Sand vs. Gravel

[boulderman1]

i currently have gravel at the bottom of my 37 and am thinking of maybe converting to sand, what are the pros and cons of each substrate, and what would be the best way to make the switch in order to not stress out my fish too much

thanks

 

[Hound]

I like the look of sand, but gravel is easier to clean and less likely to compact. That is you can use a gravel cleaner to reach the bottom of the gravel, but you can't do that with a sand substrate. Also since it does tend to compact down the sand is more likely do develope gas pockets as your aquarium ages. You can stir up the sand on occasion to avoid this of course, but first make sure all power heads and filters are turned off.

 

[RISK2123]

yeah sand is pretty messy but imo looks really nice. also some sand has silicate in it which contributes to algea growth but really shouldnt to big of a problem.

 

[jm1212]

i like gravel better because it is easier to clean and is way less likely to be whipped up by fish that like to moce the substrate, and then getting sucked into your filter
there are also loads of sizes, and some of them are smaller grains that are alot like sand but arent as messy.