sand vs. gravel
- Thread starter Omnominator
- Start date
I find sand to be much easier to clean and lower maintanance. The larger grains will not get sucked out during a vac and will settle very quickly. As for cleaning, that's the only con - wash it, wash it, then wash it some more. I wash each 20 lbs for an hour, 5 lbs at a time. This eliminates all cloudiness, IME...
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RC Fishing Boat
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RC Fishing Boat
Not an hour to clean weekly. He is talking about when you first by the sand. It needs to be rinsed/cleaned because it will cloud the tank badly. My preference is a bare bottom tank. It super easy to vac and you can even point some power heads toward the bottom to kick it up into the water column so the filters can get it. This makes weekly water changes a snap.
Yes, you just hover over the sand and try not to suck very much sand into the vac tube. Using a big fat vac tube works better on sand. You can get pool filter sand very cheap at the local pool supply place and it looks like the sand from a beach. Its also pretty clean already so there is not as much rinsing with it as other types. I use pool filter sand in all my SW tanks.
Hello; I no longer use sand due to the cloudiness from fine particles that are too easy to stir up and which get into the filters moving parts and can wear them out. Fine substrates also are known to trap toxic gases in pockets that can be harmful to the fish.
One way to help with these issues is to initially dry sift the sand thru a screen of some sort. This way the very fine dust can be discarded. After that the remaining sand needs to be thoroughly rinsed as with most substrates, but will take less effort with the dust gone.
This dry sifting can also allow you to wind up with more coarse particles depending on the screen size used. This can allow for the use of sand and much reduce the chance of toxic gas pockets and also the fine stuff being stirred up. The coarser sand particles do not seem to pack so much and should be better for live plants as well.
One way to help with these issues is to initially dry sift the sand thru a screen of some sort. This way the very fine dust can be discarded. After that the remaining sand needs to be thoroughly rinsed as with most substrates, but will take less effort with the dust gone.
This dry sifting can also allow you to wind up with more coarse particles depending on the screen size used. This can allow for the use of sand and much reduce the chance of toxic gas pockets and also the fine stuff being stirred up. The coarser sand particles do not seem to pack so much and should be better for live plants as well.
Hello; It is not so much that plants will not live in sand, more that they have done better for me in gravel that is roughly bb sized. I have grown some in sand.
The fine sand tends to pack tightly. It is often suggested to limit the depth of sand to an inch or so to help prevent the toxic gas pockets. I have found that plants do well for me with a much deeper substrate. I will have four or more inches of substrate in some tanks and usually no less than three inches. Fine sand that deep would be difficult to keep stirred up weekly to prevent the gas pockets (anaerobic bacteria producing waste products).
If you want the look of sand, sifting and discarding all the small stuff can leave particles of most any desired size. Ordinary construction sand is cheap and has a wide variety of particle sizes. A ton was $20 a couple of years ago from a local place. Screens can be made from a variety of screen materials to get the particle size you desire.
I have not tried pool filter sand and thus do not know if it is pre-screened to a uniform size. It does seem more expensive compared to construction sand.
The fine sand tends to pack tightly. It is often suggested to limit the depth of sand to an inch or so to help prevent the toxic gas pockets. I have found that plants do well for me with a much deeper substrate. I will have four or more inches of substrate in some tanks and usually no less than three inches. Fine sand that deep would be difficult to keep stirred up weekly to prevent the gas pockets (anaerobic bacteria producing waste products).
If you want the look of sand, sifting and discarding all the small stuff can leave particles of most any desired size. Ordinary construction sand is cheap and has a wide variety of particle sizes. A ton was $20 a couple of years ago from a local place. Screens can be made from a variety of screen materials to get the particle size you desire.
I have not tried pool filter sand and thus do not know if it is pre-screened to a uniform size. It does seem more expensive compared to construction sand.
Hello; This is a personal choice. I do not care for the look of sand that much so have not used it the last few decades. I also do not care for the brite colored gravel and tend to use blacks. I also have several hundred pounds of gravel picked up over five decades of keeping tanks so do not have to buy at todays higher prices.
If I were to use sand I would get a few hundred pounds of construction sand and sift it out to a desired particle size. I would seek a size approaching the size of bb's. This might solve the issue of gas pockets in deeper sand and not be too expensive so I would not cry at discarding a lot of it. It should also be cheap enough to discard if you eventually decide that you do not like it.
If I were to use sand I would get a few hundred pounds of construction sand and sift it out to a desired particle size. I would seek a size approaching the size of bb's. This might solve the issue of gas pockets in deeper sand and not be too expensive so I would not cry at discarding a lot of it. It should also be cheap enough to discard if you eventually decide that you do not like it.
Hello; I just realised that my avatar shows a tank which looks like white gravel. It is some gravel that has black and white streaks. A gravel does not wear out and I am not prone to throw usefull stuff away, I have a variety of colored gravels on hand. People have given me tanks when they get out of the hobby and often these have some odd colors. I have a small tank on the poarch with brite green gravel which is not a favorite.
I have a container of pure black quartz gravel in storage which I plan to use in a 30 gallon at some point. I wish I had more pure black but made the mistake of mixing some with other gravel to use in a 125 many years ago. It mixes much easier than it will seperate I fear.
If I had it to do all over again I would have only pure black. I would also have been married fewer times.
Go with the colors and substrate that appeals to you. It can be changed later on. The odd colored stuff is useful for non-display tanks.
I have a container of pure black quartz gravel in storage which I plan to use in a 30 gallon at some point. I wish I had more pure black but made the mistake of mixing some with other gravel to use in a 125 many years ago. It mixes much easier than it will seperate I fear.
If I had it to do all over again I would have only pure black. I would also have been married fewer times.
Go with the colors and substrate that appeals to you. It can be changed later on. The odd colored stuff is useful for non-display tanks.
