Black sand and gravel substate...not mixed

[rwilliams254]

Anyone ever done a sand and substrate mixed before? Meaning, have gravel rocks around then have an area just desginated for sand? You'd have to build/put in a barrier to keep the sand there.

Just wondering if anyone's done it before.

Something like this:

[rich311k]

It is done in planted tanks all the time. Makes nice bright white fore grounds etc. You will need to be careful whemn vacuumimg or move stuff around not to mix the substrates. It is a good idea to edge the dividng line with rocks or wood to give it a more natural feel.

A circle like you have would be interesting. Maybe you could use mylar or some thing to keep it in place?

[rwilliams254]

Thaks for the suggestion on the rock sorrond.... hmmm...

[j_chicago]

I know alot of people have used two different substrates, either for a natural divide the tank or suit certain inhabitants.
Use a tupperware bowl or another container (that would be aquarium safe), and use aquarium sealant (or 100% silicon caulk) and coat the inside and then dust it with the sand so it blends in if the container becomes exposed. Or you could use the sealant to glue the rock surround in place on the bowl.
Then be careful when cleaning the gravel.

[rwilliams254]

Great! Thanks.

[NeonJulie]

That's what we did with our original 29g, a riverbed looking tank. I'll just say there's a reason I went gravel only this time. I suppose if you go either gravel or sand, it's easier to clean. Cleaning it is really not fun. Especially when you mix sand over gravel in some places, it becomes great for trapping waste and in general, just being messy, doesn't stay in place, and very difficult to gravel vac. Not to mention sand in the filters.

I would recommend if you don't use these other ideas, you could just go all sand, with larger flat stones for decor placed on top that can be easily nudged when gravel vaccing.

[phanmc]

Picture guide on how to use two substrates by one of the best:

http://www.mynatureaquariums.com/howto/howto.html

Note that many planted tanks rarely gravel vac, if ever. If you're doing it in a non-planted tank and plan to gravel vac, it's not going to work longterm as the amount of movement in the substrate will eventually mix them.

[rwilliams254]

Thanks for the link....however, that's mixing two different kinds of sand...

[mellowvision]

I saw (and just spend 20 minutes looking for it but couldn't find it) a planted tank with eco-complete for most of the tank, and then white sand running up the middle, like a path. from the front of the tank, you can see how he keeps the two from mixing too much, he laid down the eco-complete first and then used a square blade or spatula to grade it back squarely, creating a step down, that he then filled in with sand. there is a bit of a dusty overlap, but you can clearly see how the sand is contained in a basin of black soil. I think it would be harder to do this with gravel, but you might be able to with small (1-2mm) gravel. the trick is doing it when the tank is empty, with moist substrate, so you can cut through it like beach sand at low tide

[phanmc]

Thanks for the link....however, that's mixing two different kinds of sand...

Same concept, and it's not two types of sand. Powersand is pumice rock, lightweight and not small. Amazonia is a plant substrate, larger grain than sand and also light.

[rwilliams254]

The problem is... my tank isn't empty.

[Padraig]

I had tried this a few years ago in a 55 Gallon and it was nice but over time with all the activity and maintenance the sand slowly mixed and settled to the bottom with the gravel on top. I had used rocks as dividers. It was good, just not permanent.

[mellowvision]

doesn't seem like adding sand to a full aquarium could work out well, even if it was one color!

[rwilliams254]

Any suggestions as to how to do this if the tank isn't empty?

[phanmc]

Move the fishes into a temporary container and empty the tank. Anytime I do a major rescaping that involves moving the substrate and kicking up alot of mulm, I move the fishes out. Killed some before when I tried adding gravel to a tank without moving them.

[Mgamer20o0]

Move the fishes into a temporary container and empty the tank. Anytime I do a major rescaping that involves moving the substrate and kicking up alot of mulm, I move the fishes out. Killed some before when I tried adding gravel to a tank without moving them.

agreed. your going to have to move the fish out for a short time. get a rubbermaid tub as a short term tank.

[mellowvision]

here's a link you should look at. this guy does something similar.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/photo-album/23176-esarkipatos-29g-setup-56k-warning.html

[rwilliams254]

Thanks.

Thanks for the link too. I'm still deciding HOW I want to set up the sand/gravel mix.