sand or gravel

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emergent

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Jan 8, 2006
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Williamsburg, VA
What are the pros and cons for gravel and sand? Is one better then the other? What are some of the things to consider when deciding what substrate to use?

:huh:
 

Omega

Clowning Around
Dec 29, 2005
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Surrey, BC, Canada
Sand, Sand, Sand

by Brad Newton

This article addresses the following concerns:

* Deciding to switch to sand
* Choosing the type of sand
* Switching out gravel for sand
* Maintaining the sand

First off, deciding if you want sand as your tank's substrate requires taking a few things into account. Sand is not a good choice for a planted tank if using rooted plants, it’s also undesireable if you have an undergravel filter system. Another thing to keep in mind if the tank is made of Acrylic is the extra care that sand requires.

The benefits of a sand bed typically outweigh most of the negative aspects. Most fish seem to prefer sand as the substrate, and some actually require it to feel at ease and for natural spawning behaviour. Tanganyikan featherfins, sandsifters & shelldwellers all significantly benefit from a sandy substrate, and it’s been noted that some fish use sand to aid in digestion. Sand also has a very nice, smooth look and it’s very entertaining to watch the fish "work the sand"; they really seem to enjoy it!

There are quite a few readily available sands that are commonly used for aquariums. They are Silica (also sold as Blasting sand, used in the sandblasting industry); Play Sand (sold at most building/hardware centers for sandboxes, brickwork, etc.); Black Beauty (it’s actually iron slag, not sand, but is used quite often); Coral Sand (sold primarily in fish stores and aquatic supply shops); Aragonite (also sold at fish shops and aquatic supply centers); Black Tahitian Moon Sand (another sand available through fish shops & aquatic supply centers).

Silica sand is a lighter tan and is very uniform and fine in grain size. It cleans very easily and provides a nice look , it’s very afffordable and can usually be found for 10 dollars or less per 100 lb. sack.

Play sand is also very affordable and is darker and less uniform in grain size & color than Silica sand. It contains a fair amount of clay and can be quite dirty compared to Silica sand. As long as you take the time to thoroughly rinse the sand it makes a good substrate.

Black Beauty is another affordable sand used for sand-blasting and is sold at home supply/hardware outlets. It’s not really sand but powdered iron slag. It can be quite sharp so it’s not recommended for fish that sift a lot of sand such as Tanganyikan sandsifters. Furthermore, these very fine particles contain iron, which means they are not inert.

Coral Sand is an off white color, lighter than the previous sands, and less uniform. It’s a bit rough to the touch but is a good choice if you need to stabilize your PH or improve your buffering capacity. It’s fairly expensive compared to the previous types but less than Aragonite.

Aragonite is a sandy substrate available in several colors and grain sizes, it’s similar to Coral sand as far as buffering goes, so it’s a good choice if you need help with buffering. It’s quite expensive, so you may want to consider another choice if you have a large tank to fill.

Lastly, a newer sand is now available that is a nice black color, very uniform and much safer than Black Beauty. It’s Black Tahitian Moon Sand, it’s a great choice if you want the black sand, but it’s expensive (similar to Aragonite).

Once you’ve decided to switch to sand and have picked out the variety, you need to prepare it for the tank. I recommend only a 1-1.5" depth of sand throughout the tank, it can take a lot to maintain a real deep bed and can cause problems which I’ll explain later on.

With the exception of "Live Aragonite" (sand that’s pre-seeded w/ living organisms/bacteria) you’ll need to clean your sand. Don’t cut corners here; it’s time well spent. Get a 5 gallon bucket and a garden hose with sprayer attachment. Pour about 2 gallons of sand into the bucket and fill the bucket with water, pour the excess dirt film from the bucket, then really churn the sand while giving it a high pressure spray, this will get most of the dust, etc, off the sand. Pour the dirt film again and repeat until you’re pouring clear water. If you choose Play sand or Black Beauty this can take several tries before it’s clean enough. I get a 30 gallon trash can and line it w/ a couple trash bags to pour the clean sand into. Just repeat this process 2 gallons of sand at a time until you get all the required sand clean.

Aul. steveni ''Mbamba Bay'' sifting sandIf you’re switching from gravel to sand there’s a couple ways to make the switch. If you have a small tank and want to remove the fish while doing the change-over that’s fine. Larger tanks w/ a lot of fish is easier if you leave the fish in while changing over. I like using a large filter bag to load the gravel into, you can also use a spaghetti-strainer bowl or nylon hose. Anything that’s safe and porous will do. If you don’t have much bacteria filtration in your tank you may want to keep some seeded gravel in a filter bag or nylon hose so you can aid your sand substrate in establishing bacteria levels, just put the bag near the filter intake and you should get good results after about 5-7 days.

When the gravel is removed BE SURE to shut down any impeller operated pumps & filters. You’ll have a lot of sand floating around and it can really do some damage to your equipment. When adding the sand if you’ve left your fish in the tank, be careful not to add too much at once. It can clump together and become a "depth charge", splashing a lot of water and stressing the fish, just be patient and careful here. Once your sand is added and you’ve got it leveled out and the tank arranged to your liking, go ahead and turn on your pumps/filters.

Another thing to keep in mind: If you’re cleaning your sand with very cold water, or leave the sand overnight in the cold, the sand can cause a quick temperature drop when added to an existing tank and shock the fish. Be sure to keep the sand in room temp for awhile to get the sand temp back up or add some warmer water to the sand. This usually isn’t a problem, but it’s something you should be aware of.

Cyr. moorii sifting sandMaintaining the sand bed can seem like a challenge to those that haven’t tried it. It’s actually very easy once you’ve gotten used to it. Here’s the procedure I use and it’s worked well over the years:

Every 2-4 weeks, depending on your fish load and available time, a good skimming of the sand should be performed. A small vinyl hose works well, about the inner diameter of a garden hose. Just hook the hose up to a faucet pump and siphon up the surface detritus. You may siphon a lot of sand the first couple of tries, a little practice is all it takes. Just keep the end of the hose about ½" away from the sand and quickly siphon up the fish waste. No need to remove or re-arrange the rocks, just get all the visible sand areas. Try to get the entire "visible" sand floor.

Every 8-16 weeks, again, depending on fish load, a good churning of the sand bed is required. Trapped food and gasses can become toxic over time and these need to be released periodically. You’ll notice that there will be a statification of the sand bed. The bottom "trapped" layer of sand will turn a dark grey-black in time, and once the layer is churned up and the waste & gasses released, it will eventually turn back to the original sand color. You’ll even notice a bit of "rotten-egg" odor when churning the bed, this is normal and are just the gasses being released. At this time you should also move rocks and churn the sand under them. You may want to do half the tank at a time so there won’t be as much disturbance. You’ll have quite a cloud of debris, so you’ll want to let it settle and do a good skimming again. Be sure to keep all impeller-operated equipment off during the churning procedure.

One last note, when keeping sand in Acrylic tanks, be extra careful when cleaning the surface and using algae-cleaning magnets. A single grain of sand between your cleaning sponge or magnet and the acrylic surface can be very damaging.

Hope you enjoy sand as your substrate!
 

knashash

AC Members
Oct 28, 2004
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Omega said:
Sand is not a good choice for a planted tank if using rooted plants
I think Sand is great for rooted plants: Below is my 10 gallon planted with Sand.

 

abraham

I'm not sick, but I'm not well...
Oct 17, 2005
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temperance, Michigan
I've got sand in my rooted tank also. So far so good...


Abraham
 

RTR

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Oct 5, 1998
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Braddock Heights, MD
I'll be the contrarian here. I never use sand in a tank anymore unless I absolutely must (for burrowing fish which need it). It goes anoxic far too easily and is far too difficult to clean in place. I have had major tank problems with sand, and never have with gravels. At the moment I'm operating ~two dozen tanks. One is bare bottomed. The others are all fine to nomal aquarium gravel or heavy plant substrate (Fluorite). No sand, NIMT.
 

Lund

AC Members
Jan 6, 2006
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Michigan
If using sand, and rooted plants, would the plants be prone to up root-ment if you had larger or burrowing fish?
 

Flowerhorn916

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Dec 27, 2005
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Sacramento, Ca
I like a mix of about 75% Play Sand w/ 25% Sm-Med natural colored pea gravel.
 

jadefoodog

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Dec 15, 2005
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im new to sand and dont have any real plants but for now i think its awsome my corys are in love with the sand and when the tetras zip by going low they leave a tiny sand trail its kinda cool to watch.

its alot easier to tell when you neeed a water change cause all the cruds on top of the sand
 

CBTF

;(
Jan 2, 2006
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Toronto, Canada
2 days ago I switched to sand for the first time. I simply collected some sand off the beach and boiled it for an hour, then added it to my tank (10 g with some tetras and an aquatic dwarf frog.)

The fish seem to like it quite a bit. They used to sit around on the bottem quite a bit but are now much more active and less timid when i make sudden movements around the tank (which is on my desk, near me.)

I find it to be nice, because with the sand I can see when i'm overfeeding because extra flakes are easy to see. Not so much with gravel.

Gravel though, can look a little nicer i've discovered. i've also noticed that my shrimp doesn't seem to be as keen to run around.. but im sure that will change given some time.

Overall id recommend you try out sand at least- you can always switch back if something isnt right.
 
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rrkss

Biology is Fun
Dec 2, 2005
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You can't really stick your gravel vac into the sand to give it a good clean something that can be done with normal gravel. Sand also can do some real damage to your impellor if it gets stirred up. One more concern is the development of an anoxic area in your tank which can stir up toxins and could lead to fish death if not caught. I think gravel is just safer and easier to work with.
 
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