Sand Or Gravel

[tom_os]

currently i have gravel in my 60l tank but i am thinking about changing to sand as i have seen some really nice tanks with sand in, also i have corys which i kno prefer sand.

can anyone tell me wether this is a good choice or is sand harder to maintain or something?

also i have plants in my tank and i find even when i turn the air pump on they can come loose and float to the top, i have only had them a week so they havnt rooted properly yet, is sand any easier to keep plants in?

thanks

 

[Truck]

sand is easy to maintain if you get it right from the start, and it looks amazing too!

 

[tom_os]

yeah i think it looks awsome.

but i know it can be a bit harder to clean but i think it is worth the effort

 

[Truck]

if you get some flow along it with a small power head, its stays crap free

 

[malakye]

Sand can be a pain to clean and the dirt does show more than on gravel but I still prefer it, if I am honest. My plants seem to like it too although until they do root they can float at times too.

 

[tom_os]

ok thanks.

my corys should help as well

 

[Hawkins]

lead weights would keep the plants down

 

[tom_os]

yeah, well when i get plants they some with a little metal band around them, i have tanken it off but i might put it back on, at least till they root.

when i change shall i just give the sand a really good wash and scoop up as much gravel as i can then just pour the sand in as i have no other tank to put my fish into?

 

[Truck]

put them in a bucket

 

[tom_os]

ok, it will only be for 10 mins so they should be ok

 

[malakye]

Don't expect your corys to clean the sand, mine don't lol.
Like Truck said put your fish into a bucket it will not stress them as much as if you leave them in and take your filter out too while adding the sand so it doesn't clog up.

 

[tom_os]

ok thanks.

well i know corys prefer the smoother sand as at the moment my gravel is quite rough and i dont imagine they like lying on sharp edges

 

[onebto]

I brought gravel for my Tank then before setting it up changed it to sand at the last second DAM glad I did

 

[joshrm115]

I had salt water system for close to a year and let me tell you sand can be a hassle. I have had gravel for about 2 months I spent 20$ on a gravel vack and it been a cake walk so fare.

 

[Truck]

as i said earlier, sand is under-rated, i dont know how people find it hard to clean, if you have a power head and can set it so it skims the sand all the debris is kicked up, and filtered