Sand or Gravel

[Parksy]

Hello everyone this is my first post and as the title says the question is to use sand or gravel as a substrate..?
The tank is 10 weeks old.
I currently have a 105litre tank with peaceful and easy to keep tankmates but the problem is I am currently using white gravel which is getting brown algae on it which I can’t seem to get rid of....? I have plastic plants and slate rocks as decoration.
After reading various websites there are pros and cons for using either?
I am going to change for a black colour , if I use sand then it will be easier for my false juli catfish to feed and my Bolivian rams but I think it will get sucked up when cleaning the bottom out and I will need to use quite a bit of sand to cover the base of my fake plants and it says on websites you,only need 2.5mm Coverage on the bottom of your tank so some advice would be helpful
Thanks Parksy?

 

[Aiken Drum]

If you want to use sand, then use sand. If you are worried about it being sucked into the filter then make sure your filter input is set a few inches above the level of your sand.

You are right, sand will get sucked into your syphon hose if you do a deep vac. Mitigate this by not doing this. Move the hose over the surface of your substrate at a height where this doesnt happen. Poop will sit on the surface of the sand rather than getting into the voids of gravel and will be easily removed if you cause a little agitation of the surface. Some sand will still get sucked up, but it is easy to periodically replace.

As for depth of substrate, put in as much as you need. I use 2 to 3 inches in planted tanks same as i would for gravel. You will probably want to periodically lightly rake your sand as it will get compacted over time. I think the 2.5mm you saw should have been 2.5cm (1 inch).

 

[Parksy]

Thanks mate I think I will go for sand then ....just a bit of a job to ge the gravel out ?

 

[Aiken Drum]

Make sure you thoroughly rinse the sand before you put it in an aquarium. More than you would for gravel.

If you are trying to do this in a live aquarium, dont do it all at once. Maybe spread it out over a few weeks. You should be able to scoop out your gravel with a plastic trowel and adding sand with a plastic bottle is easy. I plan on doing something similar shortly, not replacing the whole substrate, just a small section. Video on how i add sand to a filled tank (not my video, just the method i use).

https://youtu.be/IQMBGzlteK0

 

[Aiken Drum]

On another topic of your brown algae. It should go away on its own. Its called diatoms, and will be feeding on nutrient imbalances in a new tank, mostly nitrates and silicates from your substrate. Once the silicates are consumed the diatoms should die of. Turning up your lights can also help as this promotes green algae which outcompetes the diatoms for nutrients. Green algae is easier to deal with. Last time i had diatoms it lasted about 2 months from covering the substrate and rocks to completely vanishing. I went away on holiday and when i got back it had all gone on its own.

 

[Parksy]

Appreciate the info will defo give it a go ��

 

[charliebankston]

I have 19 tanks, with a variety of substrate in each one. I have black diamond sand in 2, and it works good. I have pool filter sand in another. The black shows less detritus. The pool sand shows poo 3 minutes after I clean it. Both can be vacuumed, but you have to carefully run the vacuum along the top, skimming, to get the detritus up and not suck up alot of sand. Also, some things they say about various sand I've not found true personally, like gas pockets hiding and the black diamond being to rough on bottom dwellers. I have corys on it in one tank and a big common pleco in another on it. Summary- (1 being best, 5 horrible) small gravel appearance -2, small gravel cleaning- 1, black diamond sand cleaning-2, appearance-1 , large gravel/ rock cleaning-5, appearance- 1, pool filter sand app- 1, cleaning- 3. Hope this helps

 

[Parksy]

Thanks for that so I will probably order the black diamond sand or very small gravel to accommodate the corys and I think the Bolivian rams wil sift through it as well ? cheers Paul

 

[V227]

:Lowes & Home Depot sell Quikrete All Purpose Gravel in their lawn & garden dept. It is small grain rounded river gravel, safe for aquarium use. It's also very inexpensive.
The predominant color is brown. I mixed the Quikrete gravel with white quartz gravel in my tanks. Looks pretty good.
Btw, three to four inches of substrate provides a great environment for a substantial bed of beneficial bacteria to grow.

 

[charliebankston]

:Lowes & Home Depot sell Quikrete All Purpose Gravel in their lawn & garden dept. It is small grain rounded river gravel, safe for aquarium use. It's also very inexpensive.

The predominant color is brown. I mixed the Quikrete gravel with white quartz gravel in my tanks. Looks pretty good.

Btw, three to four inches of substrate provides a great environment for a substantial bed of beneficial bacteria to grow.

I have several tanks with pea gravel from Lowe's. A couple I mixed with color aquarium gravel to give it a different look like you said. Much cheaper than fish store gravel

 

[Parksy]

Thanks I have just ordered some black sand from eBay xx we will see how we get on x