sand or gravel?

[ostrichkiller]

i was thinking of redoing my tank whern i move. after i get rid of the ugf becuase of recommendations from here i was thinking about useing sand instead of gravel. and what kind of hob filter should i look into for a 55gal FW. tanks all for any help you may be able to give.

 

[Scottw68TN]

Big debate there! I like both. go with sand if you like the look but put a prefilter (sponge) on the intake so it wont foul the impeller.

 

[Allivymar]

I use sand in my planted tank, gravel in the big tank. Biggest diff I see is siphoning. In the gravel tank I need to dig into the gravel to get up all the detritus; thing is, I dont have to look at it the days I don't siphon. In the sand tank the detritus lays on the top so I just have to hold the siphon over it and it goes up the tube; but, my sand is black and the crud is really obvious the days I don't siphon (especially now that I have otos pooing all over the place LOL).

I use a Penguin175 in the 10g sand tank, and haven't had a prob with sand getting into the impeller although I know others have. I use an Emperor400 on the 55g; love it!

 

[Scottw68TN]

Yeah the emperor 400 is the way to go on big tanks.

 

[TankGirl]

I love sand for the look of it, and I have 2 tanks with it and 2 tanks without. I use a prefilter over the intake in the sand tank, as mentioned, and it is a pain because it requires relatively frequent cleaning but it is worth it. You will know by the grinding sound if sand gets into the impeller! My 55 has gravel and a canister filter, so not much help there. The only thing to remember with sand is that you need to reach in there and give it a good stirring up about once a month to prevent anaerobic patches that are prone to develop, and harbor toxic gasses. Have you decided what kind of sand to get?

 

[ostrichkiller]

not at all just a thought i figured id put up on here. i'm not moving till jan and really like to get all the answers before i start anything. got any recomendations???

 

[Scottw68TN]

I want to get the black sand for my 75 but alli said it looks bad between cleanings. I have small tropicals think it would show up real bad. white sand does the same but it seems to gather around the decor plant bases and is not that noticable of coarse its an oscar and there pretty messy.

 

[TankGirl]

I like pool filter sand because it is coarser than sandbox sand, which can be too fine and dusty. If you have a heavily planted tank in mind then the plants tend to obscure the sand and you don't see the mulm so much. That Tahitian Moon sand is sure pretty, though. If you are not keeping Africans or some other fish that prefers hard, alkaline water, then avoid aragonite sand or sand intended for marine setups, as they will raise your pH somewhat.