fishfan88
Aquarium Advice FINatic
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2013
- Messages
- 729
Which do you like better? Why? I am deciding weather I should do sand or gravel in a 55 gallon (possibly bigger) tank I'm getting soon, so I'd like to hear your opinion.
Ok... I think rams are bottom dwellers, aren't they? Would it be okay to have a bottom feeder in there? Sorry... I'm kind of getting off topic... Which is less expensive? sand or gravel?
Usually sand is more expensive but I have read some people buying play sand (but read up on it because I have no idea about it!). I have a 20 gallon and just bought some sand from my LFS (10 bucks). To me it wasn't that expensive, but I also have a small tank.
I love my sand. I'm new to having an aquarium and its easy to keep up with. Had it for almost 3 months? I stir it and just vacuum right above it. Usually the little (like very little!) sand I picked up stay in the bucket when I dump bad water out, and goes back in tank with good water. My plants are thriving in it (but I also have laterite mixed in too). I love my sand more than my gravel. The gravel pit is there just for looks really.
Sand, sand, sand, all the way!!. There has been numerous threads about this and from the ones I've read and posted in, the vast majority prefer sand. Most people who switch from gravel to sand never regret it. The trick with sand is to wash the hell out of it. It gets rid of all the dust(cloudy), light sand(that floats) and any debris. I find it so much easier to keep clean. I've had both over the years and will NEVER use gravel again. If you wash it really really well beforehand, you will get little to no sand come up the vac. Blasting sand seems to be very popular and very cheap. I think it's around $10 for 50lbs. It's also a personal choice but I think it looks way better.
Any dirt sits on top, so it's easier to remove with the vac. People only say it looks dirtier because they can see it and the gravels not hiding it!!Really? I was thinking it would be harder to clean. Maybe I will use sand. I think it looks better too.
I modified a normal gravel vac to work perfect with eco complete, I just now set up my first sand bottom so not sure how well it works but all I did was take a vacuum and cut the tube where you can hold it easy, then insert a piece of latex line or any other soft line that returns to shape with a couple barb fittings. What that does is give you an area that's really easy to pinch off to control the flow, I really like it so far. Pics if needed.
The key to it is to wash it really really really well. I can't stress that enough. It'll stop your water clouding and taking days to clear at the start....
I modified a normal gravel vac to work perfect with eco complete, I just now set up my first sand bottom so not sure how well it works but all I did was take a vacuum and cut the tube where you can hold it easy, then insert a piece of latex line or any other soft line that returns to shape with a couple barb fittings. What that does is give you an area that's really easy to pinch off to control the flow, I really like it so far. Pics if needed.