Gravel or sand?

[CuriousFins]

I'm conflicted. I prefer the look of sand, but I could live with some fairly small gravel. The plants I've been considering are dwarf sag, ambulia, and water sprite(I'll probably plant one in the substrate and float the other one). As a beginner, it seems rly weird to put plants in gravel. Like, it goes against everything I've learned about non-aquatic gardening, and it's confusing my brain. But I've read that sand is actually bad for growing plants, and gravel is better. But what do you guys think? It'll be a betta and a snail or two in a 10g. Sand or gravel?

 

[itiwhetu]

I only use gravel and I think gravel is better for your plants. The roots of the plants have less resistance through gravel and they for put in less energy producing roots. With most Aquatic plants the plants take up nutrients through the water and the roots are just there to support the plant. Gravel is also fresher than sand as the water passes through it with ease. Aim to use a fine gravel with grain size in the 3-5mm range.

 

[Avel1896]

Hi
Why not dedicates gravel to plants and sand to the "rest" ?

 

[itiwhetu]

Hi
Why not dedicates gravel to plants and sand to the "rest" ?

Because I plant my whole tank

 

[AquaBarb]

Both sand or gravel will work just fine for growing your plants. Ive used both in the past.

It comes down to your personal choice and what suits your set up at the end of the day. I now use play sand in all my tanks. I find it more natural than gravel, easier to maintain and gives me more options with stocking.

 

[Avel1896]

Not even a little free space ?

 

[itiwhetu]

Not even a little free space ?

Pretty much the whole tank will be in plants or roots. The idea is to turn the base of the tank into a large biological filter.

 

[Byron]

Aquarium aquatic plants will for the most part grow in any substrate, provided the grain size is not too large; the finer the grain, the better because this is closer to all natural habitats. Pea gravel is about the largest you would want, and some plants will have trouble with this because of the larger size. I do not know where the idea that sand is not good for plants came from; natural habitats are sand and/or soil/mud. Plants with smaller roots anchor better in fine substrates like sand. And on that note, the plants mentioned (post #1) will all fare better in sand.

Having said the above, the substrate must be suited to the fish; upper level fish tend to have no issues with any substrate, but fish closely allied to the substrate (catfish, loaches, cichlids for example) may have serious issues with some substrate materials. Sand in most cases is better, and in some essential.

 

[itiwhetu]

Planted November 14.

Today 5 weeks later

 

[Avel1896]

Pretty much the whole tank will be in plants or roots. The idea is to turn the base of the tank into a large biological filter.

So a lowtech tank

 

[itiwhetu]

So a lowtech tank

Keep it simple. Alot of fish keepers think that when things are not going well then, the solution is throw money at it. In fact, this hobby is one that sometimes the less you do the better the result.

 

[CuriousFins]

Okay, thanks everyone! I think I'm going to go with sand, but I'll pick something that's on the larger-grained side so that siphoning will be easier.

 

[itiwhetu]

Okay, thanks everyone! I think I'm going to go with sand, but I'll pick something that's on the larger-grained side so that siphoning will be easier.

Just out of interest what is the one thing that made you decide that sand is the best option for your tank

 

[Lajos_Detari]

If you really want "a river look", sand still look the best.
There was once I used fine gravel as I find it easier to siphon the waste out.

But the moment I changed to sand, it immediately looked so different and my tank looked just like a river/stream....it looked so natural, just like the fish habitat...
From that day onwards, I made up my mind just to use sand.
Even by putting a thin layer of sand, it will make a big different in your tank as what I observed in one of our LFS.

 

[itiwhetu]

I always like it when people say sand is more natural. Further upstream you go the less sand there is. Mountain streams and rivers have very little sand. Sand is only a product of erosion, so it only occurs near the mouths of rivers, but not inland.