sand or gravel for new 10gl tank?

[bassholedrifter]

Setting up a new tank, it is a 10gl that will house a couple of cories,dont know what else at this point. But I have always used gravel for the substrate and am interested in useing sand this time....what are the pros and cons? what type of sand should I use? Is play sand found at HD good enough? How many inchs should I lay in the bottom?

Thanks in advance!
BASS

 

[FawnN]

I just switched out 3 of my tanks from gravel to sand and I personally love the sand better. From my experience, it is so much easier to clean and so much easier to place your plants in.

In this picture it looks like pea size gravel, but it's actually smaller and it really is sand.

If you decide to use play sand it is so much cheaper at Home Depot. I vote for sand.

 

[shawmutt]

If you decide to use sand--since the tank is so small, I would recommend using fish store sand. Yes, it is more expensive, but you'll save time in the rinsing, and is much more uniform in shape. It is also much better if you live in an apartment and/or do not have access to a garden hose necessary to rinse HD sand.

To figure out how much you need, use the calculator from this site. You want about a 2 inch depth: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/calcs2.php?type=sanddepth

 

[petitemonk]

is sand better? cause i have a 30 gal with gravel, but i have been wanting to change the color of the stuff to a brown... so should I try sand?

 

[shawmutt]

I've had both. I wouldn't say one's better than the other, it's just something different to try in the hobby.

 

[madasafish]

Sand is a lot of fun, and makes a tank look great. I'd go with a coarse sand, as this won't foul up impellors and get sucked up by vacuum tubes.