Gravel or small rocks vs. sand

A

alwaysmoodywolf

Registered Member
Oct 25, 2005
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I've had my healthy thirty gallon for over a year and a half now and was thinking about giving it a little makeover. I wanted to change out the gravel (the rocks are about a centimeter in diameter on average or smaller) to coarse sand. I was wondering if this would have any negative effects on my tank. I have all live plants and fairly hearty community fish ranging from a gorgeous set of pearl gourami's to a couple red tailed sharks. I have a Proquatics 200 filter as well. I was wondering if any of these would be harmed if i switched over to sand.
Thanks.
 
I did this myself... however, make sure the sand is at least a #3 size, it's silica sand (some other kinds may cause chemical problems from what I've heard), it can have problems with compaction over time, and get a darker color... white gets horribly dirty very quickly and it's almost impossible to clean completely.

You would be destroying alot of bacteria by removing the existing gravel. I had to start a cycle all over again because too many bacteria died.
 
I have done this :dance2: I did a little at a time and used that eco sand which is great for plants but a little expensive but so easy. The fish seem to love the sand more than the river rock stuff I had in there. No dead fish or changes in the water. Go for it!

Kim :dog:
 
Ive done this many times on my tanks, i prefer sand it looks so so much better in my opinion, the plants will thrive in the sand as it is easier for the roots to grow etc the fish will probably prefer it but in general i dont htink they will care! And i cant see it harming your tank at all as long as the filter and tank are well established.
It does get a little messy after a while but its cheaply and easily replaced i tend to replace bag every couple of months. (£1 a bag from my LFS!)

Go for it!!
 
sand is good but not for messy fish i had sand for about 3 months and it turned to black sludge.

never again.
 
I use sand in all my tanks and never had a problem however your cant vaccum sand so you stir it up (i do it monthly) and let the bacteria break things down. I say go for it you won't be dissapointed
 
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