Gravel or sand

AbbeysDad said:

Well first grasshopper, the grain size of pool filter sand may be ever so slightly more course than fine play sand, but offers nearly perfect permeability for water penetration/circulation (which is why/how it works in the pool filter). My cories have been living large for over 8 years! (btw, there are those that have cories on gravel).

And second, I was cleaning the sand in a 5g bucket outdoors with the hose as I always do.

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Did you just call me a grasshopper?

This:

Does not equal this:

Im kidding! Lol.

I know for a fact that @Deanasue had problem with her sand to...

If you didn’t wash the sand, add the sand to your tank, fill the tank up, and then drain it, you will have problems.

PheonixKingZ said:

BDBS is known to have sharp particles in it...

If the OP was planning on having cories or plecos, this would not work.

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The sharp particles in BDBS is a myth. Its no more sharp than play sand. Blasting sand doesnt function as a blasting sand because its sharp its functionality is due to it being hard not sharp.
Before black diamond blasting sand was used in the industry sand blasters used plain old sand much like if not play sand, would one assume play sand isnt suitable for fish tanks since its used for sand blasting?
Ive heard the arguments that industrial sands shouldnt be used and i agree and technically play sand is an industrial sand. Industrial sands to be avoided are those with wetting agents or other chemical agents used to help them harden like quickrete or paving sands. BDBS is just as safe for fish and corydoras as play sand is. For corydora id reccomend getting the fine grit. Personally i use medium grit as it isnt as messy holds my plants better doesnt compact as easily. I dont have corydora but i do have a bolivian ram which are earth eaters and hes healthy no gill irritation sifts through the sand with no problems. I researched bdbs gping back to arpund 2010, before using it from those who have used it with corydora and other substrate fish like plecos and nobody reports any ill effects from the sand.
I prefer it to play sand because its easier to rinse and doesnt kick dust up in my tank when disturbed, the one thing i dont like about it is since its black it doesnt visually hide poop on it as well as play sand. I like tjat its inert and like LFS black sands BDBS is silica free which is great. Id recommend it to anyone and have found that the people that have negative reactions to it are those that have never used it. Having said that play sand is perfectly suitable and ive used it in multiple tanks as well and is the same low price as bdbs.

AbbeysDad said:

I'm a fan of pool filter sand. The particle size is better to promote permeability. I find that often play sand is just too fine. I changed to PFS in my 60g planted tank (see avitar) over 8 years ago. With Cory's and Malaysian Trumpet Snails I have never needed to clean or disturb the 4" layer of sand in any way. I use an Eco 396 submersible pump for water changes.
I know that others swear by play sand and I tried to use it for another tank but when I bucket cleaned the 'fines' (dust like particles of sand) were so great, I gave it up. So play sand, or at least some play sands, contain very fine sand making them difficult to 'clean'.
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Ive used pool filter sand but i dont like the color of it but it worked well for me. Ive used play sand and i agree the rinsing for like a week is tiresome.
If you like pool filter sand you should give black diamond blasting sand a try.i rinsed it once Its a little smaller grain size than pool filter sand and it holds my plant better than play sand and pool filter sand and is around same price. I think i got 50lbs for $7

utahfish said:

Ive used pool filter sand but i dont like the color of it but it worked well for me. Ive used play sand and i agree the rinsing for like a week is tiresome.
If you like pool filter sand you should give black diamond blasting sand a try.i rinsed it once Its a little smaller grain size than pool filter sand and it holds my plant better than play sand and pool filter sand and is around same price. I think i got 50lbs for $7

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It also is more white, which could be bad for your fishes eyes.

PheonixKingZ said:

It also is more white, which could be bad for your fishes eyes.

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Its not much lighter than the light brown play sand but i dont like that color of sand either i prefer the darker sand.

PheonixKingZ said:

Did you just call me a grasshopper?

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It was a Kung Fu reference although I often like to use 'weedhopper'.
And the Shaolin priest said to Caine...
"You must empty your cup of your tea before you can taste mine."

PheonixKingZ said:

It also is more white, which could be bad for your fishes eyes.

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My pfs is sandy (light brown) color, not white (avitar).

AbbeysDad said:

It was a Kung Fu reference although I often like to use 'weedhopper'.
And the Shaolin priest said to Caine...
"You must empty your cup of your tea before you can taste mine."

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I know, I was just joking around, lol.

Byron said:

To the original question Kamdavid...what fish do you intend or want in this tank? Substrate fish such as a group of Corydoras, or a group of loaches, will restrict you on the substrate options, so it is best to decide this.

Second, the Fluval Stratum is an issue. Fish that dig may have issues with this, so again depending upon the intended fish, this may or may not work.

Generally speaking, sand is a better substrate than gravel. However, if you want tyo replicate a Central American or Mexican stream, gravel up to pea grain size is authentic and very workable. But you would not have loaches or cories in such a tank. But in general terms, sand does provide an excellent plant substrate, it does look natural (aside from the afore-mentioned, almost every stream and creed in Tropical areas has a sand substrate, but never use white), and it visually makes the tank space seem larger. Not all sand is suitable, this again depends upon the intended fish.

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Well I have a couple mollies and a platy. And the Pleco.

Kamdavid said:

Well I have a couple mollies and a platy. And the Pleco.

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Yes, then you need sand. It can be really uncomfortable for the pleco to try to eat on gravel.

PheonixKingZ said:

Yes, then you need sand. It can be really uncomfortable for the pleco to try to eat on gravel.

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So if I get the play sand from Home Depot or Lowe’s , what’s that care for it before it goes into the tank. Obviously I have to take all the gravel and fluval out. So gonna be a mission.
But cleaning the sand ?

Kamdavid said:

So if I get the play sand from Home Depot or Lowe’s , what’s that care for it before it goes into the tank. Obviously I have to take all the gravel and fluval out. So gonna be a mission.
But cleaning the sand ?

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Put a few large handfuls of sand in a bucket and fill moslty with water. Stir around and tip the couldy water out. Repeat until it is clear

Also dont make the same mistake as I did. Remove the fish before taking the only gravel out. I didnt and it disturbed anaerobic pockets and poisoned my fish I lost one fish and a snail, and a few of them almost didnt make it. Not making that mistake again!

JuiceBox52 said:

Also dont make the same mistake as I did. Remove the fish before taking the only gravel out. I didnt and it disturbed anaerobic pockets and poisoned my fish I lost one fish and a snail, and a few of them almost didnt make it. Not making that mistake again!

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I’ll take all of them out and place into a bucket . Then remove all the rock and fluval stratum.

I don't rinse my play sand all that much, it is after all just dirt. I do 4 or maybe 5 rinses of about 4 or 5 cups of sand in a bucket, then dump that sand in to the tank and do the next. When you have all the sand you want, which should be somewhere around 1.5 to 2 inches when spread evenly over the tank floor, you can arrange the hardscape. If you have plants to root in the substrate, add maybe half a tank of water and plant them. When you are finished, drain the water down to the sand. Then refill using a large clean bowl to run the water into, this avoids stirring up the sand too much. Particulate matter will settle out in a day, and continuing haziness will then be bacterial bloom which is harmless.