sand or gravel?

[cogburn]

i dont know what to DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO everything ive been researching for this 180 gallon tank im getting has been easy so far... but i still dont know whether i want sand or gravel... im either gonna get just regular pool filter sand or black gravel... i just dont know if i want to deal with gravel vaccing... cuz sand looks alot easier with all the waste sitting on top of it... no sifting around and stirring up decorations and the like... ugh... somebody just tell me what to do and ill do it...

oh yeah stocklist:
2 oscars
1 banded leporinus
2 tinfoil barbs
1 bloody parrot

thanks in advance... Larry

 

[Retaks]

I have sand in my Piranha tank. The Piranha crap was easy to vac up. I decided to put a Red Taild Catfish in there and his crap is so heavy it wont vac off the sand. I have to use a net to get it out of the tank. My Oscars was the same way as the catfish.

 

[cogburn]

hmmm... i dont think thats a huge deal i would be willing to do that... i just hate gravel vaccing and displacing all the decorations... then putting them back where i thought they were... then later i see one out of place so i have to stick my hand back in and blah blah blah... i just think sand would be so much easier... and maybe even nicer looking...

 

[Retaks]

I rarely moved my decorations when gravel vacing with gravel. As for sand looking nicer it dose look alot nicer when its clean but it gets messy really quickly. I love my sand though. I just went from doing one gravel vac and water change a week to doing 2.

 

[happygirl65]

I vote sand. I have had lots of different kinds of gravel but my favorite is the pfs. Easy to find, cheap, looks great...and if you do have to net something out most of the time the sand will fall out of the net on it's way back up to the top of the water as you are pulling it out.

Another thing I notice with the sand is that all of the debris seems to gather in one or two piles where the current pushes it, instead of settling into all the nooks in the gravel.

 

[Retaks]

Another thing I notice with the sand is that all of the debris seems to gather in one or two piles where the current pushes it, instead of settling into all the nooks in the gravel.

That is true. Mine is normally in the bare area under my powerhead.

 

[saffikeagan]

I'm still learning how to vac my mulm w/out picking up too much sand. Other than that, I like the pfs and am glad I changed from gravel.

Depending on the depth of your sand too, it can be hard to keep things like air hoses and bubble stones beneath the surface of the sand if you don't nail them down with some silicon. I was constantly having to rebury these things in the sand cause I'd disturb one part while mucking about in the tank and 1/2 of the hosing would pop up.

 

[thominil]

There are suction cups that hold the airline down. I have them, but they tend to come loose after two weeks to a month if not used under a substrate. Petsmart had them for like $2 for a 6 pack when i got them http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752254. I'd go with pfs.

 

[cogburn]

okay sub-question... if i go with pool filter sand... is it the same as gravel 1lb per gallon or should i get more... i was planning on getting 200 lbs of gravel so i have a lil extra... will that be a good amount of pfs too?

 

[rafecci]

hmmm... i dont think thats a huge deal i would be willing to do that... i just hate gravel vaccing and displacing all the decorations... then putting them back where i thought they were... then later i see one out of place so i have to stick my hand back in and blah blah blah... i just think sand would be so much easier... and maybe even nicer looking...

Think you just answered your own question! I vote sand. I have both and I like sand. Thinking of changing my 50 g over to sand. (But thats a lot of work )

 

[saffikeagan]

Well, the smallest bag I could find was a 50 lb. I just needed enough for 2ish inches on the bottom of my 14 (standard dimensions). By the time I was finished rinsing it (I can only look back and laugh), I had enough for my 14, a 6.6 bookshelf tank, and maybe 1 gallon ziplock bag worth left.

If you are worried about over purchasing, then you can err on the side of caution then run back to the store for more. However, it did surprise me how much I ended up needing when all was said and done.

 

[fearlessfisch]

I always get sand because I love fish/loaches that burrow. It just seems more comfortable for them.

 

[saffikeagan]

Ha! I swiched my tank from gravel to sand after a week of putting the gravel in because I wanted the best home possible for the loaches I wanted.

Do they ever go tunneling through the sand?!?!

NO!!!

I still like the look of the sand, but I do feel just a tinsy bit jipped! JK

 

[thominil]

Fear how much sand did you use on your 55g? I was planning on using pfs when i get my 55g.

 

[fearlessfisch]

LOL. I felt cheated when I first added sand, because my loaches stayed under the sand all the time and I never saw them!

It may depend on the type of loach. I have horseface, and I do see them a lot more now. They spend most of their time lying under the sand with just their little horsey heads sticking out.

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/loaches/images/HorsefaceLoachWFLo_AcF101_sm.jpg
(not my loach)

 

[Alaris]

I would suggest less than 1" of sand on the bottom of your tank. So figure out how much you need for your tank. Volume = L x W x H or if less than 1" of sand, just the surface area of your tank. This measurement is in in^3. You then need to convert it to lbs. W = V x d where d is density and the density of sand is .0643 lbs/in^3.

For instance:
My tank is 10g with a 20" x 10" foot print.
V = L x W x H
V = 20 x 10 x 1 = 200 in^3
W = V x d, d = .0643
W = 200 x .0643 = 12.86 lbs.

This is about what I guess I used in my tank. I bought a 50 lb bag of sand, put little less than half in a bucket and used more than half of that. So I used a little more than 1 lb/ gallon and that's with <1" height.

/nerd

 

[saffikeagan]

I've got kuhlis. They like the java moss I have in the tank and spend most of their time in the moss. I guess if I didn't have the moss, they might hide in the sand more.

I wanted the sand to be at least level to if not a bit above the black rim on my tank. I also wanted it deep enough to firmly anchor decor, hide tubing, and to be burrowable for my kuhlis.

Up to a certain depth, it's personal preference, I guess. If you go too deep, though, there can be problems with deadly gases building up and killing your fish if the sand then gets disturbed. You can do a forum (or google) search for Deep sand beds.

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

When i say both.. i mean i really have both... i put a little 1lb bag of gravel in with a 25lb bag of sand. you can make a big contrast in color that way. it also helps with looks. It doesnt look dirty at all. and it adds a little extra umph to it. all in all though its your stuff, if you can afford 200lbs of sand go for it LOL

 

[Retaks]

I have 60 pounds of sand in my 55 gal. It averages out to about 2.5" of sand. The one side has about 1.5" and the other has about 3" because of the powerhead pushing it.

 

[cogburn]

hmm... i guess ill just buy 200 lbs and see how it goes... ive seen pfs for $12.00 for a 50 lb bag... thats only $48 for 200 lbs... the cheapest of the gravels i like would cost me about $200 for 200 lbs... so... pfs it is ladies and gents... thanks for your opinions... ive now been able to make an educated decision and i appreciate all you help

-Larry