Aquarium sand for freshwater setup?

[TattdxMama]

I'm in the process of purchasing a 30 gallon tank and I'm planning the layout.
I was looking at some videos on youtube, pictures online, etc and noticed that I absolutely loved the way aquarium sand looks (I've always used gravel). My boyfriend raised the question that if I get a bottom feeder for the new tank, such as a pleco (This tank will be upgraded to a 75+ gallon, this is just a starter) that the sand might be bad for a pleco or another bottom feeder.

Can I use aquarium sand for freshwater tanks, and can I use sand with plecos and bottom dwellers?
If not, I'll keep looking. Thanks!

 

[Fishanatic]

Yes you can the sand will not bother plecos or bottom dwellers. Ive never had any issues with plecos and sand and ive even read that both plecos and bottom dwellers enjoy the sand.

 

[Cthulhu]

I use Flourite Black Sand. It is absolutely great for plants, and my kuhli loaches love it! I don't see any downside to it, except the initial heavy rinsing required

 

[Eggheadfish]

Sand!!
I've never kept plecos but I have tons of cories and have consistently read that sand is better for softer bellied bottom dwellers like catfish. Any fish rubbing barbels against the substrate should have finer particles in my opinion. Just make sure the sand particles aren't super sharp and you should be good! I switched all my tanks over to sand and love it.

 

[FWFishTanks]

Pool filter sand! Inexpensive and great looking too!

 

[Fishfur]

Very true. Most bottom dwelling fish, and especially those with barbels, do better on a smooth, sandy substrate. It's much safer for their barbels, which can get quite worn down on sharp or coarse substrates.

For Cories, it can even interfere with attempts at breeding, because males use their barbels to grasp female jaws during the mating act. Worn barbels may make that impossible.

 

[dalto]

Pool filter sand! Inexpensive and great looking too!

+1, PFS is cheap and generally a good aquarium sand.

As for your fish question, I can't think of any fish off the top of my head that would prefer gravel over sand. I mean, I haven't seen a lot of rivers with brightly colored aquarium gravel at the bottom.

 

[vexxiang]

I used pool filter sand. No problem with my pleco.

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[TattdxMama]

Thank you everyone for your great replies, but now I have a few more about aquarium sand lol.
1) What's the difference between substrate sand, pool sand, and live sand?
2) Which of the three is best?
3) Is live sand only for salt water? I only ask because I keep seeing bags with salt water fish on them.

 

[dalto]

Thank you everyone for your great replies, but now I have a few more about aquarium sand lol.
1) What's the difference between substrate sand, pool sand, and live sand?

Substrate sand is probably just a product name? I don't think that is a generally used term. Pool sand is silica sand. Live sand is for salt water aquaria.

2) Which of the three is best?

I would go with pool filter sand for a freshwater tank. You can get it at home depot for under $10 for 50 pounds.

3) Is live sand only for salt water? I only ask because I keep seeing bags with salt water fish on them.

Yep

 

[TattdxMama]

Thanks again! Now I'm not confused and it looks like my set up is going to be cheaper to accomplish than what I was projecting. That's always a plus.

 

[Fishfur]

Substrate simply means an underlying layer of something. Reptile terraria often use moss as a substrate, for example. So, substrate sand, I would assume, simply means sand suitable for using as a substrate. Be nice if it said, aquarium substrate, as there are some types made for reptiles that would not work for aquariums at all.

Not all sand is created equal, so you have to see it to have some idea if it's useful for you or not. And just for interest, there are some fish that wouldn't do so well on sand. Hillstream loach comes to mind - they actually like big pebbles.. which they cling to with their very streamlined bodies and huge sucker mouth to avoid being washed downstream in the very fast rivers they inhabit.

 

[NigelK8485]

+1 pool filter sand.

I just set up my tank with some.

Still waiting for more decorations to come in the mail. But I poured the sand in, then filled with water. After about 30 hours 90% had settled to the bottom. My tank is 150 gallons and only required 125 lbs of sand, or 2.5 bags, so you could fill your tank extremely cheaply.


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