would sand be okay?

[OBEYtheFISH]

Going to do a 180 gallon tank with sand (haven't decided on what sand to use)
But I'm also going to have a few plants & a bunch of driftwood & large rocks
& I was wondering if sand would be fine, because on my other tanks 2-100 gallons I have sand in them & I get those toxic bubbles but I'm able to run my hands thru the sand
So I'm not really sure if I'd be able to do that in the new setup

All advice & help would be great! Thanks

-OTF

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Sand will definitely be okay. In fact most aquarists prefer sand over gravel. I have gravel, but would like to switch to sand.

Pool filter sand is most recommended, and it will not form those gas bubbles.

To avoid those, all you have to do is stir up the sand once in awhile.

 

[OBEYtheFISH]

But what if it is heavily planted
& has like a lawn of moss

 

[jcolon]

But what if it is heavily planted
& has like a lawn of moss

It all depends on how deep your sand bed will be. Once you get around 3+ inches, you'll have an anoxic zone where those bacteria usually for hydrogen sulfide.

From reading other threads and on other sites, most tanks just don't produce enough gas in enough concentration to be an issue. A plus with plants is that roots can help keep the and from compacting enough to allow any gas to bubble gradually. Supposedly malaysian trumpet snails do a good job in burrowing and stirring up the sand enough to keep big gas pockets from building up.

 

[OBEYtheFISH]

I don't think I'm going to hit 3+inches
& I'm going to have some Eco complete on the parts where I'm going to have some plants

 

[OBEYtheFISH]

Trying to get that look