Sand vs. gravel

[Delirium]

I was thinking that I might switch from gravel to sand in a couple of my tanks.
Are there any pro's or cons I should know about?

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I would say...

Sand is harder to clean but it is better for bottom feeders than gravel and in my opinion looks better.

HTH

 

[babyfish]

Just be careful what type of sand you put in, some will raise the hardness of your water.
Don't make your layer of sand too deep as parts of it might turn anearobic(spelt wrong)and poison your fish.
Stir your sand at least weekly and syphon the debris from the bottom of the tank

 

[Delirium]

Yeah, I think it looks better too. That's why I'm thinking of switching.
I use the really fine play sand ( from lowes) in my Bearded Dragon tank,
I was told that that sand is also good for Aquariums.
Does anyone know?

 

[fishy frenzy]

i my opinyun sand looks alot better and i think that the fish like it alot more than gravel.

 

[Sanj]

60g - 6 Red Belly Piranha
125g long - 5 Angels,7 Bala Sharks,2 Demon Fish, 2 Blue Jack Dempsy, 1 Chinese Banded HiFin Shark, 1 Shovelnose Catfish, 1 Striped Rafael Catfish
125g long - 1 Red Oscar, 1 Jaguar, 1 Gold Jaguar, 1 Jack Dempsy,
1 Fredrick Stali, 1 Clown Knife, 1 Texas Chiclid, 1 Royal Pleco
250g Long - 2 Red Belly Pacu, 2 Tiger Oscars, 1 Albino Oscar
2 Red Devils, 1 Jack Dempsy, 1 Dovii, 1 Royal Knife
1 Huge Pleco

Look at this fancy pants with all those big aquariums!!!

I want!!

 

[babyfish]

I use childrens playpit sand with no problems

 

[Delirium]

Thanks Babyfish, I think I'm going to buy some sand this weekend.

 

[Delirium]

Fancy pants huh?
I love the big tanks.
Right now I'm saving up for an 810g. I need a big place for my Pacu's to live when they get bigger.
I got the 250g and getting the 810g from a place called Twin Oaks in Tenn.
www.glasscages.com
They're pretty reasonable on tank prices.

 

[Eelzor]

Sand Vs. Gravel eh,? This post should easily sort you out, If you have any questions - ask them there. This was the biggest controversial sand/gravel post ever so post wisely and add information or questions to make it bigger!

Sand Vs. Gravel

 

[chunmak]

If there are plants involved then sand if there are botom feeders then sand if there are rocks involved then sand if there's a tank involved then sand.

I used to use gravel but once i've used sand i'll never go back. and easier to clean just put some bottom feeders in it and it cuts the work in half.

 

[crimsontsavo]

If ya wanna go in depth- all sand is, is gravel, only smaller.
But, when in fact does gravel become sand? lol.

I think a combination of sand and gravel looks nice. You can do stream beds with the larger gravel-
My tank has mostly sand, but it has larger gravel mixed in places. It just looks more natural that way. IMHO.

I've used sand for years with no problem. Same with gravel too. My plants DO grow better in sand than in gravel though.
It's up to the person-
Sand isnt hard to clean either. If you use a vacuume, just do like they said- hold it ABOVE the sand and just skim the top. Or, put it in the sand a little bit and watch it. Some sand will go out of the tank-but, if you're careful not much will.
If you use a peat mix under your gravel/sand to help feed your plants- the sand holds the peat in place better than gravel. <- just for your information.
Look around at pictures and compare gravel/sand tanks. Decide which you like more.

HTH's
(get sand, get sand, get sand)