wondering which is the better substrate

[petcrazy213]

Right now I have large size gravel for a substrate but have been thinking about switching to sand. Who uses what? Do you thnk the sand would be better for the fish or no?

In my saltwater tank I use to have crushed coral but found out that the bigger the grain of substrate the more food and waste it holds onto and it can cause nitrates/nitrites to climb very quickly in the tank. So, after a few weeks I managed to change that over to sand which those fish really seem to enjoy.

Should I go through the hassle of changing over the gravel to sand or is it not worth it? What do you think?

 

[PumaWard]

I love my sand, and I think it's easier to clean than gravel... no vacuuming! Only siphoning off the debris or, if you position your filters right, there's only water changes and filter rinses to be done.

 

[Lazersniper]

I have sand in one of my tanks for my convicts. It's a plus for when they kick up sand to feed the babies or whatever. I dunno sometimes I hate it sometimes I love it. It looks nice on the bottom of the tank, but if it gets stirred too much or if some of the sand settles on other things like the heaters or the filters it looks really bad. Well, at least I think so. It annoys me sometimes. Be careful how much you put in, I only have about 1/4 - 1/2 inch in mine, too unlike saltwater you don't have anything to clean the sand and stirring up too much could be bad.

 

[OnyxFishies]

I use onyx sand in my tank. I think it looks great, (dark grey/black) but it is insanely expensive. (about a buck a pound) and you need more (weight) of sand to have the same depth of substrate compared to gravel. Some things to consider: do you ever plan to have live plants in your tank? If so, sand might be a better choice than gravel. Many plants, from what I've read, don't do as well in gravel. (I've got plants in my tank, never tried plants in gravel.) I don't think sand is harder to clean, but it takes a different technique. Gravel you can just shove the gravel vac into, but you never get all the "chunks". Sand, on the other hand, you need to hover the gravel vac near the surface to get the bits of poop and whatever, but they don't generally get down below the surface. (unless some tank resident or the owner stirs it up a bunch and covers it) I think it boils down to preference, to be honest.

 

[31337]

i agree with the preferance thing, but it can also depend on the fish in the tank

 

[TonyN]

I think Onyxfishies, made the best point when he mentioned plants. If you plan on having live plants, you might want to consider something like Flourite or Eco-Complete. You'll be glad you did later. If you're not going to have plants then its just a matter of preference.

 

[N8DOGG]

I have both sand in one 55 and medium rocks in the other 55.
The sand is play sand from Home Depot. under $3 for 50 pounds. Only needed one bag for the 55. I do weekly water changes on both and the sand is eayser to clean. My convicts and Midas love the sand. it looks good and easy to clean. I don't have plants so its not to thick.