Sand Vs. Gravel

[Laughncat]

Hi all,

I recently been reading a little about freshwater tanks that are set up with sand instead of gravel and I was wondering what the pros and cons are for sand. Some of them I do know, but not all. I know that sand is good for corys and other bottom feeders, but I've also heard that it's prone to "toxic dead zones." I've also heard that it's easier to clean because muck lands on top and since the sand is so fine it doesn't really have a chance to work itself very far down in the substrate.

Any advice that could be given would be much appreciated. I'm thinking my next tank (which I'm hoping to get real soon) will be a ten or fiftenn gallon and I want to make it a home for my cories. They're such cute little buggers and I'd like them to have a comfortable home

 

[Eelzor]

All about Sand - By Eelzor

Sand is a wonderful substance. It has it's bad points and it's good, but with care, knowledge and luck, the entire process can be easy, fun and end up having a wonderfully decorated tank.

PROS
- Looks great, is something more different and to some eyes is more natural.
- Specific fish love this substance a lot more than gravel (Eels for digging, Elephant Noses for delving and catfish/plecos for scavenging.
- Unlike gravel, the food and poop that fish do not eat does not sink through the sand, it stays on top so it is much easier to vacuum it off.
- Some fish like to make their own small caves, like my convicts did, and they seem to enjoy it.

CONS
- Some sands (mine) can pack down and form dead spots and breed nasty bacteria, but to solve this you should run a chopstick through the sand maybe once a week.
- Some sands may affect the water pH to more alkaline when you first put it in, but this does not last forever.
- If you fool around with ornaments and rocks etc, all the time, you will disturb the subtrate and it may sometimes stir the sand a little too much, just be careful.

Thats most of the pros and cons I can think of at this point in time, but please do not hesitate to ask anything about sand because I have had as much experience with it as the beach.

 

[Laughncat]

Thats most of the pros and cons I can think of at this point in time, but please do not hesitate to ask anything about sand because I have had as much experience with it as the beach.

LOL!

I was talking to the owner of one of LFSs that just opened recently in my area and he was offering to hook me up with some sand for free when I buy my tank from him and since I'm planning on buying from him anyway (unless I find something outrageously better in price ) He said he had a bunch left over when he set a tank up for himself. It's supposed to be a white or pale cream colored sand and is super fine. It's always hard to turn down something that's free...specially when it something you kind of want anyway.

I would like to know though how fine or course a sand is optimal. Also, does sand come in colors? If so, do they tend to fade? I can't decide what color I would like if it were possible to get colored, but something that had a nice natural tint of some sort would best. I grew up on the Navajo reservation in Arizona and I keep seeing the color schemes I grew up with influencing my fish tanks (which makes no real sense since there's no fish in the desert ). I grew up surrounded by painting made from sand and I guess I find find it aethetically pleasing. I'm used to seeing sand in a variety of colors (besides brown ) so I guess that's why I'm curious about whether sand can be purchased in colors. Guess I'm trying to generate southwestern art in my fish tanks

By the way, most of the pros you listed a very much pushing me in favor of sand for my next tank. I thank you for giving so much info. My two big concerns though are how bad the "nasty bacteria" can be if it gets a foot hold and how bad can it be if the sand gets stirred up. When the sand gets stirred up, how long does it take to settle? Will this harm the fish?

Thanks for the info!

 

[Eelzor]

Also, does sand come in colors?

Not that I know of. I wouldn't like it though because white/cream is a more gentle colour.

If so, do they tend to fade?

Coloured sand would not fade or colour the tank as some coloured gravel would.

I can't decide what color I would like if it were possible to get colored, but something that had a nice natural tint of some sort would best.

Go with white/cream then

My two big concerns though are how bad the "nasty bacteria" can be if it gets a foot hold and how bad can it be if the sand gets stirred up. When the sand gets stirred up, how long does it take to settle? Will this harm the fish?

The stirring of the sand really won't harm your fish much unless you pick up 2 palms ful and deliberatly throw it over your tank. Even then, I wouldn't think your fish would die from it. My convict survived it! 8)

As the the nasty underground bacteria, simply moving it around once a week really isn't much and stops the bacteria from breeding. I wouldn't worry about that point much, all it takes is a slight stir. You can also buy spiny eels or kuhlli loaches to do the job for you!

Edit:Look at this nice looking desert theme tank.

Desert Tank

 

[snotirl]

i turned my coldwater fresh tank from gravel to sand and it looks brillant but the only think that happen was i got a bacterial boom so i changed the water all of it and its been fine ever since (touch wood )

 

[akhtar]

SAND LOOKS NICE BUT...

1. its super hard to wash! u have to do it bout 20 time before putting it in,
2.Sand has to settle inot the tank and that takes ages
3. when puting ornaments and things it, the sand rises and makes the tank look really dusty,
4. if u have a internal power filte, the sand gets sucked up
5. when vaccuming, that sand gets sucked up,
6. the sand, when stirred, to get the bad bacteria growing, makes the tank dusty,
7. the sand is a real hassle,
8.some sand can kill good bacteria
9.sand, when its made the tank look dusty, is stressful for fish,
10.it make life hard, thats why i stick with nice gravel
, looks just as good as sand, and is easy to take care of, it looks natural, and u can bet sand like gravel that doesent make the tank dusty!

so go with sand!

 

[kuter]

great! A thread on the pros and cons of sand. I will be setting up in the future a 30 gal tank for my goldies ( 1 shubunkin and 2 fancy fantails) This is a few months away and I am sure I will change my mind about a zillion times untill then. However I was considering putting a bottom divider in the tank with sand on one side and gravel on the other. I would place the filter nearer the gravel portion. To my little brain, this gives the inhabitants a choice. I would love to hear some feed back on this.

Now to a source of sand. I havent checked to see what the local Walmart has but the Petsmart only has black sand in 20 lb bags. At $1.00/pound I feel that is very expensive. Can childrens play sand be used? Builders sand is not an option, I am sure, as it is not used for children's sand boxes.

I would also like to see directions on washing sand. For gravel I clean my kitchen sink well, put in the gravel, fill up the sink wash, replace water and wash again. I do this until my water is clean. I then put the gravel in a collander or similar container and rinse with hot water. Then allow to air dry. Is this correct?

 

[Eelzor]

The sand I got was specially made for fish only, and it's great!

1. its super hard to wash! u have to do it bout 20 time before putting it in,

The sand I had already been clean and just for luck I washed it anyway. + You have to do the same with gravel!

2.Sand has to settle inot the tank and that takes ages

If you want good looks you need patience, even so, my sand only took about 10mins to set down.

3. when puting ornaments and things it, the sand rises and makes the tank look really dusty,

Ahh, I love that look. . Even if you didn't like it, it is not very visible to the naked eye.

4. if u have a internal power filte, the sand gets sucked up

I have 2 internal power filters 1/4 in deep sand and find hardly any problems.

5. when vaccuming, that sand gets sucked up,

True, if you stick the vacumm under the sand. You just have to skim it slightly over the top, and even if some gets in the tube, it leads to the bucket where I empty the water, leaving the clean sand to return.

6. the sand, when stirred, to get the bad bacteria growing, makes the tank dusty,

You don't have to "stir" it, just run a chopstick or something like that through the sand. It hardly creates a great disturbance. And you wouldn't want bad bacteria growing!

7. the sand is a real hassle,

Hmph...

8.some sand can kill good bacteria

Hardly. Most the the bacteria is deep under the sand and in the filters. Although you say some sand can kill bacteria, I have not heard of any such, my sand is fine and I have not had any such problems. Most gravels all keep bacteria.

9.sand, when its made the tank look dusty, is stressful for fish,

Do you mean when you first put the sand in? Of course, you should let it set for a little while before putting fish in. If you meant the "dusty" tank look, this won't harm the fish at all. It my make you not feel nice to be in there, but fish see things in different perspectives. I'm not sure if I have got this question completely understood. Don't think that putting sand in your tank will make your tank dusty all over - Just don't completely throw it all around the aquarium water.

10.it make life hard, thats why i stick with nice gravel
, looks just as good as sand, and is easy to take care of, it looks natural, and u can bet sand like gravel that doesent make the tank dusty!

Sand doesn't make my life hard, sand looks as good as gravel, it is still easy to take care of with some simple knowledge, it's natural alright, and trust me, my sand has NEVER made my tank look 'dusty', from my eyes anyway.

so go with sand!

Well, looks like we agree on something.

 

[commanderdoom21]

How come sand doesn't cause all these problems with saltwater tanks?

 

[Eelzor]

It both the same with the both types of tanks. It's just that people assume that sand does not go well in a freshwater tank because they have not seen many tanks with sand in them. With saltwater, sand is obvious. One would immediatly assumes sand is normal for a marine setup.

 

[akhtar]

lol @ elzor, sorry i made a mistake in the end!!!!!

well seem sand can be good, but those are the problems u came across, i perfer to use gravel, i think its easier,

its all up to u thoguh, but to tell the truth... i think and looks better
lol
but i stick with gravel,

 

[goldene]

I have recently changed my gold fish tank from graval to sand after much thought, and I am glad I did as I think the sand looks much nicer, to me it looks like sherbert cristles 8) it took the fish a little while at first to get use to getting a mouth full of sand when grubbing around, but now they seem so natural with it, It did take ages to clean to start with and made the tank go misty white, but I added some tank clear and it did the trick, all in all I think its down to personal taste.

 

[Eelzor]

lol @ elzor, sorry i made a mistake in the end!!!!!

well seem sand can be good, but those are the problems u came across, i perfer to use gravel, i think its easier,

its all up to u thoguh, but to tell the truth... i think and looks better
lol
but i stick with gravel,

hehe Well I hope this post has been of help to a lot of people anyway, whether you go with sand or gravel.

 

[fatbobsufc]

2.Sand has to settle inot the tank and that takes ages
3. when puting ornaments and things it, the sand rises and makes the tank look really dusty,
6. the sand, when stirred, to get the bad bacteria growing, makes the tank dusty,
7. the sand is a real hassle,
9.sand, when its made the tank look dusty, is stressful for fish,
10.it make life hard,

All these points lead back to this one:

1. its super hard to wash! u have to do it bout 20 time before putting it in,

It took me two or three days to wash my sand properley. You have to half fill a bucket with it and blast it with water from a hosepipe to unsettle it. Then when the sand settles, the water will be opaque. Drain off the water and start again. You have to go on like this until the you can fill the bucket with water (after blasting the sand) and take a tumblerful and hold it up to the light. If it is clear the sand is clean. Otherwise - keep going - trust me - if you cut corners here you will always regret it. Whenever the fish stir up the sand or you agitate it when changing watr - you will get milky water.

 

[akhtar]

NO IT DONT MR FATBOB