Sand Or Gravel?

[BluePhantom]

So finally got the 180 gallon in the house and I have always used gravel didn't know too much about sand but which is better and is sand just as easy to care for as gravel? Thanks for all the help and I have joined this forum not long ago but love how its very active and all the help ppl are willimro give!

 

[StandbySetting]

Neither is better than the other in all aspects, it's all down to personal preference, but some species of fish such as Corydoras and Mikrogeophagus require sand because of the way in which they behave.

 

[BluePhantom]

Ok then do u know if which is harder to clean. Im just thinking sand?

 

[pompeydaz]

Sand is apparently easier because it stays on top so easier to get to, but I don't have it personally.

 

[StandbySetting]

Sand is easier to clean, but if your tank has good circulation you shouldn't get detritus problems.

 

[CrazyAirborne]

i think the general feeling is that most fish prefer sand, (and some need it outright) its not necessarily harder to clean, u just gotta learn the technique, kinda learn to swirl the vac above the waste, and get it to come up off the sand and then get sucked up. if u have a really strong syphon like i do, i just get the hose to the right hight above the sand and i sucks the waste right up, but get it too close and u will lose some sand. sand looks great too!!!!

 

[Binge]

I am a relative newb so have been playing with both between my 3 tanks from my own observation I would say sand looks way better. It reflects the light better and has a warmer feel to me. I have not mastered the cleaning of it yet though and still suck up some sand when siphoning so thats annoying.

Gravel to me is easier to clean though as ya just jam the siphon in for a few seconds and let it do its work. But gravel does make me think the tank is filthy when I siphon.

Just my observation between the two

 

[Tizer]

sand is a big thumbs up for me, i wont use gravel again.

 

[Duz]

I am a relative newb so have been playing with both between my 3 tanks from my own observation I would say sand looks way better. It reflects the light better and has a warmer feel to me. I have not mastered the cleaning of it yet though and still suck up some sand when siphoning so thats annoying.

Gravel to me is easier to clean though as ya just jam the siphon in for a few seconds and let it do its work. But gravel does make me think the tank is filthy when I siphon.

Just my observation between the two

I agree. Sand in my opinion looks better but I believe it is harder to clean than gravel. I have always had sand but thats just because I like keeping corys and they prefer sand to gravel. But everyone has a different opinion.

 

[Athena]

I always used gravel until recently when I was upgrading to a 4ft tank. I decided to go with a mixed substrate - so I have sand at both ends curving around, with the middle section in gravel, with large rocks, pebbles and plants separating the sand from gravel areas.

The sand was absolutely a doddle to use (and cheaper than gravel!) - I took the advice from the majority on here and bought Argos Play Sand - it took very little time to clean it (I put it in a bucket, on the lawn and let the hose run into it on a gentle flow, stirring it up now and then to release any dust (but it was very clean after the initial few minutes of scum washed away). After about 10 mins it was crystal clear.

Put it in the tank (don't worry about styling how it looks as it will change once the water goes in) - filled the tank slowly over a plate - no cloudiness whatsoever! The sand barely moved.

Argos sand is a beautiful light sandy colour, which is perfect for tropical aquariums.

I then used a long skewer to poke and lightly stir into the sand to release trapped air bubbles (lots!). Then you can "style" it - some have their sand flat, others have dunes. I did mine with a few low dunes but since then my convicts have totally changed the way it looks by nest building in it so I have higher dunes now and it looks kind of wavy from the front and a bit more natural!

I can honestly say it is super stuff. Not sure if it's because of having a good filter or what, but after a week I don't see any detritus on the sand at all so I've had no need to use the gravel vac on it yet.

Definitely wish I had used sand earlier in other tanks and will definitely recommend to others if that is what suits their fish.

Here's a pic of one third of my tank to show how the sand has been shaped by my fish:

Regards, Athena

 

[marieukxx]

Yeah I think most here would say sand is best

 

[Randi]

I recently changed a tank from gravel to sand. Judging by the amount of nastiness that came up when I removed the old substrate, I would say gravel is not as easy to keep clean as I thought.

 

[BluePhantom]

Athena ur tank looks great! I think most ppl say sand. I may have to just try that!! But I still really like river rock...

 

[mishka83]

I've used both and tbh they both have pros and cons.

gravel seems easier to clean but it does harbour a lot of muck!!

sand looks great, especially with wood and rocks and plants.

i find i get a lot of poop on the surface, it's fairly easy to syphon off.

the thing i dislike about sand is that it gets easily moved around by bottom dwellers such as loaches. mine has dug a massive hole on one side of the tank, i've tried to flatten it off but it just does it again! argh. plants can be easily uprooted.

 

[Smells a bit fishy]

Yeh the main problem is with sand, you can see poop
Alot easier. But that means it's easier to siphon off.

Slightly of topic, how do you guys get the siphon going? As if you use the python it doesn't pick it up great. At the moment I am putting the python on the end of a hose pipe, getting it started then taking it off. There must be an easier way though.