Sand vs. rocks for freshwater tank

2

2010CamaroGirl

Small Fish
#1
Nov 9, 2010
11
0
0
#1
I was wondering if there are any advantages/disadvantages of having sand or rocks for my freshwater tank. I have a 39 gallon tank with an extra pump for flow, and have had the tank for over a year and a half now. Right now I have:4 black skirt tetras, 4 assorted mollies, 2 red minor serpae tetra, 2 tiger barbs, 1 plescotomus. Also I have had problems with my black skirts being aggressive towards other fish mainly my mollies...which is the reason I got the barbs hoping maybe they can hold thier own. The bst's are a lot bigger now than when I got them about 1-1 1/2 inch long now so it is hard to get larger fish without going to really aggressive ones. I have some fake grass and decorations for them to hide in but it doesn't help and I've lost my two pregger females already b/c of them ;( Might end up putting the mollies in a 10 gallon and putting it in my sons room and not having to worry about finding them with half eaten tails...or worse.
Thanks for any suggestions!!
 

ryanoh

ryanoh

Large Fish
#2
Mar 22, 2010
858
0
0
#2
That sounds like a good plan with the fish.

As far as sand, I think it looks better, and there are certain fish that prefer it. Other than that, it is easier to clean since debris can't fit down in the cracks like it can in the rocks, but that means junk sitting on it is more visible and you have to clean it more to keep it looking nice. On the con side, sand is a bit of a pain to wash, and you have to be careful not to get any in your filter (if your'e using an HOB filter) because it will damage your impeller. You also have to be careful that either you, some snails, or certain types of fish stir it up every two or so weeks to prevent the build up of anaerobic bacteria that can emit dangerous gasses. Sand will also take a while to settle initially, and while it does your tank will look like its full of milk and you'll want to not run your filter, so that means you'll have to have somewhere else to put your fish since this might take up to a week (which is what mine did.)

On the plus side for gravel, from what I read it's better for live plants with roots because sometime sand can compact and crush the roots. Burrowing snails prevent this in sand, but since sand weighs less, most burrowing fish will just uproot your plants. The really only con side of gravel that I can think of is that there might be a bunch of junk sunk down underneath it, or that you can't keep specific breeds of fish because they need to dig in sand.

Just as an added note, I have my big live plant in a pot full of gravel in my sand, and that seems to work just fine. All in all, I had gravel and changed to sand, and I'm very happy with it. If you do change over you'll want to put some of your gravel in a sock and leave it sitting in the sand for a week or two though so the bacteria that live on the surface of your rocks can start to grow on your sand.

Sorry for the long post, I hope it helps.
 

2

2010CamaroGirl

Small Fish
#3
Nov 9, 2010
11
0
0
#3
My main reason is that I think it looks better and I think it will be easier to maintain. My husband overfed the fish while I was deployed so I came back to a really bad red algae problem and I had to totally get rid of the old gravel and clean all the decorations which was a big pain. I came back to only four fish and had 12 when I left for a four month deployment. I don't mind having to do more frequent water changes b/c the vacuum I have is easy to use and I can do it by myself and I don't mind buying two smaller 10gal tanks; one for the mollies for my son's room and one to use as a back up when needed. I also think the sand would help with the red algae that I am still trying to get rid of. It isn't bad and from what I have read on the matter it is really hard to get rid of so I guess what I'm doing with the water changes and algaefix is working as well as the plescotomus. That was also the reason for the second hob pump to help with water flow so that no area of the tank has a "stagnant" area for it to build up in and it seems to be helping a lot. I was also thinking of getting a snail or two to help as well.
No problem for the long post, the more infomation the better lol
 

ryanoh

ryanoh

Large Fish
#4
Mar 22, 2010
858
0
0
#4
If you're looking at a second filter so you don't have any dead spots, that's certainly an option, but you might want to look into a submersible powerhead. The point of them is just to push water around the tank and they tend to be cheaper. If you're getting snails to run around in you sand, go for Malaysian Trumpet snails. They do a really good job, eat a lot of algae in my tank, and are one of the snail species that won't eat your live plants should you ever decide to get any.
 

2

2010CamaroGirl

Small Fish
#5
Nov 9, 2010
11
0
0
#5
I already added the second pump and it seems to really be helping on the red algae problem and my fish seem to like it as well. I catch them trying to swim up it sometimes like they are playing with it or something and they seem more perky since I have put it in. I prob won't put a live plant in until I;m sure the red algae prob is completely gone. Thanks for the snail idea!
 

Dylandrewsdad

Dylandrewsdad

Large Fish
#6
Aug 13, 2010
870
0
0
Sicklerville, NJ
#6
I have sand as well and love the look and my plants also do well. I had a 7'' chocolate pleco that would dig up some of the plants at night for a few months, but I gave him to my LFS and got a smaller Clown. He does fine. Depending on what fish you have and what (how much and the size) of the waste they produce the sand may look dirty in a day or so. I do vac's twice a week to keep up on it, but like you I don't mind it because my system is easy! I used 100lbs of play sand from Lowe's. I did not wash it or clean it; I put it in the tank, added water and let it settle for about 36 hrs. Then I added some plants and a filter with established media and some fish to ensure the cycle was complete. After a weeks worth of testing my water 2X a day with never any signs of Ammonia or Nitrites, I added more fish, slowly. If you switch your substrate you may go through a mini cycle so be prepared to do extra water changes.
 

O

OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#10
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#10
marvin said:
IMHO frequent water changes cause stress on the fish also change ph levels changing substrate often will cause nitrate problems
Click to expand...
Frequent water changes cause stress on the fish? Then why do my fish begin spawning behavior right after a water change? Stressed fish do not mate/lay eggs.

In another post, you said that using airstones will cause a spike in nitrates, and now changing substrate will? I don't get that...

With what you said here, I'm not sure if you are saying that the water changes are causing pH level changes or changing substrated causes it.

It would be helpful, as others have said, if you'd put some punctuation in your posts. It is very hard to understand what you are trying to communicate.
 

exhumed07

exhumed07

Superstar Fish
#12
Apr 30, 2006
1,774
0
36
Illinois
#12
I prefer sand as well. but I have never had an issue realy with the sand getting into my filters but I cut the intakes so they are higher in the water column. and it's alot cleaner to me. I get very little dibris laying on the sand as my cichlids tend to kick it up into the filters. I need to vac my gravel in my 20 gallon more then I need to clean the sand in my 55. but when it boils down to it gavel vs sand is 90% personal preferance.
 

2

2010CamaroGirl

Small Fish
#13
Nov 9, 2010
11
0
0
#13
Well I set up the 10 gal tank for the mollies and I'll be getting some sand to put into it.
I've had no problems with my tetras or barbs stressing out when I do my water changes at all, in fact sometimes they seem to play with the vacuum and I have to shoo them away lol. My pleco usually runs in the opposite direction but shows no signs of stress from it.
At least the "red tide" outbreak seems to be getting under control as I have very little of it coming back and I actually have some new green algae growth :)
Wish I could speed up the cycling for the 10 gal tank b/c the tetras are not playing well with the mollies...however the serpaes and barbs and bst's all get along very well. At least my son will enjoy his new tank!
Thank you everyone for thier input it is very much appreciated!!
And thanks for everyone who has served or is serving in the Armed Forces!!!
 

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