Sand or Rocks?

[Cecil2010]

Hello all,

Right now i have a 45G with a rock bottom but two of my cichlids are "diggers" and it gets annoying filling in holes every other day. So my questions are :
(1) Do cichlids still dig in sand?
(2) How do you go about cleaning sand? Same as gravel?
(3) What kind of sand?
(4) How much would i need for a 45G?
(5) What do you prefer?

Im not 100% sure if i want to change over my 45G tank but when i get my dream tank i want to know what i should use!

 

[a.tetreault]

personally i find that i like gravel better, sand gets moved around quite a bit and i find your more likely to have holes in the sand then in gravel. i also find sand to be a pain to clean. i have it in my ten gallon and i can never manage to clean it well enough without sucking some of it up, if anything gets mixed in with it you cant seperate it from the sand the only way is to suck it all up. with gravel i know i can get right in there and not worry about sucking it up. i know a lot of people who prefer sand tho, so they may have some different opinions for you

 

[Mrc8858]

I like sand more..they will dig in it a lot but it gives a natural look to your tank and as for cleaning if you have enough flow then most debris should be sucked into your filters much like in a SW tank and if you do choose to vacuum it its not much different just regulate the flow by pinching your siphon hose periodically to keep from sucking up sand

 

[Cecil2010]

yes that is what i like is the natural look of sand, but i know with the fish that i have now if i dont clean the gravel out every week then my nitrate levels go up pretty quick and i wanted to see if the sand would keep that from happening as bad

 

[Mrc8858]

It would because nothing really gets trapped in it like gravel..I've found the best way is just by a nano circulation pump and keep it blowing parallel to the sand to keep any debris from sinking to the bottom

 

[Cecil2010]

ok sounds good. how much and where would i be able to buy one of them. and what kind of sand would i buy

 

[Mrc8858]

I like black sand so I got 50 lbs of blasting sand at tractor supply for like $6-$7 I think and white you can use pool filter sand

 

[Cecil2010]

wow i didnt think that it would be that inexpensive. what size tank did you use the sand for? did you use all 50 lbs? and if you did use all of it then how tall was your substrate?

 

[Labenator65000]

personally i find that i like gravel better, sand gets moved around quite a bit and i find your more likely to have holes in the sand then in gravel. i also find sand to be a pain to clean. i have it in my ten gallon and i can never manage to clean it well enough without sucking some of it up, if anything gets mixed in with it you cant seperate it from the sand the only way is to suck it all up. with gravel i know i can get right in there and not worry about sucking it up. i know a lot of people who prefer sand tho, so they may have some different opinions for you

It is for exactly these reasons that I have chosen not to switch from gravel to sand.

 

[Malawi Freak]

I have pool filter sand in 7 tanks and play sand in one (I don't like it, think its too light).

I love how much easier it is to clean sand and the cichlids enjoy it more too. My favorite part is seeing all the little dimples across the entire sand bed where they are searching for food.

 

[Malawi Freak]

If you choose sand, get yourself a bag of either black blasting sand (~$5) or pool filter sand (~$9). For your tank use an entire 50lb bag and see if you like it. You may need to remove some to keep it around 3".

 

[Cecil2010]

So 50lbs should fill a 45G tank 3 inches all the way?

 

[Malawi Freak]

Yeah. Just make sure you rinse it really good