Sand or gravel substrate?

[DLMRunning]

I just bought a 20 gal tank, and I'm wondering which would be better, sand or gravel. I have had fish before, but I've used gravel in them. I like the look of sand better, but from what I've heard it's a lot of work.

 

[butterfly_koi]

I used gravel in my tank for a while and recently switched to sand. And I love it! Its easier to clean, my fish love to dig in it, the decor in my tank stays rooted. IMO the sand is better to use than gravel

 

[wawgt]

I've always used gravel but am considering switching to sand myself. It seems that almost everyone who has used sand loves it and would never go back....

 

[davy 1983]

iv just switched to sand in my tropical tank, an think it looks loads better, but iv still got graval in my coldwater tank cos fancy goldfish perfer it to look for food

 

[DLMRunning]

Okay, I think I'm going tto use sand Thanks for all of the input !

 

[butterfly_koi]

Okay, I think I'm going tto use sand Thanks for all of the input !

Your welcome , one tip I can give you though, rinse the sand (depending on what kind it is) before you put it in your tank. I've never used aquarium sand in my tank, I use play sand. the play sand has to be rinsed first

 

[Luananeko]

The one downside (and benefit, depending how you look at it) of sand is that all the fish mulm sits right on top in direct view. This makes it easy to get rid of by using a turkey baster to suck it all up, but it does mean that you'll need to do this frequently if you want to keep it looking nice. You can mitigate this somewhat if you go with a darker color sand so it blends in better instead of the typical sparklingly white aquarium sand.

 

[boadams87]

It just depends on what you want but I've got both and love my sand ALOT more!!! Gravel has to be vacuumed and sand doesn't. I've got trumpet snails to stir the sand.

 

[Anthym]

I've never used aquarium sand in my tank, I use play sand. the play sand has to be rinsed first

Rinse, rinse and then rinse again with play sand. When you think the water has run clear then rinse it again! I speak from experience.

I changed to sand the other week and even after a thorough rinse my tank still went murky for a few days. It's cleared and looks great now but did have me worried for a few days.