gravel or sand wich is better??
- Thread starter myfishies
- Start date
You will get a lot of opinions...try using the search function on the site too as this discussion has been had a few times recently.
Personally I really like the look of sand, initially its cheaper than gravel you'd get at the store assuming you get playsand, but its pretty labor intensive to get it washed and into the tank...then you need to keep up with tank maintenance because fish waste will be more obvious with sand than it is with gravel. A lot of fish really like the sand as opposed to the gravel also. Sand isn't that great if you want a planted tank, as well you really can't use an undergravel filter with sand.
Gravel seems to be a lot easier to clean, easier to deal with in general. Lots of different sizes, colors, types...
Overall I can't say I have a real preference one over the other in general...but if you answer Hyunelan's questions it might help us help you decide which would be best for you?
Personally I really like the look of sand, initially its cheaper than gravel you'd get at the store assuming you get playsand, but its pretty labor intensive to get it washed and into the tank...then you need to keep up with tank maintenance because fish waste will be more obvious with sand than it is with gravel. A lot of fish really like the sand as opposed to the gravel also. Sand isn't that great if you want a planted tank, as well you really can't use an undergravel filter with sand.
Gravel seems to be a lot easier to clean, easier to deal with in general. Lots of different sizes, colors, types...
Overall I can't say I have a real preference one over the other in general...but if you answer Hyunelan's questions it might help us help you decide which would be best for you?
I once tried sand. Wise are the words TLM4x4, double make sure it's clean ... 2 Years ago I did not and my tank ended looking like swamp ... and also killed my filter...
Ohh and also, if you're using sand, don't put any substrate swiimming fish as plecos, corydas, etc ... they will just make a mess.
Ohh and also, if you're using sand, don't put any substrate swiimming fish as plecos, corydas, etc ... they will just make a mess.
It depends. In my opinion, sand is more of a pain, and gravel is actually a much better substrate mainly because it forces there to be small pockets of air between the rocks, which decreases the likelihood your tank will get to be a mire. For a saltwater tank however, there are mixtures you can (especially Florida substrate) mostly it's bits and pieces of dead coral etc. This works great as long as you have gobies to keep the air pockets in the substrate..
I have a 10gal.set up for my cardinal tetras,and used pool flitering sand that I got at a pool center.It is a larger grade of sand and also have crypts planted in.One thing I was told was make sure I stayed under 2" in depth.That way it will not compact.I also raise mts , they live and turn the sand to keep pockets of gas from forming.You can get a 50lb bag for under 7.00 dollars in the U.S.Hope this helps.
I think maybe it's only a problem if you have live plants. I have a dojo loach in my sand-bottom tank, and he loves burrowing in it. I don't consider it a mess because I don't have live plants in there, so the only effect of his burrowing is to stir the sand up and lessen the likelihood of its compacting. I do stir it occasionally, anyway, though. No plants cuz it's a goldfish tank, and they seem to eat anything, even java fern!
(lol) I wan't being very clear; I was actually meaning to refer to The Shrimp's experience with 'substrate-swimming fish such as pleco's, cory's, etc.' making a mess, surmising that the mess was probably in relation to bottom-dwellers uprooting plants. My dojo loves the sand. He helps keep it aerated to a certain degree. But, it is not a planted tank. He'd probably have all the plants out of the sand in very little time. That would be a mess, I suppose.
I'm planning to convert my betta's 10g to sand & plants this week.
I'm planning to convert my betta's 10g to sand & plants this week.