Sand Vs. Gravel

Sasha · Apr 28, 2006

I'm planning to replace all of the gravel in my 46 gallon soon, but I don't know if I should try sand, or use gravel again.

The tank has 7 cories and 3 clown loaches, so I know they prefer sand. Right now, I'm leaning toward sand but I never used it before. Is it hard to maintain? What are some of the advantages of having sand, or the disadvantages?

My plan is to get the tank fully planted with live plants. I bought a new aquarium light a few months ago, so now all I need is the substance. Is sand a good substance to use in a planted aquarium?

Phoenixfish · Apr 28, 2006

Sasha said:
I'm planning to replace all of the gravel in my 46 gallon soon, but I don't know if I should try sand, or use gravel again. The tank has 7 cories and 3 clown loaches, so I know they prefer sand. Right now, I'm leaning toward sand but I never used it before. Is it hard to maintain? What are some of the advantages of having sand, or the disadvantages?

My plan is to get the tank fully planted with live plants. I bought a new aquarium light a few months ago, so now all I need is the substance. Is sand a good substance to use in a planted aquarium?

well for the fish its sand but for planting it may be harder, and i know you need to use more sand (im looking in at the moment for future plans)
as for cleaning, yes ive heard that it shows up waste more and that you have to clean slightly different, but it all goes downt to what yo want really

if you want sand you will have slightly harder/longer cleaning,
im going for sand next

DazedNCoNfUsEd · Apr 28, 2006

I started using sand for the first time just recently and I like it much better than gravel. I actually find that it's easier and takes less time to clean than gravel. All you do is hold the gravel vac about an inch or so above the sand and it sucks up all the waste. Plus it looks alot better. And of course it's better for the cories, because they're always digging for food and the gravel hurts them. I'm about to switch to sand in my other tank as soon as I get the time.

Phoenixfish · Apr 28, 2006

yup im gonna swap to sand as i dont like the fact that the waste drops betwen and you have to more or less push the vac into the gravel, with then just makes the water look horrid ofr 30 mins

ringham · Apr 28, 2006

I have sand in my largest tank and it is a lot better for fish that hunt for food neer the floor of the tank. The BIG downside for me is that it shows up the POO really bad in my tank. I think it is partly due to the fact that I have big and messy fish but for tiny fish like corries or woteva it shouldn't be to bad. In terms of cleaning it is a lot easier to suck up the fish waste and is quite a bit quicker.