I have a 30 gallon tank with gravel. I was thinking about switching to sand. If I do sand I was wondering if I could do a heavily planted tank, with drift wood in it. Is their any differences in levels in sand vs gravel? I have some tiger barbs, a pink tail chalseous, some pictus catfish, tetras, and a suckerfish.
Sand or Gravel
- Thread starter fishyb
- Start date
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aqua_holic
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Sand. You'll be so happy you did, as will the fish. Makes for a better aquascaped tank as well as a much cleaner tank.
CoronaBlue
Aquarium Advice Freak
I had gravel and switched to sand, best thing I did.
aqua_holic
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Sorry but anyone with sand would disagree with you on both points there. Only way one would lose any appreciable amount of sand during a water change is if they don't know how to vacuum. And as for being harder to clean, nothing could be farther from the truth - sand keeps waste on the surface where it will often collect in certain areas, making cleaning a breeze.
So aqua_holic how do you vaccum sand properly. That was going to be my next question? Is their any limitations on kinds of fish I can house in a tank with a sandy bottom. I have always have had gravel. This would be a new venture for me. What about plants?
I have a few Serpae tetra, and some mixed fruit tetra's. ( i bought those at wal mart) They are a bright pink.
aqua_holic
Aquarium Advice FINatic
You bring the end of the hose or tube to about a quarter inch above the sand and make a swirling motion. That will stir up any waste which will then be sucked out. It's finesse, whereas vacuuming gravel is brutish, jamming the vac to the bottom of the tank through the gravel. Often in a sand tank there will only be a few places that you ever have to vac because the water movement collects it there.
Sand only opens up your options. No limitations.
Sand only opens up your options. No limitations.
aqua_holic
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Depends on how much you want to spend, what color you want, and what kind of filtration you have.
Plecos love sand. All fish do, with few exceptions.
Plecos love sand. All fish do, with few exceptions.
CoronaBlue
Aquarium Advice Freak
I would buy sand at a pool supply or construction warehouse. It's a lot cheaper.
Is it safe have you done it before?
aqua_holic
Aquarium Advice FINatic
With an HOB filter, I would go with a heavier sand like pool filter sand. Fine sand can cause problems with the filter motor. Now if you were to switch to a canister filter you could keep sand as fine as beach sand.
CoronaBlue
Aquarium Advice Freak
Yes I'm currently running silica sand in both my tanks. I bought a 100 lb bag for $10.00
aqua_holic
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Silicone based sand (silica) is most common and is inert, so it's safe. However, you may see a warning on the bag about it not being made for aquariums. While the sand may no have been made for aquarium use, that has no bearing whatsoever on its suitability to the application. What you probably shouldn't get is calcium based sand, which has influence on the water chemistry.
This is a mix of 75% PFS and 25% Tahitian moon sand (TMS).
These are straight PFS
This is a mix of 75% PFS and 25% Tahitian moon sand (TMS).
These are straight PFS
Do you have any pictures. I would like to see the difference between silica sand and the nice beach sand
CoronaBlue
Aquarium Advice Freak
this is 55. I'll post 75 tomorrow
aqua_holic
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I edited in pics of a few tanks. The caribsea moonlight sand (beach sand) is in a quarantine tank that's currently yellowy from meds.
