Should I Replace Gravel with Sand?

[PlasticGalaxy]

My 170L tank (recently learned that it's a discontinued model - a Juwel Panoramic - for anyone wondering) has a sharp-ish gravel as its substrate and an area to the right with smooth pebbles. As some of you know I keep kuhli loaches, corys and plecos* in this tank, which I'm aware need sand rather than gravel to properly thrive. I'm starting to get increasingly worried about damaging their undersides, and I'm hoping to get some more catfish in the future so I'd like to make the newcomers as comfortable as possible. Is it too late to switch out my gravel for sand?

Any advice and/or recommendations would be very helpful!

And... In the mean time, would it be worth moving these fish to my 54L that already has sand? It's currently quarantining three female guppies and two upside down catfish, but once the quarantine is up I'd probably be able to move them in.

*2x plecos (one sailfin and one common that will be rehomed soon)
6x corydoras aeneus (3x albino 3x bronze)
3x kuhli loaches (getting more when I have the space + money)

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I would definitely replace that stuff. Corys need that soft sand so they can eat right and the Kuhiliis would love to dig in it.

You are going to have to take down the whole tank (unfortunately) and re do everything, if you want to make a substrate switch.

Your fish will definitely benefit from it, and it will be well for it for them in the long run.

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

I would definitely replace that stuff. Corys need that soft sand so they can eat right and the Kuhiliis would love to dig in it.

You are going to have to take down the whole tank (unfortunately) and re do everything, if you want to make a substrate switch.

Your fish will definitely benefit from it, and it will be well for it for them in the long run.

It's a pain, but it'll be necessary... Wish me luck! I'll get a big bucket in the time being lol.

 

[AbbeysDad]

The beauty of sand over gravel is that nothing gets down under with sand, so gravel vacuuming will be a thing of the past. I have pool filter sand in my 60g and haven't touched it in 10 years! My friend Byron swears by play sand. It is important not to use a very fine sand that may pack tightly and inhibit plant root growth, otherwise sand rules. (Also see The Very Best Aquarium Filter)

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

The beauty of sand over gravel is that nothing gets down under with sand, so gravel vacuuming will be a thing of the past. I have pool filter sand in my 60g and haven't touched it in 10 years! My friend Byron swears by play sand. It is important not to use a very fine sand that may pack tightly and inhibit plant root growth, otherwise sand rules. (Also see The Very Best Aquarium Filter)

Thank you! I'll look into the options for substrate in my LFS and figure it out from there.

 

[vanalisa]

Great thread, thx

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

Great thread, thx

Haha, glad it helped you out too!

 

[Back in the fold]

On the advice of all my learned colleagues here on The Great TFF Forums I switched to sand and do not regret it at all. I will never have gravel again except in the driveway.

 

[vanalisa]

What if the fish don't naturally live in sany conditions?

What if they weren't in sane?

*Sand

Edited for clarity.

 

[FishGuest5123]

The beauty of sand over gravel is that nothing gets down under with sand, so gravel vacuuming will be a thing of the past. I have pool filter sand in my 60g and haven't touched it in 10 years! My friend Byron swears by play sand. It is important not to use a very fine sand that may pack tightly and inhibit plant root growth, otherwise sand rules. (Also see The Very Best Aquarium Filter)

@AbbeysDad, I agree! Lol. OP, I hated sand for the longest time. Fought against it all the time. Then I became interested in Cories and had to bite the bullet and buy sand. This time, I used play sand though. I found it was great! I never syphon the sand either now. I admit, I was crazy wrong!

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

On the advice of all my learned colleagues here on The Great TFF Forums I switched to sand and do not regret it at all. I will never have gravel again except in the driveway.

Are there any fish/shrimp/snails/e.c.t that actually do better in gravel? I've heard it can be better for plants since the roots can spread out more, but nothing beyond that.

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

@AbbeysDad, I agree! Lol. OP, I hated sand for the longest time. Fought against it all the time. Then I became interested in Cories and had to bite the bullet and buy sand. This time, I used play sand though. I found it was great! I never syphon the sand either now. I admit, I was crazy wrong!

It's been amazing for my 54L so far... Washing it is a bit of a pain, and getting it to lay flat and not form big dunes in the wrong parts of the tank is troublesome, but it feels sooo nice to wedge hardscaping bits and bobs into. So much nicer than gravel.

 

[Back in the fold]

Everybody says plants do better in sand and I believe them. All fish are going to prefer it to gravel except, possibly, larger cichlids that enjoy excavation work. Bottom fish with barbel whiskers like Kuhlii Loaches and Corydoras will thrive with it. The biggest advantage to me is that I feed live Grindal worms which sink rapidly and are quite small. They don't get lost into the gravel and my fish can feast on them at their leisure. Cleaning sand is not the problem that I feared it would be. I swirl the siphon above the sand to lift the dirt and then get it. I always seem to get a little sand siphoned out by accident so I'm slowly losing it a little at a time but sand is dirt cheap so I don't care. Just don't put it down your drain. I throw my change water on the yard outside. Like @Deanasue said, it's adding the water back in and avoiding dunes and bare spots. The sudden rush disturbs your neat sandscaping. I have solved that problem by pouring my new water back into the tank through a brine shrimp net. It diffuses the flow. I age my water and dust and lint get in my holding container so I filter that out too with this method.

 

[PlasticGalaxy]

Everybody says plants do better in sand and I believe them. All fish are going to prefer it to gravel except, possibly, larger cichlids that enjoy excavation work. Bottom fish with barbel whiskers like Kuhlii Loaches and Corydoras will thrive with it. The biggest advantage to me is that I feed live Grindal worms which sink rapidly and are quite small. They don't get lost into the gravel and my fish can feast on them at their leisure. Cleaning sand is not the problem that I feared it would be. I swirl the siphon above the sand to lift the dirt and then get it. I always seem to get a little sand siphoned out by accident so I'm slowly losing it a little at a time but sand is dirt cheap so I don't care. Just don't put it down your drain. I throw my change water on the yard outside. Like @Deanasue said, it's adding the water back in and avoiding dunes and bare spots. The sudden rush disturbs your neat sandscaping. I have solved that problem by pouring my new water back into the tank through a brine shrimp net. It diffuses the flow. I age my water and dust and lint get in my holding container so I filter that out too with this method.

My dad cut up a 6 pint milk jug for me to scoop out water better. Then I just put my hand under it to disperse the flow. Works great.

But you really do make a compelling argument... I'll see how soon I can get that started.

 

[madmark285]

Just make sure you stir the sand occasionally during cleanings so that no poisonous gas pockets form.

I agree.

Creating anaerobic area is one issue with using sand. With deep levels of sand you can get Hydrogen sulphide (swamp gas) in the substrate which can kill your fish.

I plan on using sand for my Mbuna tank I am currently working on and it will have alot of pool sand in it. To aerate the sand, I plan on running my filter return lines under the sand substrate ie: like an reverse flow undergravel filter.