sand or gravel?

[fishman887]

I will be getting a new tank soon(freshwater)(10-30 gallons not sure). What should I use sand or gravel?:confused:

[TimmyB42386]

haha.. sand

[TropicalNorth]

I find sand easier to keep clean because the waste doesn't get caught in amongst the gravel, instead it sits on top and is either drawn up by the filter or syphoned out during a water change. It also looks cleaner, to me anyway, and I just prefer how it looks in the tank.

If you prefer the look of gravel though just go with it, and get a gravel vac to keep it clean.

[Mgamer20o0]

its not to hard to switch if you pick one or the other. it all depends on what you like. both have their pros and cons.

[Into the ocean]

For the sand proponents...do you use a pre filter to keep sand from being drawn into your filter?

If so, what do you use?

:huh:

[Mgamer20o0]

i have sponges on all my intakes.

[Rbishop]

I let the fish I'm keeping show me the direction to go on sand or gravel.

[kw0me]

your filters wont suck up the sand. only time you need to worry is if you stir the sand up heaps just turn your filters off for a few mins till it settles. only one problem i had is under my spray bar i had to put a few rocks to stop the sand getting creaters in it. plecos love sand to!

[curviceps]

just be careful of the type of sand you end up using. some types will buffer your water to a high pH, which is fine if you have fish that likes water that way. otherwise, you should use silica sand, eg pool filter sand, which should not affect your pH

[H3D]

I let the fish I'm keeping show me the direction to go on sand or gravel.

Ditto!

[Into the ocean]

Excellent...I'm going sand in my 75 I'll be setting up in a few months.


:bday:

[Mgamer20o0]

your filters wont suck up the sand. only time you need to worry is if you stir the sand up heaps just turn your filters off for a few mins till it settles. only one problem i had is under my spray bar i had to put a few rocks to stop the sand getting creaters in it. plecos love sand to!

there are many fish who like to dig so its not always this simple.

[Omega]

I vote for sand.

[musho3210]

what fish are you planning on getting and will the tank be planted

[03gobra]

go sand mate,preferably a coare grainy sand.ive had over 7 tanks with sand offf dunes but recently took sand from the ocean and no problems yet.i have a aqua one 1500lph runing in a 3 foot tank and it dosnt move the sand a bit and looks tops

[kw0me]

I let the fish I'm keeping show me the direction to go on sand or gravel.

So do you smoke some crack before you ask them so they answer?? lol jk
im assuming you put a bit of sand and a bit of gravel in and see what they hang out on most.

[fishman887]

what fish are you planning on getting and will the tank be planted

read my other post "new 30 gallon"