Advice on Sand or Gravel?

[Psylk87]

What do you guys think is better? Sand or gravel?

I am setting up a 55 gallon and cant seem to decide. It will be live planted (I will fertilize of course). I will clean it with a vacuum syphon.

Also any advice and pointers on sand would be appreciated. I have done lots of gravel bottoms but never a sand. How do you set it up? How do I clean it with the vacuum syphon? Any other advice and pointers on sand.

 

[Wiggles24]

I used to have gravel but I've switched all but one tank to sand. I really prefer the look of it and your fish will appreciate it too! I would highly recommend using sand meant for aquarium use. Like PETCO brand. Yes, in comparison to going to Walmart n picking up a bag if play sand, it is more pricey but IMO well worth it. The last tank I switched to sand I decided to try play sand. OMG that was a mistake.

 

[Convict2161]

If your going planted then I suggest a plant substrate like Eco Complete of course there are others but I can't speak on those as I haven't used them.

http://www.caribsea.com/itempage_freshwatersubstrate_ecoplanted.htm

I used it in my planted 27 gallon cube and I'm very happy with the results.

 

[Link119]

If i were you i would either do a dirt with sand cap or i would get eco complete (which can also be used as a cap over dirt).

 

[jefferzbooboo]

I use Safe T Sorb for planted tanks and all my other tanks, it's marketed as an oil dry. $6 for a 50# bag at Tractor Supply. I've used Flora Max before and the only difference is I've notice the Safe T Sorb lowers KH for the first couple months.
I wouldn't use sand, it can compact and cause issues with roots unless you're using it to cap soil.

 

[Mebbid]

Play sand, silica sand, and blasting sand are all perfectly fine to use. They just require a TON of cleaning before hand. Play sand will lose a lot of volume because quite a bit of it will turn to mud and it seems to pack firmer than the other 2. White silica sand is by far the cleanest of the discount sands and doesn't pack too much, but will cause diatom algae growth for a little while. Blasting sand is the dirtiest and takes the longest to clean, but it also the coarsest and doesn't pack down the way other sands will.

I also have plants growing in both the blasting sand and the silica sand. Both tanks are showing very good growth on the root plants as long as I use root tabs along with them.

 

[Psylk87]

If your going planted then I suggest a plant substrate like Eco Complete of course there are others but I can't speak on those as I haven't used them.

Eco-Complete Planted

I used it in my planted 27 gallon cube and I'm very happy with the results.

I have eco complete in my smaller tanks but I really cant afford that price tag for a 55 gallon. I am trying to go cheaper on this one. Unless there is a bulk price on it I don't know about? The cheapest I have found it is $24 for 20 pounds.



I have heard you can use pool sand. Anyone have experience with that and how dirty it is?

 

[Psylk87]

I use Safe T Sorb for planted tanks and all my other tanks, it's marketed as an oil dry. $6 for a 50# bag at Tractor Supply. I've used Flora Max before and the only difference is I've notice the Safe T Sorb lowers KH for the first couple months.
I wouldn't use sand, it can compact and cause issues with roots unless you're using it to cap soil.

I have never heard of this stuff but we do have a tractor supply close. How long have you been using it? Do you add fert tabs as well? What kind of plants do you have in it? And sorry to sound ignorant but is the lower KH bad for fish or can I have fish in it during that time? My API kit doesn't test for KH I don't think. My PH around here is a little high I do know that.

 

[jefferzbooboo]

I have never heard of this stuff but we do have a tractor supply close. How long have you been using it? Do you add fert tabs as well? What kind of plants do you have in it? And sorry to sound ignorant but is the lower KH bad for fish or can I have fish in it during that time? My API kit doesn't test for KH I don't think. My PH around here is a little high I do know that.

Ive been using it for over a year now. I make my own osmocote+ root tabs, safe t sorb is kiln fired clay just like most other plant substrates. I have a red temple, glosso, and the normal crypts and swords. I haven't noticed any issues with fish, but I don't keep anything that's picky anymore. The bag is only $6 so if you don't like it you're not out much.

 

[plantedtankman]

Actually I have both sand and gravel. The sand is on the bottom and the gravel is on top.

 

[Psylk87]

Oh one other question. I plan on putting my first Corys in this tank. Does anyone have any experience with them on these substrates? I have read they prefer sand but I don't know if its required? What would be best for them? My only other bottom feeder will be a bristlenose pleco.

 

[Fishy Smell]

Sand looks better and the fish normally prefer it. Gravel is easy to clean, both when you first use it and then for maintainence. If you have fish with barbels you need sand really. In actual fact, a tank with areas of both looks good, mainly sand is better though.

 

[Psylk87]

I have been reading up on pool filter sand and the SafeTSorb mentioned earlier. I am a little nervous about both so thoughts from people with more experience would be much appreciated.

The plants in the tank will be live low light easy care plants. I am prepared to feed fert tabs and other ferts.

Stock will consist of bristlenose pleco, corys, angels, zebra danios, cardinal tetra, and harlequin rasboras.

Hardscape will be driftwood and nothing else.

 

[dragonfisher33]

i would pick gravel over sand with your current stocking list. i've had sand before but because of the large bioload from the pleco i ended up cleaning the tank pretty much every other day. furthermore sand is inert and provides no nutrient for the plant to growth and it traps chemicals and leads to toxic water unless you still the sand periodically. if you really want sand, there's a finer black grain of eco complete substrate that you can buy for your planted tanks, although more expensive.

i've had sand in my 65gal for 7months until i was fed up with so much poop on the sand, even if i just clean it the previous day.

ps. sand does look good. so it's a choice of whether or not you're up for routine maintenance.

 

[horsedogfish]

There's a separate kit you can get to check hardness.

 

[Mebbid]

Oh one other question. I plan on putting my first Corys in this tank. Does anyone have any experience with them on these substrates? I have read they prefer sand but I don't know if its required? What would be best for them? My only other bottom feeder will be a bristlenose pleco.

Corys certainly do prefer sand over gravel substrate but it's not required. Most times barbel erosion is caused by poor conditions rather than the substrate.

Sand looks better and the fish normally prefer it. Gravel is easy to clean, both when you first use it and then for maintainence. If you have fish with barbels you need sand really. In actual fact, a tank with areas of both looks good, mainly sand is better though.

I have to disagree with gravel being easy to clean. It's impossible to get all the detrius out of the the tank that gets trapped underneath it. The seperated sand / gravel areas in a tank do look sweet but without special dividers installed it will all end up mixing over time. I am still considering doing something like this in one of my smaller tanks.

I have been reading up on pool filter sand and the SafeTSorb mentioned earlier. I am a little nervous about both so thoughts from people with more experience would be much appreciated.

The plants in the tank will be live low light easy care plants. I am prepared to feed fert tabs and other ferts.

Stock will consist of bristlenose pleco, corys, angels, zebra danios, cardinal tetra, and harlequin rasboras.

Hardscape will be driftwood and nothing else.

You might have issues with pool filter sand compacting and smothering roots but people often add in malaysian trumpet snails to take care of that problem. I added them to my tank and never regretted it.

i would pick gravel over sand with your current stocking list. i've had sand before but because of the large bioload from the pleco i ended up cleaning the tank pretty much every other day. furthermore sand is inert and provides no nutrient for the plant to growth and it traps chemicals and leads to toxic water unless you still the sand periodically. if you really want sand, there's a finer black grain of eco complete substrate that you can buy for your planted tanks, although more expensive.

i've had sand in my 65gal for 7months until i was fed up with so much poop on the sand, even if i just clean it the previous day.

ps. sand does look good. so it's a choice of whether or not you're up for routine maintenance.

The poo does collect on top of the sand but if you plant on having an even remotely heavily planted tank you should never notice it. Although there ARE clean freaks out there that obsess over it It can also be taken care of with some creative flow placements.

The toxic bubbles that people often speak of do build up in a tank. However a bubble floats to the surface very very quickly and then gets released into the air. It will have no effect on the parameters of a tank.





All in all the plant specific substrates are fantastic. I recently made the switch over to flourite in my planted 10g. However imho the price tag outweighs the benefits. It is true that sand is inert and doesn't store chemicals for the plants to absorb BUT even with a deep bed of nutrient rich plant substrate you will still need to add root tabs for plants that feed heavily from their roots. In my 55g tank I use inert black diamond sandblasting sand and I doubt there is anyone that would argue that my plants aren't thriving. I would rather save the $60 - $100 on a plant substrate and invest it into a co2 system.

 

[jwh0818]

Sand looks better and the fish normally prefer it. Gravel is easy to clean, both when you first use it and then for maintainence. If you have fish with barbels you need sand really. In actual fact, a tank with areas of both looks good, mainly sand is better though.

Sand may be hard to clean before putting it in the tank but its worth it. Not only does it keep poo/detrius above the substrate, you dont have to dig in sand with your gravel vac to clean it. Its WAAAAAAAY easier to maintain then gravel. I dont even use gravel in non planted tanks. To me it looks cheap and also scavenging fish have a hard time with gravel

 

[jwh0818]

I have eco complete in my smaller tanks but I really cant afford that price tag for a 55 gallon. I am trying to go cheaper on this one. Unless there is a bulk price on it I don't know about? The cheapest I have found it is $24 for 20 pounds.

I have heard you can use pool sand. Anyone have experience with that and how dirty it is?

Dont use play sand. Its a really fine sand. Use pool filter sand. The grain size is bigger and therefore falls faster when fish pick it up so its not floating for your filter to catch

 

[YoungGuppy]

I just switched to sand from gravel. I think it looks better. I had a hell of a time trying to find white though. White sand doesn't exist on the west coast apparently. You can get it at Petsmart or Petco but it's really expensive and I still need 2 more bags...

If you live on the east coast I suggest getting pool filter sand from Home Depot. It's the cheapest there.

 

[Mebbid]

I just switched to sand from gravel. I think it looks better. I had a hell of a time trying to find white though. White sand doesn't exist on the west coast apparently. You can get it at Petsmart or Petco but it's really expensive and I still need 2 more bags...

If you live on the east coast I suggest getting pool filter sand from Home Depot. It's the cheapest there.

Lowes has a white silica sand. My cichlids absolutely LOVE it