Which Do You Like Better, Sand Or Gravel

[Joshwainwright]

I use and swear by the Argos play sand which you can get 15kg of for £2.99.
 
I have one bag in my 125L, meaning there's probably a bit too much but it means I can suck up some sand while I'm cleaning.
 
Once you've given it a few rinses it's fine and looks great!

 

[RCA]

I switched from larger gravel to the Unipac sand some time ago and I find my Corys a lot better on it.  In my current project (see signature) I did consider sand, such as the Argos Play Sand, for the front section, but I was advised it is not so good in planted tanks due to it compacting - anyone with planted tanks?  I have been very happy with the Unipac and like the Senegal.  If you search the forum there have been other discussions on it.

 

[Joshwainwright]

I'm planted with Argos play sand, only recently though. Before I just had some Java Moss and Java Ferns. 
 
Everything seems to be going alright so far but it's only been a week or so, dosing liquid CO2 and ferts.
 
The only melting I've seen so far I've put down to the plants being recently added

 

[frapadoodle]

Have playsand in planted tanks. No worries. If concerned about compaction, without livestock to stir it up, use a chopstick or dow rod to move it around each waterchange. And if you have plants like Amazon swords with monster roots, no need to worry.

 

[stanleo]

I use both. Only because I wanted a planted aquarium and thought that I needed a substrate designed for plants which was black But I wanted something that would be gentle on the bottom dwellers. So I put most of the gravel on the bottom and the sand on top but with some areas for the black substrate to show a contrast with the white sand.

 

[Noahs ark6]

Sand:
Pros

• Good for bottom dwellers.
• (IMO) more attractive than gravel.
• Generally cheaper.
• Allows for better growth of carpeting plants compared to gravel.
• Plants' roots like it.

Cons

• Requires a lot of rinsing before you use it.
• Requires more thinking when you're vaccing it.

Gravel:
Pros:

• Available in alot of colours/sizes (ugh!)
• Requires less thought to gravel vac than sand.
• Allows more nutrients to the roots of plants (compared to a silica sand)

Cons:

• Bad for some bottom feeders (e.g. Corydoras)
• Can be harder to get every bit of detritus from it (compared to sand where the waste sits on the surface)

I personally prefer and would reccommend sand =D

 

[RCA]

Everyone has different choices like with sand i heard people said it gets dirty and it would be difficult to clean because its like trying to clean like a million grains also you would see the fishes waste settled on top but i think it depends on the type of sand you get like i have the pets@home sand which urprisingly makes it hard to see the fishes waste and its hard to tell if it gets dirty because it has a mix of black, brown sugar and darker colours on it which my cories love and is probably like a blanket for my otos whenever they reach the ground

 
Hi Zain611, I am looking for a Grey sand and have just discovered this one from Pets At Home, Aquarium Pewter Sand  Having not seen it in the "flesh" can you tell me from your experience with their sand, is it a very fine grade, similar to play sand?  From your description do you have this one, Sand Mix Aquarium Gravel?
 

The best method to clean sand is the bottle method. i tried it and it did leave a cloudy look but that eventually went away during the night

What is the "bottle method" please?
 
 
Please also check out my new topic, Unipac Gravel And Sand, Which Do You Own?

 

[the_lock_man]

Black sand for me, makes the colours of the fish stand out so much more. Unless you have predominantly black fish.

 

[DreamertK]

I have black legit plant sand in one tank and white play sand in another. Sand can be a little difficult to clean if you've never done it before and even worse if you dont clean it properly the first time, but overall its easy maintenance.
 
Depends on the fish though. If you've got a planted tank, some plants wont root in gravel. And some fish like to displace the sand by diving into it or sifting through it. And some snails have a hard time scooting through, though some like to sit under the sand.

 

[RCA]

Black sand for me, makes the colours of the fish stand out so much more. Unless you have predominantly black fish.

 
I am planning black Cory's in my project, hence choosing the Unipac Senegal for that one.

 

[This Old Spouse]

RCA, the bottle method is where you fill a soft drink bottle (clean, of course) partially with sand, put it in your aquarium upright to fill it with tank water, then turn it upside down to let the sand out. Supposedly all the dirt from the sand stays in the bottle and nice clean sand comes out. However, my husband tried this yesterday and now has a very cloudy tank with only one bottle. It sure looks good when they do it on YouTube, but didn't work at all for him.

 

[RCA]

Thanks for the explanation TOS, found this re: the bottle method which may explain the issues your husband had...I think I would just use the old fashion bucket and stir method as I do when cleaning my gravel.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Yep, I saw that video too. That's pretty much what happened.