Sand vs. Gravel

[red_tide]

I have a 20g freshwater tank and yesterday I changed out the blue gravel I had and added white sand. I think it looks 10 times better but it seems that the fish stir up the sand and make the water cloudy. Overall I think it was a good decision to go with the sand. What are your thoughts? Sand or Gravel?

[KaylNeko]

You don't have a plant substrate option I have sand and eco-complete. Did you rinse your sand really well? My guys going plowing through my sand, and it's not an issue.

[Penncentralfan]

You need to test your water. A lot of bacteria live in the gravel. In some cases you need to go through the cycle again since so much bacteria may have been removed.

[red_tide]

I apologize about the plant option. I am trying to figure out how to edit the poll. No, I did not rinse the sand. I didn't even think about that. That's probably my problem.

[phoenixkiller]

Yes, washing the sand is a very good idea. I personally think sand is one hundred times better than gravel, but is often a pain to clean.

[cichlid.greenhorn]

Gravel, always IMO. I can set up a landscape with hills, slopes and valleys and my fish can't destroy it. Just gravel vac once a week really good.

[Fishie]

Originally Posted by cichlid.greenhorn

Gravel, always IMO. I can set up a landscape with hills, slopes and valleys and my fish can't destroy it. Just gravel vac once a week really good.

+1 yes I like gravel too IMO but some sands looks good might try it out in a betta tank.

[Mumma.of.two]

I have gravel, play sand, PFS, dirt and bare bottom tanks. My favorite is sand. It's easy to clean and looks good. If the filters strong enough it sucks up all the waste so you don't have to worry about vacuuming.

[jetajockey]

I like sand also, try to find some with a large grain and it doesn't cloud or get blown around as easily.

[James_in_MN]

I have three tanks, which all had gravel at one point. I've recently switched two of them over to different products. Now, one has sand (5g), one has eco-complete (20g), and one still has gravel (10g).

I like the eco-complete look first and foremost, and I expect that my plants will thank me later. They already seem to be positively responding to the new substrate.

Sand is quickly becoming my second favorite. I like the look better than gravel, and it should be much easier to clean than gravel (waste just sits on top).

That's not to say that gravel doesn't have its place, however. It would clearly be a better option than sand for undergravel filters (which don't seem to be used much anymore). I also think that gravel may hold a colony of bacteria better than sand only because waste goes into the gravel substrate rather than sitting on top of sand.

That said, I won't ever use gravel in a planted tank again, as I've had very little success keeping plants in that substrate. I'll only use eco-complete or another specialized plant substrate like Fluval Stratum for planted tanks from this point forward. That may cause pain in the wallet with 55+g tanks, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.