Sand V`s Gravel

[BigIan]

whati`s best for what

 

[helsekia]

we have a 4foot and a six and half foot and have sand in both.the balas love to dig through it and so do the corys,they wouldnt find it as enjoyable with gravel.my reed fish bury in it!I think the sand looks more natural but thats down to personal preference at the end of the day.

 

[Exiled]

Sand is best for digging fish

I hate gravel, personally, but some species natural environment has it like those that live on the coast of the red sea.

 

[BigIan]

the 3 types of fish i really really really want are cory`s angels and a plec, and maybe a crab or two....

would these prefer sand?

Also whats the diffrence in maintance between sand or gravel?

 

[Dana C]

I changed to sand 2 weeks ago and my cories prefer it over the gravel I had before. The sand is much cleaner as anything just sits on top so I just siphon it away, when I removed my gravel even though I cleaned it weekly it was really dirty underneath where old food and fish poop had sunk down. I also think the sand looks alot nicer and if you buy playsand it is much cheaper than gravel. I hope this helps you.

 

[BigIan]

thanks,

So is it a special kind of sand for aquariums??

Where do i get it from??

I`m definately leaning towards the sand idea i like the look of it, much more pleasing to the eye plus i want the fish to be the highlight of colour in the tank not the substratte

 

[KrayzieVanh]

Just to let you know preping sand is a pain in the butt! You'll need to rise the sand off really well or your water will look cloudy. Also when I set mine up there were bubbles everywhere on the surface of the sand. I was afraid to turn my HOB filter because I didn't want sand to get in the impellers.

I bought black sand. It look great but it took me 3 times and long as gravel to set-up. It was my first time though. Was in worth it? Yeap!

 

[Shelly_Otterkin]

I love my black sand tanks! The cleaning time is so worth it!

 

[BigIan]

where do i get the sand from?

 

[itszztom]

anywhere, i dont prefer the official labeled "aquarium sand"

they are the same sand they sell everywhere else, you can try home depot for playsand

and a local pool store for pool filter sand, all the same

just clean, put in tank, cycle, fishes, done!

 

[Trance2006]

In my lates tank a 20 gallon I put natural lake pebble, and a 1/8 of an inch of sand from my 74 G in some places. Kind of mimmiks a shore

 

[baz_78]

In my lates tank a 20 gallon I put natural lake pebble, and a 1/8 of an inch of sand from my 74 G in some places. Kind of mimmiks a shore

Have to say I started with gravel in my tank but I'm now looking to adding sand and sectioning it off. I didn't know when I started out that my cory's would prefer sand - I'm hoping to change soon and make them happier...

 

[TF Keeper UK]

Personally I prefer a sand substrate. It's easier to keep clean and my corys love it

 

[Dana C]

I bought my sand from Argos it was £2.49 for 15 kilos, I rinsed it in buckets for just over an hour. After I put it in my tank and refilled the water I turned the filter on straight away the water was a little cloudy but cleared totally in about two hours.

 

[debbie_7155]

I prefere sand too, i think after keeping marine fish, sand to me looked nicer in the tanks