What is your opinion on....

[Mike&Diana]

using sand versus using gravel? I am in search of the pros and cons of each.. specifically:

1)What do plants prefer?
2)What do fish prefer? -mainly cories and catfish
3)Which is easier to clean? -does the sand get pulled up through the siphon?
4)Will the sand ruin my filter if it gets stirred up?
5)What is the best type of sand to use?
6)Will using sand alter the ph, etc, of my tank?
7)Can sand "house" beneficial bactera like gravel can?

I think that is about it ! Thanks a lot and please share your opinions!


Mike

 

[ryan]

1)In my opinion sand, I have gravel and sand planted tanks and my sand ones look far better and the plants grow better.
2)Sand.
3)Gravel.
4)No.
5)Any sand sold by an aquatic outlet for use in tanks.
6)No, won't make much of a difference.

Good Luck

 

[CFC]

I have found plants do better in a fine gravel rather than sand.

Catfish preffer sand

Sand is easier to keep clean since the waste is on top of the substrate not trapped in it

A little sand in the filter wont cause any harm but its not advisable to use sand with large cichlids since they stir up a lot of sand which can over time damage the impeller on the filter

I like to use a mixture of river sand ( a large grained sand from the lfs) black sand (again from the lfs) and playpit sand (very cheap so good for bulking it out )

Some sands might alter pH so be careful what you use, none of the sands i mentioned above will affect PH.

Bacteria colonise sand just as well as gravel.

 

[Bol]

4) If sand gets into any sort of pumping mechanism (which is usually an impeller in a HOB filter), it will probably damage it. However, not many people report this as a problem -- usually, moving the intake away from the substrate surface and/or installing some sort of filter on the intake takes care of this.

6) Depends, of course, on the makeup of the sand. If it's commercial play sand, blasting sand, etc., chances are it won't.

7) yes

 

[Mike&Diana]

After doing some thorough research of past posts, I learned about "dead" spots. This concerns me a little bit. Perhaps gravel is the best way to go? I just don't like how it looks and besides, the smooth look of sand is really attractive. Any more opinions are definately welcome!

Mike

 

[Tropjunky]

1) Sand
2) sand
3)sand -sand does get pulled up through the siphon but not that much
4)nope but it's not a good idea to stir it up that often (once a month should be ok and clean ur filter after that)
5)silica sand is the best
6)nope not in a million years
7)yes but you should have biological media in ur filter anyway

 

[Bol]

If you have live plants, have you considered alternate substrates, such as Flourite? Kind of pricey, but they generally provide sort of a "middle ground" between gravel and sand (in terms of particle size), while helping your plants.

 

[guppymonkey]

I haven't used sand myself because I can't find any aquarium sand besides coral sand that that wouldn't work and also because I have read about dead spots caused by the sand compacting over time. Some people use a mixture of sand and gravel which could help eliminate the dead spots (maybe). I think it depends on what fish you have. Fish that dig in the substrate will put a lot of sand into the water which can mess up the filter.

 

[sinistral]

I'm really glad you posted this topic Mike as it contains all the questions I'd had about using sand substrate. To throw in my two cents about the dead spots, I've read that the danger is anaerobic bacteria colonizing those areas. Most people suggest stirring up the sand every week with a chopstick, and not making the substrate depth greater than 1 or 2 inches (that appears to be more anecdotal as far as I can tell, though perhaps somebody knows for sure...). I've also read about people getting Malaysian trumpet snails which are known for 1) burrowing into the sand and providing excellent aeration and 2) being pests, in that they reproduce like mad and can overrun the tank. Wondering if anyone has had experience with these and a sand substrate...

I agree with you about the nice look of sand. I've been thinking about getting a 20 US Gallon tank just to try out plants and sand (and some gourami and snails .

One other interesting if possibly irrelevant point is that apparently those fluidized bed filters use uniform particles about the size of grains of sand (if not sand itself) suspended in an upwardly moving flow of water. They get terrific biological filtration because the nitrosomonas and nitrobacter can colonize the whole particle since none of the particles are touching.

 

[khs666]

Glad you asked Mike, I posted a question before the crash about changing from gravel to sand, and lost the post.

I've got gravel tanks, my in-laws two sand and one gravel - the sand one's look far better and cleaner and they haven't had any problems with filters, colonisation of bacteria, dead spots etc.

On the other hand, one tank is being taken over by snails - and they are fast. Switch the light on and they go like blazes into the sand, where you can never catch them.

As far as I've read, it's a matter of choice which you use, with pros and cons with each.

 

[Opcn]

you could always run the sand throught a sive to catch the snail and besides if you cant see the snails were is the problem they just clean the glass and eat the extra fish food you win twice.

Opcn

 

[Mike&Diana]

I went to the shop today to dig a little further into my question and found a substrate that is made for plants. It was black and made of a fine particle, but not nearly as fine as sand. I wonder if that would do the trick! Anyways, thanks for the excellent replies! I guess now I just need to decide!

Mike

 

[Adrinal]

I've only ever done one planted tank so I am far from an expert. But, I recall deep in the recesses of my fatty tissue... i mean brain... something about a well planted tank cant really get dead spots... because well guess what the roots love to dig out... perhaps there is some sort of wormy fellas you can get for the sand as well...

might want to move that one question to the planted area...
GL

I think I would go for sand... I've never done it but I do like the look.

 

[petitericeball]

i found this site awhile ago and people seem to like it... may not be the best sites but gives the basics


substrates

enjoi

 

[sinistral]

Thanks for that great article petitericeball. I like this website for a good discussion about plant substrates.