Gravel VS Sand

[HopefulHobbiest]

i've been wondering if switching my 55G from gravel to sand is worth it...

i hear sand is easier to keep clean but i'm afraid of succking it up in the vac.

any pros/cons you can think of or point out that i may not be aware of??

 

[Maxpowell]

Sand IMO is better, you just suck about in inch above and it just picks up the waste, occasionally you will get sand but it's minimal, sand looks better and better for the fish!

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Ok cool, out of curiosity would you happen to know how much sand is required for a 55G?

 

[bud29]

I believe 3 bags that contain .5 cubic feet of sand would be enough. You can get a bag for 3 bucks @ walmart.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

From Walmart? Is that the play sand I keep seein people post about?

 

[bud29]

Yeah. It works great, just clean it well. You can also get pool filter sand from home depot or black blasting sand from Tractor Supply, but I do not know if that is as cheap as the play sand.

 

[vanimal]

Probably like 50 pounds. Pool Filter Sand and Play Sand are really cheap.

 

[butterfly_koi]

I love sand more than I could ever love the gravel I used to have
I started with play sand (3.40 per bag) then switched to black diamond a.k.a blasting sand (7.99 per bag) it's easy to keep clean and looks much more natural than gravel

 

[bud29]

I love sand more than I could ever love the gravel I used to have
I started with play sand (3.40 per bag) then switched to black diamond a.k.a blasting sand (7.99 per bag) it's easy to keep clean and looks much more natural than gravel

+1 on the black sand. That has to be my favorite substrate. It looks very awesome. I just cannot find it anywhere in my area. It's frustrating.

 

[vanimal]

+1 on the black sand. That has to be my favorite substrate. It looks very awesome. I just cannot find it anywhere in my area. It's frustrating.

I agree I ordered mine from PETCO. $15 for 20 pounds

 

[bud29]

Petco. I will have to remember that when I set up my next tank. There is one 90 minutes away from me, I haven't been in it yet though.

 

[vanimal]

Petco. I will have to remember that when I set up my next tank. There is one 90 minutes away from me, I haven't been in it yet though.

I ordered off line it was free.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

I was thinking white or tan sand... Something more natural lookin almost like what you'd find in the natural habitat

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Also, do I have to take the fish out during the switch?

 

[bud29]

I don't believe you have to take the fish out. Turn off your filter, though. Sand in your filter is a bad thing. Also, I would change half of the substrate, wait 5-10 days, and change the other half. This is because some live on your substrate and you don't want to cause a mini-cycle by taking it all out at once.

 

[butterfly_koi]

Also, do I have to take the fish out during the switch?

Lol I thought that would be coming next, I had recently wrote an article on this very process.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/introduction-adding-decor-aquarium/
Feel free to ask any questions if the article does not help.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

I don't believe you have to take the fish out. Turn off your filter, though. Sand in your filter is a bad thing. Also, I would change half of the substrate, wait 5-10 days, and change the other half. This is because some live on your substrate and you don't want to cause a mini-cycle by taking it all out at once.

The 50/50 transfer is doable but as far as the filter goes I was thinking of putting a sponge in/around it or using women's pantyhose(sp)

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Lol I thought that would be coming next, I had recently wrote an article on this very process.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/introduction-adding-decor-aquarium/
Feel free to ask any questions if the article does not help.

Awesome article, very helpful to me considering this is the first massive switch I've done to the tank and I don't want to freak out my fish... Thank you for linking that

 

[Bbarb27]

I have pool filter sand in 4 of my tanks. Eventually I'll switch out the gravel in the other tanks. There is no comparison re: keeping the sand clean compared to the gravel. There is an amazing amount of debris and gunk that accumulates at the bottom of my tanks with gravel, no matter how much I use the gravel vac/siphon. My cory cats love the sand too.

Yes, the siphon picks up a little sand when you hold the siphon too close to the sand bed or at a 90 degree angle. But if you hold the siphon at a 45 degree angle, the sand all falls back to the bottom of the tank.

I paid $8.00 for 50 lbs of pool filter sand. It's light beige in color and looks like beach sand.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Yes that's what figured... Every time I vac my tank it's disturbing the stuff that comes out and I vac my tank EVERY day lol