Half Gravel Half Sand

[fish4phil]

I have a 36G Bowfront Freshwater Tropical Community Tank. I need some bottom dwellers, so naturally I thought of Corys. It seems half of the people I ask say gravel is OK, the other half say definitely do sand only.

Well I'm sold on my gravel, I love it. What I thought of doing is half my tank gravel, the other half sand (not a mix of the 2 together). I've seen others do this, wanted to get some more thoughts.

If I did just a corner of my tank in sand, would it be enough for 4 Corys?
Does it just just weird and won't turn out right?
Or should I just stick with the gravel (see picture for my gravel) for the Corys?
Should I stick to African Dwarf Frogs or another bottom feeder (ideas)?

 

[Sidman24]

I've seen tanks beautifully done with half sand/gravel. Start thick on one side or corner and as you move closer to the gravel don't lay as much sand. I'm sure your cories would love it. They are my favorite fish and own 4 different species of them I love them so much! Haha. Also where did you get the volcano ?? Love it !

 

[fish4phil]

I've seen tanks beautifully done with half sand/gravel. Start thick on one side or corner and as you move closer to the gravel don't lay as much sand. I'm sure your cories would love it. They are my favorite fish and own 4 different species of them I love them so much! Haha. Also where did you get the volcano ?? Love it !

Glad to hear it! On my tank, do you think one corner is enough for 4 corys? The volcano is a nice add Here is where I got it

 

[Sidman24]

Glad to hear it! On my tank, do you think one corner is enough for 4 corys? The volcano is a nice add Here is where I got it

The Cory's should figure it out. And honestly your gravel doesn't look that bad. I think the cories will be fine. If you want bigger cories id get emeralds. However others stay smaller

 

[fish4phil]

The Cory's should figure it out. And honestly your gravel doesn't look that bad. I think the cories will be fine. If you want bigger cories id get emeralds. However others stay smaller

Oh jeeze, I'm over here fretting about sand, where, what kind, how to clean, how to maintain, how to put in a gravel tank, etc. etc. and my gravel is fine? What would be an example of "bad" gravel for corys?

 

[Sidman24]

Oh jeeze, I'm over here fretting about sand, where, what kind, how to clean, how to maintain, how to put in a gravel tank, etc. etc. and my gravel is fine? What would be an example of "bad" gravel for corys?

As long as your gravel is very smooth and not to big as in "clumpy" you should be okay. Don't get
Me wrong though cories love sand! And you can sure tell a difference in personality if they are in sand rather then gravel

 

[fish4phil]

As long as your gravel is very smooth and not to big as in "clumpy" you should be okay. Don't get
Me wrong though cories love sand! And you can sure tell a difference in personality if they are in sand rather then gravel

Hm, I'm so new at this and want to make sure I don't buy Corys and then damage their barbels. I took a closer picture of my gravel. What do you think?

 

[Sidman24]

Safest bet is to probably go sand. Even though it looks fine to me. You just never know. I was scared to switch to sand at first but so glad I did. I love it so much more then gravel.

 

[GreenLily]

I think the gravel is OK, the pebbles look small sized to me anyway. Cories will of course prefer sand, but as far as the safety goes on the gravel, I say why not? I have kept cories in both gravel and sand, and the only big difference I noticed was that in sand, they were a bit more active.

 

[fish4phil]

If I added sand, it would likely be the front 3 inches or so, an inch deep, along the entire front. Very rough photoshop edit gets the attached. How do you think this would look?

 

[aquandrew]

cories love sand and i personally wouldn't put them in a tank without it. they suck the sand up and sift it through their gils, they love burying half of there face and they stir up the poop keeping the tank cleaner imo (as long as you keep your filter clean). with gravel you have to do lots of gravel vacs so they aren't sucking in waste all day long. as long as you keep the gravel clean and it isn't sharp enough to hurt them though, they will do fine either way. your gravel looks a little rough imo be prepared to change it if their barbels or whiskers start fading away.

 

[aquandrew]

If I added sand, it would likely be the front 3 inches or so, an inch deep, along the entire front. Very rough photoshop edit gets the attached. How do you think this would look?

i think you could get away with that, but it would work better if you put it more around the entire rim and keep the middle gravel if you do that. ime most of the time corydoras just swim up and down, back and forth around the outside edges of the tank. it is going to be a royal pain to gravel vac and keep the sand separate though imo

 

[GreenLily]

That looks pretty good for a rough draft. I wonder I you could find blue sand to match the rocks.. unless you were planning on using tan sand?

 

[fish4phil]

I thought of blue sand, but then thought the 2 different blues might just clash. Having the tan sand in front almost resembles a beach with water (the blue gravel) behind it. Thoughts?

 

[mrvincent]

You're posting the same question than yesterday. Sand with this coated gravel will not look good. Anyway, with this substrate you have, the sand will go between the small hole and fall down at the bottom, under the blue gravel.

If you make a "sand mountain" at the back, it will look ugly...

Maybe you can make something, with blue sand, like make hill on each side, or maybe one side... The more it look natural, the more it's attractive for the eye.

 

[fish4phil]

Quite a different question on a similar subject

The picture I posted (last post on the 1st page of this thread) shows my idea - creating a section of just sand and a section of just gravel..not mixing them together.

 

[mrvincent]

You don't think it will mix up when you'll vaccum clean it ?

 

[fish4phil]

Maybe some...but any sand that gets into the gravel will be minimal and fall inbetween the gravel, and I want some gravel on the sand anyways to create more of a "flow" between the 2, rather than a clean line of the 2 substrate materials

 

[GreenLily]

I thought of blue sand, but then thought the 2 different blues might just clash. Having the tan sand in front almost resembles a beach with water (the blue gravel) behind it. Thoughts?

That is a good idea! I was just thinking that if you could match blue sand with one color of the gravel that maybe it'd tie it in, but it could turn out an eye sore! I think that it's definitely something you can accomplish. It might take some planning to figure how you will keep them separate, but with dedication, I think it can be done. Once you figure it out, you will know how to do any water changes every time. What kind of sand would you use, do you think?
I Googled some sand/gravel aquariums, and it's not the right color scheme, but it just goes to show that it's possible to have both in the tank. Personally, I prefer natural colors for aquariums, but you are the one that has to look at it every day, and what rocks one person's boat, doesn't always rock another's! You could pull off the beach theme if you design it just right.
Here's what I found on Google, good for inspiration..

(https://www.aquariumadvice.com/atta...728169_0_af18e30acd18821bd86e694100eee430.jpg)

(http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/a...tall-rescape-1-2-sand-1-2-gravel-img_2806.jpg)

 

[GreenLily]

I hope you don't mind, but I saved your pic of your tank and played around a bit with paint to see what you could do to make it flow together.. OK, I guess I'm having fun with it too!