sand or pea gravel?

[fbm]

Which is better for growing plants? I want to eventually have the bottom covered in plants so which one is better for the roots?

And how much pool sand do you think I will need for a 72gallon bowfront? I am thinking 100 pounds but I am not sure.


Thanks guys

 

[Mgamer20o0]

i have used both. i think the sand can be better but get something you like. go with 100 pounds. if you think you need more get some.

 

[aardvark1]

This is what 100 pounds of Pool Filter Sand looks like in a 55 Gallon Tank:

 

[Rex Grigg]

Pea gravel is gravel the size of peas. Which is much to large for a planted aquarium.

Coarse sand or fine gravel in the 2-3 mm range works best.

Substrate calculator which shows that you would need 150 lbs of sand to get a 3" deep bed in a 75 gallon tank.

 

[fbm]

Thanks alot guys.

 

[legendaryfrog]

Thanks for the substrate calculator, rex. I was looking for that a long time.

 

[fbm]

I just got done adding 100 pounds of pool sand in my 72 gallon bowfront. And I have 3 inches in the front going back up to 4.5 inches in the back on one side. And the other side is about 3.5 up to 5 or so. The only thing I can account for not needing as much as calculated is because it is a bowfront and I have a built in overflow so that takes up quiet abit of room.

I know that built in overflow and sump aren't ideal for planted tanks but I am going to run pressurized co2 and I have to have a sump because I don't like to see my water level flucuate. And this is my old reef tank.

Also I am not going to have my co2 set up for a couple of weeks to a month. Can anyone recommend a low light low co2 plant that will live for a couple of weeks? I can run either 55, 110, 165, 220, 275, 335, 390, or 435 watts of light. I am thinking 55 until I get co2 running correct? (I have room for 8 T5 HO bulbs but can run as few as I need, old reef light)

 

[Ketso]

I think that calculator is just a rough estimate. Different types of substrate will weigh differently. Yes, sand is an option on it, but again, no 2 sand types will weigh exactly the same. I just redid my 55 and used 75lbs of PFS. It is probably, on average, 3.5" deep (maybe closer to 4). I probably should have taken a bit out. The first substrate I had in it was Home Depot All Purpose sand. 75lbs of it made about 2.5" to 3" in my tank. With it being a much finer grain, it packs together much tighter than the PFS and therefore takes more to fill the same area of PFS.

Clear as mud?

 

[Ketso]

Also, if you decide to use pea gravel, be sure to place a handful in a container over night or even 2 days and test the water for hardness changes. I used pea gravel from Lowes and it ran the hardness up from 3-4dkh and 8-9dgh to 9dkh and 19dgh in 5 days!

I guess this would be a good practice for any type of substrate not designed for aquarium use.