Sand Or Gravel?

[Noahs ark6]

Hi.

I'm currently using black gravel in my 50 ltr tropical tank. I've always used gravel. I was wondering if sand would benefit my tank, and if so how to change them over.

THnks

 

[c-dub]

Depends on what you want it for. Sand can be great for planting out a tank, but then thin gravel can be good for some cichlids. It depends what you like. As far as changing, you would need to house your fish in buckets whilst you do the change over. It's literally a case of a huge water change, scooping out the old gravel and replacing it. If you're adding sand, be aware that it will take a long time to settle if not added very gently.

 

[Noahs ark6]

Depends on what you want it for. Sand can be great for planting out a tank, but then thin gravel can be good for some cichlids. It depends what you like. As far as changing, you would need to house your fish in buckets whilst you do the change over. It's literally a case of a huge water change, scooping out the old gravel and replacing it. If you're adding sand, be aware that it will take a long time to settle if not added very gently.

thnks for the quick reply, won't taking out the gravel and replacing with the sand straight away kill all of the good bacteria, and consequently kill the fish?

 

[c-dub]

No necessarily. Do you have a decent filter setup? The bacteria in the filter media would hopefully be enough to keep the bacteria in the water at the right levels. What sort of fish do you stock and how big is your tank?

 

[Noahs ark6]

No necessarily. Do you have a decent filter setup? The bacteria in the filter media would hopefully be enough to keep the bacteria in the water at the right levels. What sort of fish do you stock and how big is your tank?

Its a 50 ltr tank, i have a fluval mini which is a very good filter, and its 4 neon tetras.
cheers

 

[mattbleasby]

No becuase most if not all beneficial bacteria that keeps the tank mature and cycled lives in your filter media. A very small amount of the bacteria lives in your gravel or substrate.

But as said above, Just be careful when you change it too do it carefully otherwise you may end up with your fish in a bucked for a day or two

 

[Noahs ark6]

No becuase most if not all beneficial bacteria that keeps the tank mature and cycled lives in your filter media. A very small amount of the bacteria lives in your gravel or substrate.

But as said above, Just be careful when you change it too do it carefully otherwise you may end up with your fish in a bucked for a day or two

Ok, thanks for the help everyone.

 

[c-dub]

I think you should be fine. Just leave the same water in the tank and don't clean the filter for at least a few days and the bacteria in the filter alone should be enough to keep the water levels ok.
If you think about some of the breeding tanks people use, they don't even have substrate... simply a glass bottom - and they still have to do water changes.

 

[Noahs ark6]

I think you should be fine. Just leave the same water in the tank and don't clean the filter for at least a few days and the bacteria in the filter alone should be enough to keep the water levels ok.
If you think about some of the breeding tanks people use, they don't even have substrate... simply a glass bottom - and they still have to do water changes.

Cheers

 

[twodoctors]

Depends on what type of gravel. I had coarse gravel but didn't like it cos food and poo tends to fall between the gaps, and I had planaria because of that. I switched to fine gravel which is great. Easy to clean and maintain.

I tried sand yesterday. Play sand. A bug-ger to clean. When I thought it was clean, it's not. Went very cloudy when filled with water. The filter media won't hold the sand dust either, and leaks the dust back to the tank when I try to remove it. Had to suck the dusty water out from the filter compartment. But it does look nice and because I have a small tank, not too difficult to do.

Adrian

 

[Geoff-]

I used to have gravel and gravel-vaccing was a nightmare, the amount of rubbish that came up from below was . Sand is WAY better, the downside is the fish poo sits on the surface so you can see it.

I bought "washed" play sand, which was still quite dirty but half a bucket of sand at a time washed 5 times and put in the tank, the water was a touch cloudy but crystal clear after 48 hours. Looks great.

 

[c-dub]

I think I'm gonna make up a 6 foot tank with black sand soon.

 

[mattbleasby]

I love sand, Its a nightmare to clean up at first IE pre tank. But once its in and settled its so much better in my opinion, If you can put up with seeing the dirt on top.