Sand or gravel?

[fishfan88]

pool filter sand is 7$ for 50 lbs... If you like black, black diamond sandblasting sand is about the same price for 50 lbs.

How big a tank will 50 lbs cover? Sorry... Never used sand before...

 

[fishfan88]

I have a 10 gallon and a 55 gallon tank! My 10 was my first and I chose gravel over sand because I too though it would be easier to clean. But in my 55 I have sand and I love it! It adds such a more natural look to the tank and if you have dark, or dark colored decorations those also look amazing with sand!! Not sure how much this helps but I prefer sand over gravel!

Your 55 gallon looks awesome! (not that the 10 gallon doesn't. lol I just especially like the 55 ) yeah I think I probably will get sand. It looks more natural

 

[fishfan88]

It does sound interesting! Pics please

Sorry didn't see the pic

 

[Riot84]

Depends on how deep of a sand bed you want and the actual footprint of the tank, not just the volume of water it can hold. But for a 1-2 inch layer of sand your probably looking at 1 lb of sand per gallon in most standard sized tanks.

 

[fishfan88]

Depends on how deep of a sand bed you want and the actual footprint of the tank, not just the volume of water it can hold. But for a 1-2 inch layer of sand your probably looking at 1 lb of sand per gallon in most standard sized tanks.

Ok thanks that makes sense.

 

[Fresh2o]

I also added a t8 poly cover so that I can vacuum my 24" deep tank without getting my hands wet at all. How did I seal the tube to the vac head, well as always I was in a hurry so I used a lighter to melt it to the vacuum head, ****lighters can and will blow up from prolonged use******* DONT USE A LIGHTER you'll burn your fingers maybe your house. Maybe glue it then seal it with silicone, something, not open flame.

See between the barbs is a piece of silicone tube from mcmaster carr, can't remember the dura but they have similar stuff at big hardware stores.

Got it. There is an area that you can compress/collapse in order to control the vacuum's suction. Smart.

 

[thursyanna]

I have sand in my 55 gal. I have some live plants in there so I just vacuum around them. I still stick the end of the vacuum in the sand to stir it up in case there is junk in there. I rarely lose any sand that way. I bought 2 50 lb bags of pool filter sand and should have only bought one. One was plenty! My eartheaters LOVE sifting through the sand.

 

[germanyt]

I tried regular aquarium sand from Pet Smart and couldn't keep the water clear. Because the sand was so fine it easily got stirred up and kept the tank cloudy. The sand from PetCo is coarser and stays at the bottom. It also doesn't get sucked up the vacuum as easy. I can plunge the tube into the sand and lift up and shake to get all the sand to fall out. It also is heavy enough to hover the vacuum over it and get most everything.

 

[gravereaper0]

+1 for sand. I started with gravel and ended up switching to sand. Looks so much better.

 

[RyanBenson]

Your 55 gallon looks awesome! (not that the 10 gallon doesn't. lol I just especially like the 55 ) yeah I think I probably will get sand. It looks more natural

Thank you! Haha trust me, if I could switch the gravel with sand then I would! Only problem is that it's still in cycle and whatever BB is grown on the gravel I want to keep so it will help it finish! Haha! But yeah, sand is just so nice! I would love to see pictures of your tank once you get it set up if possible!

 

[Mrs.h2012]

I have sand in my 55 gal. I have some live plants in there so I just vacuum around them. I still stick the end of the vacuum in the sand to stir it up in case there is junk in there. I rarely lose any sand that way. I bought 2 50 lb bags of pool filter sand and should have only bought one. One was plenty! My eartheaters LOVE sifting through the sand.

That's not a bad thing! You will have top off eventually, you will have extra for when you have to do that... Or whenever you start up another tank....

 

[fishfan88]

Thank you! Haha trust me, if I could switch the gravel with sand then I would! Only problem is that it's still in cycle and whatever BB is grown on the gravel I want to keep so it will help it finish! Haha! But yeah, sand is just so nice! I would love to see pictures of your tank once you get it set up if possible!

Sure! Now I just have to find a tank... lol I'm still looking for a good deal on kijiji and Craigslist...

 

[fishfan88]

I tried regular aquarium sand from Pet Smart and couldn't keep the water clear. Because the sand was so fine it easily got stirred up and kept the tank cloudy. The sand from PetCo is coarser and stays at the bottom. It also doesn't get sucked up the vacuum as easy. I can plunge the tube into the sand and lift up and shake to get all the sand to fall out. It also is heavy enough to hover the vacuum over it and get most everything.

Too bad there aren't any petcos in canada... Looked on their site. Have you ever tried play sand?

 

[Cichlid ism]

I just converted over to sand about a month ago. I wish I had done it sooner. Just as everyone is saying, wash it really good. I put 80lbs in my 55g.
Before



After

 

[fishfan88]

I just converted over to sand about a month ago. I wish I had done it sooner. Just as everyone is saying, wash it really good. I put 80lbs in my 55g.
Before

After

Looks good! What kind of sand did you use?

 

[RyanBenson]

Sure! Now I just have to find a tank... lol I'm still looking for a good deal on kijiji and Craigslist...

Oh ok cool!

 

[Cichlid ism]

Looks good! What kind of sand did you use?

Thank you. I used Caribsea brand sand from petco online. It's the golden sunset color.

 

[fishfan88]

Thank you. I used Caribsea brand sand from petco online. It's the golden sunset color.

I like the color

 

[Cichlid ism]

I like the color

Thank you again

 

[germanyt]

+1 for sand. I started with gravel and ended up switching to sand. Looks so much better.

VID_20130124_135828_143.mp4 - YouTube

What size is that tank? It's only looks to be about 30 gallon.