Thanks for the compliment, I really like the look of half gravel and half sand.

 

[Behold]

we now have a coarse sand that is light not desert coloured or garden coloured. i would never go gravel again. my plexs and balas love playing in the sand.

 

[Madam Macaw]

we now have a coarse sand that is light not desert coloured or garden coloured. i would never go gravel again. my plexs and balas love playing in the sand.

I think that is the way I am going to go. Thanks.

 

[abzorbd]

I've never used sand before so please forgive my ignorance.

If you have sand you don't have to clean it like you would gravel right? Like you won't have to root around in there to vac out the debris?
Do you just get the vacuum kinda close to get the big stuff off the top? And if that's how you do it then doesn't it suck up the sand too?

 

[Madam Macaw]

I've never used sand before so please forgive my ignorance.

If you have sand you don't have to clean it like you would gravel right? Like you won't have to root around in there to vac out the debris?
Do you just get the vacuum kinda close to get the big stuff off the top? And if that's how you do it then doesn't it suck up the sand too?

The sand is actually heavier, so as long as you don't suck up a ton of it, it falls back down - slowly, but still does.

 

[abzorbd]

Well then wouldn't you wind up with a cloudy tank a lot of the time? Assuming that you vac it out on a weekly basis.

 

[Madam Macaw]

Well then wouldn't you wind up with a cloudy tank a lot of the time? Assuming that you vac it out on a weekly basis.

No. The sand is heavy enough to fall down from the vacuum tube, just not as heavy as gravel as the vacuum tube will pick it up. Before putting any sand in, you do still put it in a bucket and soak it like you would gravel. It cleans up much better than gravel in my opinion.

 

[Madam Macaw]

I used to use sand exclusively, as long as you clean it to prevent any gas buildup (air pockets) underneath (this is accomplished by mixing it up on occasion). Only problems I've ever had are with certain filters and discoloration, you get a grain of sand in your motor and it will grind away at it, while white sand will darken over time. I've heard other things like when certain fish like Cichlids sift the sand through their gills, over time some sands tend to file down the outsides of the gills. But I'm thinking that they were using the black silica sand which has sharper edges and is designed for sandblasting.

Nice looking tank BTW

BTW - what do you use now?

 

[Chrispixx]

I have never used sand until recently, i decided to try it because i can get free sand. So i switched my 20 gal. from gravel to sand and i really like it. Another reason i decided to switch, because i was planning on getting Cory's, i knew the sand would be better for them.
Your tanks looks nice half/half but i don't thing i could do that only because it would drive me crazy if the two started intermixing. i would not want gravel pieces on the sand side.

 

[charlton]

I have a little over half of my 55 gallon tank small pea gravel and the other part sand. I have noticed when cleaning that the sand is so much easier to clean. The pea gravel seems to let waste and debris settle down further, while not in the sand. I do have cories - so maybe they are helping keep the sand free of fallen food. If this turns out to be the case, I might just replace my pea gravel with sand. Suggestions?

nice tank, please excuse my ignorance but are they real plants ? If so what are they called ? Only asking cos i saw something similar in my lfs recently and after i'd said i wanted some i was informed that they were for a coldwater tank and not suitable for mine, despite feeling a bit of a pr@t i was a bit gutted cos i really like the look !!

cheers

charlton