Gravel Vs Sand

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In a fw tank can you use sand instead of gravel cause i know my Elephant Nose like to dig and says shouldnt have a hard subtrate. Does it matter if you have sand instead of gravel

 

[Tropjunky]

well if u got a clown loach ( wich should be kept in 2 of more) and a pleco (also kept in pairs) you should have sand as a minimum spec for ur tank.

and if u want live plant then silica sand is the best and live plants are a must as tey give u better water and as well as that get more fish if ur filter can handle it

 

[shoboy]

I have tanks with both, not in the same one of course.

I use white silica sand which is very nice. Small, lightweight, yet sinks very nice. Makes the tanks really look good with good lighting.

In a few other tanks, I use regular Pool Filter sand. It's light brown, very heavy as far as staying at the bottom of the tank. It looks more 'natural' than the white silica sand does.

I did have the silica sand in my 50 gal, but I ruined ALOT of impellers in my Magnum 350 canister filters. If you use sand, in my experience, you MUST keep the filter intake high, no more than 1/2 way down the tank. Most fish wont disturb the sand to much, but depending on how big they are, how fast they move around if they get "freaked out", it may stir up the sand into your filter intake.

I've noticed that the regular pool filter sand does not stir up that easy, and it is quite heavy in the water. So depending on what type of look your going for in your tank(s), I would reccomend using the pool filter sand. You can get some good size bags of it for cheap at any pool store.

If you want live plants, I dont know. I dont do live plants. But for a regular tank with the look of sand, I REALLY like using pool filter sand. It does not cloud up the water at all, it's all washed and stuff before it's bagged. And it's just regular big grain sand, no chemicals or nothing.

I've had quite a few fish that LOVED the sand tanks. Dojo loaches, Kuli loaches, some catfish (cant remeber) loved to "burrow" in the sand. And it is quite easy to clean. Just "skim" a gravel washer tube over the top and suck up any crap. It's easy to replace if you accidently suck up any sand while cleaning.

But that's the bad part of sand, the 2 I mentioned anyway. Fish "stuff" and any other "stuff" will settle right on top of it. Nothing dissapears into it like gravel. BUT....most fish food wont go un-eaten cause it will lay there on top of the same until the fish eats it.

You may have to put a good 4-5 inch layer of sand down, depending on tank size and decorations.

I really like the 2 I mentioned, and will always use them as long as I do fish tanks. They really are nice.

 

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k thanks