Big river rock vs sand

[Renewablemommy]

I recently acquired a 55 gallon tank that a friend could no longer keep up with maintenance on. When we moved the tank I kept the River rocks wet to keep all beneficial bacteria intact and placed it directly into the tank as soon as it was moved. Over the past week and a half I've done three gravel vacuum, because it had been neglected so much that there is so much waste between all of the rocks that it's disgusting. I love the way it looks but it seems very high maintenance so far, because the spaces between the rocks make it easy for fish waste to fall between them but it's very hard to vacuum between the rocks because they are perfect diameter to suck up in the gravel vac and get stuck.
So my question for people that have experience with big River rock and sand is which do you feel like is less maintenance as far as keeping clean. Do you feel like after I catch up from the waist that has been neglected to be cleaned in the months passed that it will be easier to maintain, or is it always going to be hard?

 

[Renewablemommy]

As you can see the rocks also make it very hard for me to bury the bubblers.

 

[scuba dude]

I would guess yes on both of those. Yes it will be easier to maintain because you have eliminated much of the waste and yes it will always be a little hard to keep clean just because it has spaces between the rocks.

Gravel vac a section at a time when you do your weekley water changes , Move a section of rocks and clean that section and the following week do another section , next week another ...........repeat when you get to the end.

Also how about some bottom feeders on the cleanup crew , kuhli loaches for example would love all those places to hide , would eat leftovers off the bottom and help keep things stirred up between the rocks.

 

[Saekalive]

If you do get bottom feeders, keep in mind that many require sand to be healthy. Gravel cab tear their barbles and hurt them.

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[Renewablemommy]

I do have a 9 year old Pleco, and a Siamese algae eater, but that's it as far as clean up crew is concerned. I'm slowly stocking the tank and had really found myself undecided as far as bottom feeders are concerned. I have had kuhlis in the past she loved them! Do you think they would do well with this substrate?
This is another reason I was considering sand. My African dwarf frog freaks me out hiding under the rock. I'm afraid hes going to get himself stuck

 

[jarrod0987]

Gravel is a waste trap. Waste builds up and problems ensue unless you vacuum often. Sand is much less so. The reason is the waste cannot easily get down in between the sand like it does with the pieces of gravel. It can still happen but it's defiantly much less of a problem. Sand also provides way more surface area for bacteria. Make sure you rinse the sand very well before adding it. The dust is ridiculous. I would recommend arogonite or dolomite sand. They help buffer GH and KH. I would not recommend silicate sand. The dust from it provides food for brown algae. A lot of it. If you rinse it well, it could still be fine. Your friend may want his tank back when he sees how much easier your maintenance is with sand.

 

[scuba dude]

Gravel is a waste trap. Waste builds up and problems ensue unless you vacuum often. Sand is much less so. The reason is the waste cannot easily get down in between the sand like it does with the pieces of gravel. It can still happen but it's defiantly much less of a problem. Sand also provides way more surface area for bacteria. Make sure you rinse the sand very well before adding it. The dust is ridiculous. I would recommend arogonite or dolomite sand. They help buffer GH and KH. I would not recommend silicate sand. The dust from it provides food for brown algae. A lot of it. If you rinse it well, it could still be fine. Your friend may want his tank back when he sees how much easier your maintenance is with sand.

Pool filter sand is what I used and love it, it looks natural and plants do great in it.
The only drawback is you really can not vacuum it since it gets sucked up. I just stir up a section at a time when it needs it when I do my H2O changes. I will no doubt be using sand on my next one as well

 

[Renewablemommy]

Thanks for the great info!! How much would you suggest purchasing for a 55 gallon? And about how much do you think it would cost to replace the River rock with the sand?
Thanks again for the recommendation!!!

 

[Saekalive]

I always recommend diamond blasting sand. Cheap, inexpensive, and beautiful.

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[scuba dude]

I used two bags for my 90 gallon ( 48 long and 18 wide) and the sand depth is about 2 inches +/- a little. Cost , $5.00 a bag around here. One bag will probably do you fine.

Wash it well as mentioned. Fill a 5 gallon bucket 1/2 way with sand and take hose and stick it all the way in the bottom of bucket , turn on water and let it force all the sediment up and overflow out the top of the bucket until water runs clear. Easiest way I found.

 

[scuba dude]

I always recommend diamond blasting sand. Cheap, inexpensive, and beautiful.

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Is that the black sand , they call it black beauty here . A little coarser than the pool filter sand and obviously black and not natural color.

 

[Renewablemommy]

Oh and do kuhlis do well in sand as well? I really loved watching them!

 

[scuba dude]

Oh and do kuhlis do well in sand as well? I really loved watching them!

Mine don't seem to mind it. Have 6 on my cleanup crew. They will burrow through the sand on occasion. They are one of my favorites , don't see them all the time since they have plenty of places to hide but they are a good one to get in all the tight places that others cant.

 

[Renewablemommy]

It's all still settling and I have not yet picked out placement for the plants of bubblers but here it is so far!

 

[Renewablemommy]

Full view.

 

[freshwaterplaty]

Nice ! I prefer sand also it's easier to see what areas in the tank the dirt accumulates so therefore easier to clean