Hi I'm new to this group and pretty new to fish. I use to have fish years ago, but never as big as the tank I have now. I just bought a 60 gallon used fish tank, it has no fish and no accessories at all, not evev a hood. Now. I have to save up and get a little at a time but eventually all have it all together and be able to actually put fish in it. I want to know how much gravel to put in a tank this size. Also would like to know what fish would be good to put in there. Any Advice would be great.
New from Yakima, Washington
- Thread starter Solarcool
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
absolutangel04
Daphnia are People Too.
Hello! Welcome to the site. I am currently residing in Walla Walla, WA (for another 10 days). I hope you enjoy the forum. Feel free to post some questions in the Getting Started section for people to be able to help you with. 
Scott F
Aquarium Advice Freak
Greetings from SW Washington !
As far as substrate goes the general rule of thumb is 1.5 - 2 lbs per gallon ( I side with 1.5 ) but you could also go with play sand at Home Depot which runs around $5.00 / 50 lbs and is an inexpensive substitute that works really well.
I did one of my tanks with pool filter sand, but on the next tank will go with ordinary sand since it's 1/3 the cost.
As far as substrate goes the general rule of thumb is 1.5 - 2 lbs per gallon ( I side with 1.5 ) but you could also go with play sand at Home Depot which runs around $5.00 / 50 lbs and is an inexpensive substitute that works really well.
I did one of my tanks with pool filter sand, but on the next tank will go with ordinary sand since it's 1/3 the cost.
I don't know anything about sand. What is the exact name. Is sand better then gravel? Do you clean sand the same way is with a syphon tube?
Lucky you two did not make it over here. It rained like crazy.
Scott F
Aquarium Advice Freak
Some of the people here use ordinary play sand ( home depot ) which if you get a really light color to it makes a tank look attractive OR there is pool filter sand ( PFS) which can be picked up at a local pool / spa outfit. Either seem to work well, there's less dusting with PFS but it's 3X more expensive generally.
Cleaning is easy to do as nothing is really going to sink into it. You just go over the top with a suction tube and suck up all the nasties that you can see.
I thought gravel was cool too until I tried sand. With gravel you have to get underneath it all as "junk" has a habit of getting into all the nooks and crannies.
Sand, IMO, just makes it easier to deal with.
Less than $10 for a bag of pool filter sand - takes a long time to wash it (at least 1 hour to clean all 50lbs).
~$20 Spectra Quartz sand - no washing necessary (just toss it into your tank without any clouding) but might not be possible in your small city.
~$20 Spectra Quartz sand - no washing necessary (just toss it into your tank without any clouding) but might not be possible in your small city.
Thank you. I was just at a pet store after work today. Neither of the people at the pet store today like sand they only liked gravel. So now I'm even more confused. The way you described sounds like it would be a great way to go.
I have very little money and a lot of time so I'll make my decision and next few months thanks.
Scott F
Aquarium Advice Freak
Thank you. I was just at a pet store after work today. Neither of the people at the pet store today like sand they only liked gravel. So now I'm even more confused. The way you described sounds like it would be a great way to go.
I have very little money and a lot of time so I'll make my decision and next few months thanks.
Just remember...they get paid to sell you things
Gravel does look nice and it comes in a lot of pretty colors, and for what they charge it's very expensive per pound.Now...sand doesn't look that great when you're rinsing it off and it looks dark and you'd think " ugh...this is gonna look ugly." Until it's in the tank and situated. Pool Fliter Sand is pretty bright and clean looking.
So you don't get the IMMEDIATE visual gratification that gravel provides, but you will when it's all in there and prepped.
Just remember...they get paid to sell you things
Now...sand doesn't look that great when you're rinsing it off and it looks dark and you'd think " ugh...this is gonna look ugly." Until it's in the tank and situated. Pool Fliter Sand is pretty bright and clean looking.
So you don't get the IMMEDIATE visual gratification that gravel provides, but you will when it's all in there and prepped.[/QUOTE
Would I have to use a special filter for sand verses gravel?
