Sand or gravel?

[Fishmanic]

If you have plenty of plants, I think that would lessen any negatives about pool filter sand. My pf sand is white I would have used tan pf sand if I knew it was available. I have it in two of my three tanks. One thing I like about it is that you really don't need to rinse it very much before putting it in the tank...maybe a quick rinse to remove sand dust. I lightly go over the surface when I do python water changes and suck up a tiny bit of the sand but it quickly sinks back down when raising the python tube.
My spotted cories love patrolling over the sand in search of food tidbits.

 

[AbbeysDad]

Just avoid white. White substrate (most pool filter sand I have seen is white) is stressful on fish.

Yes, you've stated this before - perhaps a Canadian thing as I have a pool w/sand filter and have only ever seen/used sandy (tan) colored PFS.

 

[Metalhead88]

I went with the gravel I posted a picture of in an eariler post. Thank you all for your recommendations.

 

[slide95]

i have sand in my tank i quite enjoy it and it suits the type of fish i have better , the only downsides to sand is that its a bit more of a pain when vacuming ( the tank not the room : ) as it tends to get sucked up the tube which either means you have to filter it back out or top the sand up from time and it tends to show the mess up alot more than gravel.







Sarkari Result Pnr Status 192.168.1.1

 

[seangee]

i have sand in my tank i quite enjoy it and it suits the type of fish i have better , the only downsides to sand is that its a bit more of a pain when vacuming ( the tank not the room : ) as it tends to get sucked up the tube which either means you have to filter it back out or top the sand up from time and it tends to show the mess up alot more than gravel.

I used to religously vacuum mine every week. Even got the knack of getting the muck up without catching the sand.

Then some of the experienced guys on here mentioned that the beauty of sand is you don't have to vacuum it it if you have a mature and balanced setup. I was pretty sceptical but decided a 2 week trial couldn't hurt. Turns out they were right and my tanks look far better for it. Much less stressful for the fish too.

 

[AbbeysDad]

i have sand in my tank i quite enjoy it and it suits the type of fish i have better , the only downsides to sand is that its a bit more of a pain when vacuuming ( the tank not the room : ) as it tends to get sucked up the tube which either means you have to filter it back out or top the sand up from time and it tends to show the mess up alot more than gravel.

A real beauty of sand is that the particle size is too small for uneaten food and mulm to get down under to decompose. Ergo, no need to vacuum. Now some claim to have a problem with mulm on the surface of the sand. I never see this, but I have a couple of Cory's and a plethora of Malaysian Trumpet Snails so the surface of the sand always looks good! Sand is hands down a winner over gravel....BUT each to his own - if you like the look of gravel and are willing to invest in routine gravel vacuuming...so be it.

 

[seangee]

real beauty of sand is that the particle size is too small for uneaten food and mulm to get down under to decompose. Ergo, no need to vacuum. Now some claim to have a problem with mulm on the surface of the sand.

Yes - you were one of those who influenced my decision! For those in doubt the reason I thought I had to vacuum every day was because of the mulm - and I had a nitrate problem at the time. But when I started leaving it, it was always gone by the next morning and looked pristine. Both of my tanks have MTS, one has corys and a clumsy bristlenose who loves creating sandstorms . The other has cherry shrimp.

(Oh and FWIW my nitrate problem was in my taps not in my tank).

 

[Colin_T]

Both of my tanks have MTS,

Your tanks have MTS?
your tanks have Multiple Tank Syndrome. Now that's a hobby that is out of control



ps: I know you meant those horrible bastard livebearing snails but multi tank syndrome works better

 

[Fishmanic]

Yeh but what if you have a large BN pleco like I have. I vacuum up his poop with the python cleaner.

 

[seangee]

Yeh but what if you have a large BN pleco like I have. I vacuum up his poop with the python cleaner.

My BN was born in 2004. He is about 3cm longer than the range given for the species by SF. The tank copes fine with his waste.