Sand or Gravel ? Pro's and Con's

[gadget228]

Working on setting up a 75 gallon freshwater tank and trying to decide on substrate. I have never used sand but like the look of it.

Here are some ideals I think I'm going with,

Live plants in clay pots using something like eco complete.

Want to make a background from Styrofoam, my better half wants rocks and I like the idea of a old building with crumbling walls.

Sand or gravel ? A few pro's and con's that I know of are,

Sand can be as cheap as playsand that I can get at Lowe's but have read that sand can kill impellers in powerheads and filters.

Wide choices and colors when it comes to gravel but very limited selection in my area.

Help me make up my mind and let me know which you prefer and why.

[Lady Hobbs]

All will depend on what kind of fish you plan to keep. Most are fine with sand and others throw it around.

If sand is coarse (not that fluffy stuff) it remains at the bottom of the tank and you can even run the gravel vac over the top without picking it up. Filter tubes should be up off the sand about 4 inches to prevent filters from picking it up. Drawback for me was firemouths who liked throwing the sand around, picking it up in their mouths and spitting it back out right infront of the filter strainer.

Sand should be no deeper than necessary to prevent gas pockets from foruming. And inch should be enough.

[Fishguy2727]

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I have definitely found sand to be the better option 99% of the time. I know some people think it is too expensive when compared to cheapo hardware store or pool filter sand, but Estes' Marine Sand has proven to be an essential for success in my tanks. And since it runs about the same price as aquarium gravel, I think it is very affordable. I think that ten years from now gravel will be looked at the way UGFs are now, outdated with a few people still stuck on them because they have been using them since it was the best option and they haven't really tried other options yet.

Sand:
Pros:
-cleaner
-less maintenance
-more natural
-many find it looks better
Con:
-the wrong sands can cause a few problems, but these are related to the type of sand, not just that it is sand.

Gravel:
-Unnatural (these fish naturally have very fine substrates)
-more maintenance (weekly vacuum)
-traps debris which can cause nitrate and water quality problems as well as breed undesirable organisms
-can trap sinking food from the fish

[mommy1]

Working on setting up a 75 gallon freshwater tank and trying to decide on substrate. I have never used sand but like the look of it.

Here are some ideals I think I'm going with,

Live plants in clay pots using something like eco complete.
live plants not only look better than fake or silk plants (IMO), but they do have some benefits as well. they will use up some of the nitrates in the tank ( you still have to do waterchanges). as for the clay pots, be careful how you place them in your tank, if not used and placed just right they can look a little tacky (IMO) , the same for most fake decor.
Want to make a background from Styrofoam, my better half wants rocks and I like the idea of a old building with crumbling walls.
i LOVE the idea of an old building with crumbling walls.
Sand or gravel ? A few pro's and con's that I know of are,
sand or gravel is mostly a matter of choice. just like Lady Hobbs said there are a few fish out there that may prefer one over the other. if you do decide to get live plants you might want to go with something like florite sand or eco complete. over gravel.
Sand can be as cheap as playsand that I can get at Lowe's but have read that sand can kill impellers in powerheads and filters.

Wide choices and colors when it comes to gravel but very limited selection in my area.

Help me make up my mind and let me know which you prefer and why.
again this is my opinion, but if you do choose to use gravel, i would suggest a natural color. ultimately the fish dont care if your gravel is pink, blue ,or a natural color, but i think that a natural color is just more pleasing to look at.

[gadget228]

Fishguy2727,

Thanks so much for the link to your article on sand, not only am I going to put sand in my 75, I'm seriously thinking about switching my 30 over also.

The playsand at Lowe's is a lot cheaper but sounds like it could be a big hassle to use it and with Estes sand made for aquariums and roughly the same cost as gravel I would rather spend a little more and get it right the first time.

Thanks Again. :ssmile:

[Fishguy2727]

Glad to hear it. The only work in it is getting it to settle (this is true of any sand that doesn't come wet). Once it is settled you are done. I recommend either half black and half white or all black, but that it really your choice. You can check out my photobucket page to see pics of my tanks that have it.

[Braccus]

I must be doing something wrong. I went the pool filter sand route but I can't keep waste from settling on the sand. Even when I use my python and do my weekly water changes and vacuum's (which is a struggle since sand seems to get sucked up faster than the waste) a few days later and it is pretty dirty again.

I have no powerhead's or anything in the tank so there isn't much current on the bottom. Could that be the problem?

[Fishguy2727]

That is definitely the problem. Increase the flow and that debris will keep moving until the filter grabs it. The good thing is that it shows it is dirty, rather than trapping and hiding it like gravel. Easy to vacuum up too.

[rhonin]

I have been "experimenting with a 30 with sand (Tahitian Black) in prep for the 100 I am doing.

What i have found:
- Plants grow better. Using Anubia and water changes actually does a good job on nitrates
- I don't get the deep trapped waste like gravel - cleaning is easier
- Had to readjust the flow a couple of times. I am using an eclipse system.
- IMO it just looks better
- Initial cost was higher as I went with a more expensive sand.
- Fish digging is more easily controlled - easier on the fishes mouth too

All in all, I will be "slowly swapping my tanks over to sand.

Either way you go, enjoy!!
and I really like the idea of a sunken crumbling city/wall..... nice!!
thumbs2:

[rsn48]

I had settled on using sand (pool type) and had read that plants do better in it. Then in another web site, sand was not recommended as plants didn't do better in it as the debris from the fish feed the plants which gravel could trap, then decompose, and it would act as plant food.

So now I'm not clear as to which to use - sand or gravel. :goldfish:

[Northernguy]

I had settled on using sand (pool type) and had read that plants do better in it. Then in another web site, sand was not recommended as plants didn't do better in it as the debris from the fish feed the plants which gravel could trap, then decompose, and it would act as plant food.

So now I'm not clear as to which to use - sand or gravel. :goldfish:

Check out these planted tanks.Some are pool sand,some are play sand.It depends on your lighting and how you feed and treat your plants.
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[Fishguy2727]

My plants definitely do much better with sand. The grain size is much better for rooting.

[rhonin]

I had settled on using sand (pool type) and had read that plants do better in it. Then in another web site, sand was not recommended as plants didn't do better in it as the debris from the fish feed the plants which gravel could trap, then decompose, and it would act as plant food.

So now I'm not clear as to which to use - sand or gravel. :goldfish:

What I have found (I've been tracking my tanks for a couple months now..) is that when I do a gravel cleaning my nitrates don't decrease like expected with a water change. This is only in tanks where I have >1" of gravel.

Talking to a couple of knowledgable folks at my LFS and doing some online digging, the decomposing waste in the gravel can act as plant food but it is offset as plants do not root real well in gravel and deeper gravel will trap waste and lead to nitrate spikes when this trapped waste escapes or you do a deep gravel cleaning - it can also happen when fish start to dig.

Main reason I was looking to sand.
Have to say my sand tank is doing better (stability) than my gravel tanks.

Enjoy!!