Sand vs gravel

[Bobby56]

I have a new tank and would really like to do sand. Can people tell me the pros and cons of sand vs gravel? And what type of sand you would recommend?

 

[jcolon]

For me, the Pro / Cons is really mostly aesthetic. For some species, the smoother texture of sand is better than coarser gravels and for some plants, sand is a better substrate for roots to anchor into, rather than gravel.

I personally prefer the look of sand (Pool Filter Sand) than gravel. PFS(silica based) is a bit coarser (and easy to find) than playsand and may not cloud up as much when you do Gravel vacs.

I would also suggest you consider looking at black diamond blasting sand ... dark substrate really makes color pop and a few members have used black diamond without any issues.

 

[Bobby56]

So what about the aquarium sand like on amazon? Is that not that good

 

[Bobby56]

Can you post a link to a good sand you would use

 

[jcolon]

Can you post a link to a good sand you would use

Below's a pic of black diamond sand

Black Diamond Blasting Abrasive

Pool Filter Sand (Silica Based) you can get at any pool supply store.

Both are aquarium safe.

 

[Bobby56]

K thanks

 

[boadams87]

I use the black diamond blasting sand and never had a problem.

 

[Coursair]

You can see pics of my sand tanks on my profile page. I love sand. I just use root tabs for my plants.

 

[Tetra123]

I couldnt find pfs so I use all purpose sand from home depot. Its not as clean but works fine for me.

 

[rreekers]

So what about the aquarium sand like on amazon? Is that not that good

you can buy aquarium sand.. what others are suggesting is just ALOT cheaper...

 

[Coursair]

My last tank was Black Diamond Sand Blasting Sand....very cheap and nice looking. I topped it with a thin layer of Tahitian Moon Sand, cuz I love the way it looks.

 

[Bobby56]

Yeah, I got some black sand from PETCO off amazon, I've been looking at hardware stores and still haven't found any blasting sand. Still trying to get some though. I would buy online but shipping is pretty high. I thought about doing sand and gravel. Have u ever done that before? And if so how did it turn out?

 

[Coursair]

Yeah, I got some black sand from PETCO off amazon, I've been looking at hardware stores and still haven't found any blasting sand. Still trying to get some though. I would buy online but shipping is pretty high. I thought about doing sand and gravel. Have u ever done that before? And if so how did it turn out?

Sand will settle into and under gravel eventually. Since I have small tanks I do sand and use snails to aerate it.