Gravel or sand

[Tyler777]

I'm planning in buying a 125 G tank in 2 months.
Can I put sand instead of gravel , at the bottom of the tank ?

If so which sand would be better for the tank ?

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Welcome to the hobby!

If you're planning to have bottom dwelling fish like corydoras, then they do need sand rather than gravel, sand fine enough and not sharp, since they will filter feed through the sand and expel it through their gills.

A lot of people in the hobby have switched to sand rather than gravel since it's also easier to keep clean than gravel is, but it's still your choice! There are many many debates about gravel vs sand here... if you go to the search bar and type "gravel or sand", you'll find many many threads where people talk about the pros and cons. Worth reading through a few of them so you can choose what suits your plans!

Oh, edited to say if you're planning a more river type set up, with strong flow and fish like certain loaches, gobies or other strong current river dwellers, then a different gravel, stone and rock substrate would be more suitable. So the choice of substrate really depends on what types of fish you want to keep.

If you look up the species you're interested in on Seriously Fish (a very reliable resource written by experts and scientists), lots of info about that species requirements are there, from temperature and tank size, to substrate and the conditions of their natural habitat.

 

[sharkweek178]

I find Quikrete play sand to be perfect. It's designed for kids up play in. Which means that it's non toxic and non abrasive. It's chemically inert. And it looks natural. Only drawback is that it needs a good cleaning before using it in the tank.
You can get it at any Home Depot. They have 50 pounds bags for a few dollars.

 

[sharkweek178]

The way to clean sand is get a bucket. Full it about one third full of sand. Then fill it with water. Stir the sand up and then dump out the cloudly water. (Dump it outside. Don't pour it down a drain.)
Repeat this until the water is relatively clear when you stir it up.
It's tedious but worth the effort. I clean sand thoroughly and it never clouds up my tank. It always settles immediately.

 

[Tyler777]

Welcome to the hobby!

If you're planning to have bottom dwelling fish like corydoras, then they do need sand rather than gravel, sand fine enough and not sharp, since they will filter feed through the sand and expel it through their gills.

A lot of people in the hobby have switched to sand rather than gravel since it's also easier to keep clean than gravel is, but it's still your choice! There are many many debates about gravel vs sand here... if you go to the search bar and type "gravel or sand", you'll find many many threads where people talk about the pros and cons. Worth reading through a few of them so you can choose what suits your plans!

Oh, edited to say if you're planning a more river type set up, with strong flow and fish like certain loaches, gobies or other strong current river dwellers, then a different gravel, stone and rock substrate would be more suitable. So the choice of substrate really depends on what types of fish you want to keep.

If you look up the species you're interested in on Seriously Fish (a very reliable resource written by experts and scientists), lots of info about that species requirements are there, from temperature and tank size, to substrate and the conditions of their natural habitat.

Thank you for ur response. I do have Corydoras n planning on getting clown

I find Quikrete play sand to be perfect. It's designed for kids up play in. Which means that it's non toxic and non abrasive. It's chemically inert. And it looks natural. Only drawback is that it needs a good cleaning before using it in the tank.
You can get it at any Home Depot. They have 50 pounds bags for a few dollars.

Thank you I will check it out tomorrow

 

[Ceez]

Sand is a love/hate relationship. Love the way it looks, love that it isn't sharp so it won't harm your bottom dwellers etc. I don't love it flying all over my tank or ending up in my filters. For tanks with a lot of flow/current sand can be a problem. Cleaning sand with your python can also be troublesome and requires more attention. Pros and cons..

Ive started using a finer gravel that's just a bit bigger than sand but not like large gravel. Kind of a compromise for me. It's close to how sand looks but adds a bit of weight so it doesn't fly around the tank. It still wants to fly up the python so I have to pinch the hose when I leave the tube in the gravel too long but it's workable.

Sand/fine gravel also adds value in keeping food and detritus on top where with gravel it tends to find it's way into all the cracks. Think that's what adorabelle was eluding to.

Ive seen a lot of tanks scaped with both that also look amazing. Black gravel on the outsides with a winding white sand road in the middle heavily planted, stunning.

 

[Tyler777]

Sand is a love/hate relationship. Love the way it looks, love that it isn't sharp so it won't harm your bottom dwellers etc. I don't love it flying all over my tank or ending up in my filters. For tanks with a lot of flow/current sand can be a problem. Cleaning sand with your python can also be troublesome and requires more attention. Pros and cons..

Ive started using a finer gravel that's just a bit bigger than sand but not like large gravel. Kind of a compromise for me. It's close to how sand looks but adds a bit of weight so it doesn't fly around the tank. It still wants to fly up the python so I have to pinch the hose when I leave the tube in the gravel too long but it's workable.

Sand/fine gravel also adds value in keeping food and detritus on top where with gravel it tends to find it's way into all the cracks. Think that's what adorabelle was eluding to.

Ive seen a lot of tanks scaped with both that also look amazing. Black gravel on the outsides with a winding white sand road in the middle heavily planted, stunning.

Ok, thank you for your response

 

[GaryE]

As you discuss this, bear in mind that sand and gravel can be very close in size. I use a few types of more local sand that are cleaner than the Quikrete play sand, but also use pool filter 'sand', which I see as gravel. A compromise that has worked well for my Corydoras has been to mix the two - one part pool gravel to 2 parts sand, as local pool gravel is the same colour as local sand.

The addition of the slightly larger pool stuff keeps the sand from flying around.

 

[Magnum Man]

This is my favorite substrate right now...

Amazon.com

it's actually a fine river gravel, so smaller than most aquarium gravels, & the granules are rounded like river rocks... I like it in any tank that doesn't have Geo's or Cory's... if you are planning on putting Cory's, in the tank, then "sand" is best... I find sand has a lot of issues I don't like... it's pretty challenging to vacuum, it can be hard on powered filters, & on your glass, when cleaning the glass towards the bottom, also I pump my RO water change water from a barrel, & it blows the sand around, when refilling... there are a lot of different sands out there, & I find a coarser sand easier to use than a finer sand ( the play sand listed above, is typically pretty coarse )

I currently use this black sand for my tank that has Geo's & Cory's in it, & seems to work well...

Amazon.com

 

[Fishfunn]

Sand is a love/hate relationship. Love the way it looks, love that it isn't sharp so it won't harm your bottom dwellers etc. I don't love it flying all over my tank or ending up in my filters. For tanks with a lot of flow/current sand can be a problem. Cleaning sand with your python can also be troublesome and requires more attention. Pros and cons..

Yes, these are the reasons I stopped using sand. It got into my canister filter and was too hard to use my Python on. Also, I was always trying to clean it because waste and debris were very visible sitting on top of it. I like using plant substrate since I grow plants and like the black or red colors.

 

[Lcc86]

I prefer sand as for me it's easier to keep clean than when I had gravel in an old tank, and I keep cories so it's more suitable anyway for the fish I have. Any play sand or specific aquarium sand should do the trick, just depends how much your budget is really!

 

[Lateral Line]

My last two strip down and rebuild from scratch projects had me change from gravel to swimming pool filter sand. It is, perhaps, a little coarser than building sand for example, but a lot finer than the gravel I had been using for decades. It was cheap, and I had a pool specialist company just a few kilometers from my house, made things a bit easier...
I'd been using gravel for decades, with under gravel filters for a lot of that time, air operated initially, but power headed later on, but in later years, with external power filters and an ever increasing interest in planted tanks, the sand substrate with some peat plates embedded in the mix, the performance of the plants was definitely better, with more species growing well.
Peat plates can cause pH to drop quite low, particularly true with RO water, watch that.

 

[wgoldfarb]

I also use pool filter sand. I use it essentially because I like the look. PFS is slightly coarser than play sand which I like. At one point someone told me that since it is meant for pools, PFS is cleaner than play sand, but I'm not sure that's true. I still clean it before it goes in the tank.

It does have all the cons others have mentioned: You have to be careful vacuming, I just hover the gravel vac just slighly above the sand (without distrurbing the sand) and it works well. When filling the tank during a large water change it is easy for the incoming stream to disturb the sand if you are not careful and create a hole... to prevent this I spalsh the incoming water against the tank wall, but it still can happen. And yes, all fish poo shows up very clearly!

As you discuss this, bear in mind that sand and gravel can be very close in size. I use a few types of more local sand that are cleaner than the Quikrete play sand, but also use pool filter 'sand', which I see as gravel. A compromise that has worked well for my Corydoras has been to mix the two - one part pool gravel to 2 parts sand, as local pool gravel is the same colour as local sand.

The addition of the slightly larger pool stuff keeps the sand from flying around.

Gary, I was intrigued by you referring to PFS as a fine gravel... I am planning to add some dwarf cories to my tank at some point. Would PFS (by itself) not be suitable for cories?

 

[PheonixKingZ]

my first tank had rainbow gravel, never again

i’ve used play sand (you can get it for cheap at Lowes) and also Imagitarium black sand

 

[Tyler777]

I also use pool filter sand. I use it essentially because I like the look. PFS is slightly coarser than play sand which I like. At one point someone told me that since it is meant for pools, PFS is cleaner than play sand, but I'm not sure that's true. I still clean it before it goes in the tank.

It does have all the cons others have mentioned: You have to be careful vacuming, I just hover the gravel vac just slighly above the sand (without distrurbing the sand) and it works well. When filling the tank during a large water change it is easy for the incoming stream to disturb the sand if you are not careful and create a hole... to prevent this I spalsh the incoming water against the tank wall, but it still can happen. And yes, all fish poo shows up very clearly!


Gary, I was intrigued by you referring to PFS as a fine gravel... I am planning to add some dwarf cories to my tank at some point. Would PFS (by itself) not be suitable for cories?

Thank you for your input

my first tank had rainbow gravel, never again

i’ve used play sand (you can get it for cheap at Lowes) and also Imagitarium black sand

Thank you for ur advice