Substrate

[JC_Bus]

I have a 60 gallon tank with gravel. I was wondering if I could switch it to sand or dirt. Do you guys recommend that I do that or should I do something else to get a planted tank? What should I get? Dirt or sand? Thanks!


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[GreenGo]

I'm a fan of sand, as it's what you'd find in many streams and is thought of as more "natural", though gravel is found in the upper reaches of the same stream. However, I've heard of some issues with using straight sand, mainly the roots don't get a lot of nutrients and some potential rooting issues. To circumvent (get around) that, some people on here use a dirt tank with a sand cap to try to prevent the dirt from becoming an issue as far as clouding the water. The dirt provides a lot of the nutrients the plants will need, but will either have to be replaced (a big pain I hear, as one could imagine) or be supplemented with root tabs later on.

Ultimately, it's up to what you'd like as far as aesthetics, but functionally I'd go with the dirt and sand cap. Hopefully someone else will add on to this with some specifics as to the dirt with sand cap method if it interests you.

Also, to give a better idea of what might be easiest to maintain, and so we can guide you in how to set it up to reduce issues and maintenance, do you have any fish or inverts in the aquarium?

Hope this helps!

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[ImACoolguy]

I'm a sand man. I use it in all my tanks.

Once you do sand you won't go back to gravel.


Caleb

 

[Caliban07]

I've got two dirt tanks now and considering the doing the third.





I prefer not to use co2 or fertilisers so coming from someone who used to have a nightmare with straight gravel and straight sand the difference through using soil are amazing. There are so many benefits to using soil and it can last years.

In my opinion, the only drawback to using soil is the initial stabilisation period.




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[schpanky]

Hi, just remember that if you go with dirt you should cap it with sand. If you don't cap it, you can have an opaque tank full of mud. When that mud settles, it settles on all of your plants and decor.

I like scaping and rescaping my tank, it's what I find peaceful about having a tank. It was too hard with dirt, everything turned into a monochromatic brown nightmare.

With that said, dirt is absolutely fantastic for plant and water quality. Can't beat it.

Also, if you have fish that churn the bottom, then dirt is difficult. Sand and root tabs are my recommendation for an easy tank.

 

[JC_Bus]

Thank you guys so much this really helped!


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[JC_Bus]

Oh one more thing. Do you think it would be okay to switch the substrate in the tank I have now. It has 6 angels in it. If I switch it could there be a chance anything could happen?


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[Caliban07]

Oh one more thing. Do you think it would be okay to switch the substrate in the tank I have now. It has 6 angels in it. If I switch it could there be a chance anything could happen?


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What are you switching it to?


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[FishFlow]

I've got two dirt tanks now and considering the doing the third.


I prefer not to use co2 or fertilisers so coming from someone who used to have a nightmare with straight gravel and straight sand the difference through using soil are amazing. There are so many benefits to using soil and it can last years.

In my opinion, the only drawback to using soil is the initial stabilisation period.

What kind of dirt? (product name) Tks.

 

[FishFlow]

I loved how my plants grew with dirt. After a year or two, you will need to supplement with root tabs. But of course, after a couple years of fast growing you'll be ready for the plants to slow down a bit.. haha.

This go round, I’m trying sand only, with root tabs, in an attempt to avoid all the issues the above poster mentioned.

 

[JC_Bus]

I was thinking on switching to sand with root tabs. Since I have plants already do you think and everything else in the tank will stay there the fish will stay safe


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[JC_Bus]

The Home Depot has something by pavestone called natural play sand and they also have one by quikrete called premium play sand
Would you guys recommend these?


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[GreenGo]

Most people recommend pool filter sand, but in looking on the HD site the same brand (Quikrete) has a 50lb bag of both pool filter and play sand, and the play sand is cheaper. Also, play sand from that company is just regular beach sand that's been rinsed for you, so it's natural.

If I were to purchase some sand for my builds (which I am planning), I'd go with the play sand. I'm not sure on the pavestone, so I can't say which brand to choose, but personally I'd go with Quikrete since they answered a question on their product page that asked about the sand's toxicity, as well as it being a more established brand.

As for the safety of your fish when you put the sand in there, they should be fine as long as you use something to get the sand to the bottom of the tank without allowing too much to stay in the water column. If you have pantyhose, you could fill it with the sand, lower it to the bottom of the tank, and gently spill the sand out, being careful to not agitate the sand where it'll float in the water column. Alternatively, you could use clean pvc pipe to transport the sand where you want it; just slowly dump the sand into the top opening of the pvc with the bottom opening near the bottom of the tank, and you shouldn't have any issues.

The only real problem with adding sand to an established aquarium is the sand lingering in the water column, effectively choking the light and starving any plants. The lingering sand can also get stuck in the gills of the fish if it's a fine particulate size, but if you follow the directions I outlined in the previous paragraph you should be fine

Hope this helps!

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[schpanky]

I had a nightmare when I removed the rocks from my tank one time. Without knowing how much dirt had gathered under the stones, I removed the stones with my fish still in the tank. This churned up a lot of really dangerous and toxic stuff from the bottom of the tank. I killed about 7 absolutely beautiful Africans. I was really distressed.

To prevent this the next time, I got several buckets from Home Depot and filled them with the established water from the tank. I put the fish in those buckets too. Only then did I start taking out the old substrate and churning things around. After changing the substrate I put the old water back in the tank to prevent from shocking the fish. Of course I added new water too (about 50%).

I don't want this to happen to anyone else, ever. If it's a possibility at all, I might recommend removing the fish while changing the substrate. I was heartbroken. 2 years later I still feel awful.

 

[JC_Bus]

Thank you guys for all your help!


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