Sand,stones Gravel.....whats The One For You?

[rayza]

hi all,
whats the best stuff to have at the bottom of the tank
sand, stones gravel
your help is needed please as i will be upgrading my tanks soon .
at the moment i have sand which i cant complaine about because its been realy good
but what do you think?

 

[hollanda88]

hi all,
whats the best stuff to have at the bottom of the tank
sand, stones gravel
your help is needed please as i will be upgrading my tanks soon .
at the moment i have sand which i cant complaine about because its been realy good
but what do you think?

I have seen like 10 of these in the last few weeks, if you search for it of looka t the bottom of this post now you should find a lot. Im not being annoying and moaning i just don't think the same people will bother to post again so you wont get many posts.

andrew

 

[Curiosity101]

I agree, do a quick search and you'll get alot of answers.
Just so you do have a reply, I personally prefer sand. I dont find it any harder to clean, plants have done fine and it suits my bottom dwellers.
It is a PAIN to clean in the first place though.

 

[-SPB-]

I prefer stones, purely because it's easier to clean. But sand does look better. I guess once you get the hang of cleaning sand it's easy, but I never got the hang of it lol.

Also, some fish prefer sand, I think some cory's need sand, as the stones can destroy their barbels.

 

[Curiosity101]

The sand really is just as easy to clean if you've already washed it well and have your finger ready over the end of the syphon just incase. I've gotta admit there is a nack to it. And I syphoned quite alot of sand until I got it down

 

[doresy]

Really the first thing depends on the stock you intend to keep.

Cory, for example, flourish over sand and smooth fine gravel.

I am a sand man myself and find it no bother to keep clean although I have my Tanganyikan's over black gravel (see sig.)

*Off topic* Many people dive right in with a question without bothering to check out whether or not the subject has been covered recently. This can bug some members but don't worry there are enough of us who are able to concentrate our energy on helping (again) rather than commenting on the fact

 

[Schmill]

I used to have large natural gravel in my 60L tank, but I thought it looked 'ok'.
In my quarantine tank, as it is much smaller I took the oppurtunity to try a few difference things, I'd liked sand so tried that.
I found the sand difficult to anchor the plants in and stop the fish digging them up, I found black patches forming in the sand, despite having corys, and snails to stir it up, as well as me mixing it each time I syphoned, and I found it a pain to keep clean.
I tried bare bottomed, and it looked quite nice, but any slight piece of muck will show up like a sore thumb, and also it obviously gives no base for 'rooting' plants.
In the end I have gone for smooth, fine black Roman gravel in my 300L tank, and now in my 60L tank. The 300L also has a layer of JBL AquaBasic plant substrate under the gravel to see if it adds anything to the plant growth

 

[pippoodle]

OP

let us know what stock you have then it's easier to say which substrate that your fish will enjoy and thrive with

I used to have gravel but now have sand in all my tanks and love it -- i am a cory monster though and they keep it super clean

cheers sarah

p.s. dont worry about asking questions thats already been asked cos if you didnt we couldn't help you properly as regards to what substate is suitable for your type of fish etc anyway

 

[rayza]

Hi Pippoodle,
i have the below in my tank

3 bristle nose plecs
1 10inch plec
3 neon tetras
3 Dwarf gourami's
1 clown loach
1 zebra loach
1 Yo-Yo loach /Botia almorhae
3 Zebra danio
3 leapod danio
3 albino corey's
5 bronze corey's
2 Pseudotropheus daktari / Doctor's cichlid (Yello with black stripe down the spine)
2 Powder Blue cichlid with yellow stripe down spine


as you can see from the clip below, the colour of the water is a yellow/ brown and it has been like that for years!!
so i am hoping in my new tank i wil have rocks and plenty of hiding places for them....and hopefully the water will stay clear without the wood in the tank!!

see below

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou4vS8HfEz4

 

[pippoodle]

Definately keep to sand
corys , loaches and some cichlids do better on sand than any other substrate
maybe try adding just a few plants to the other tank would look great with the rocks , caves etc

transfer just one bit of wood over for the pleccy

Tank looks good hun

please post pic or vid of new one when its set up

 

[rayza]

thanks for your help,
once its up and running i will drop you a message and upload some pictures....

 

[Night61]

i have five tanks in my room, two with sand, two with stone and one bare bottom.
the two stoned tanks only have a single betta fish.
the sand tanks have bettas in the small tank, the other is my community tank. with corries and khulis in that tank they love the sand.

the bare bottom is for my baby snails, they don't need the bottom, and i don't think they care that much.

 

[pippoodle]

thanks for your help,
once its up and running i will drop you a message and upload some pictures....

look forward to them hun