changing myaquarium gravel for sand?

Question

i have a ten gallon tank with couple of plants and one gourami and four fancy guppies and i just got a kuhli loach and wanted to change the gravel to sand for him and I was wondering if it makes a big difference in his happiness and plant growth and can sand be vacumedbe vacumed?

the fish i have are one dwarf gourami, four fancy guppies (two green cobras, black phantom, and a blue tux) and one baby kuhli loach. So I have six in my ten gallon but they seem ok. i have lots of plants and tall hallow maontain thing. I dont have much algae yet its only been a month I have a 15 gal biowheel filter and a bubble hose thing but thank you I think i will stick to gravel !!!

Answer 1

gravel is easier to clean. sand would probably have to be replaced every so often.

Answer 2

Hi there:)
I also have kuhli loaches, and trust me, stick with the gravel!
They're very tiny, and there are gravel rocks with slippery coatings that you can purchase now with the intent of making loaches and other fish that bury and dig more comfortable.
Sand is usually reserved for rays nowadays.
You may notice that your kuhli doesn't make itself known very often. It's best to keep these little guys in a group of three or more- they're pretty social, and can get pretty lonely on their own sometimes! So if you can, try investing in a couple more- it's for the benefiet of your little guy anyway. ;) Plus, as an added bonus, you'll see them a lot more, they're bolder with company!
Any more questions, you can email me at [e-mail] or ask here.
A good site to research your kuhli loach is www.loaches.com!
It's where I learned everything I know. The people there have been keeping any and every type of loach you can think of, many of them for many, many years.
I hope I helped you out, and saved you the trouble of having to clean sand! It can be quite the hassle.
As long as you have the slippery gravel and a couple caves, some nice plants, a few buddies- your kuhli will be overjoyed. ^_^

Answer 3

You can't vacuum sand so it has to be replaced a lot, almost every time you change your water. It gets pretty expensive. That sounds like a lot of animals for a small aquarium. The rule is 1 inch of fish per gallon of water.

Sand will get sucked up into your filter and you will be replacing that often too. If I were you, I would stick with gravel.

Answer 4

Sand is more difficult to vacuum. i usually use sand around the roots of my customers plants and #3 gravel elsewhere.
Sand is better for plant roots and for the bacteria that live on these roots, but #3 gravel is better elsewhere as it does not compact as much, is easier to vacuum, and is a better media for aerobic bacteria which are important for nitrification (removal of ammonia, nitrites through bio filtration).

I would not ever do a total change over of your aquarium, that can set back your aquarium nitrogen cycling and result in high ammonia and nitrite levels. Best to change a small amount just around the area of the plants.

For more information about aquarium cleaning, please see this article:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_cleaning.html

Answer 5

Salt water or fresh water fish? There are salt water and fresh water sands as well. Do a little research, especially if it is salt water since getting the correct sand is vital to the ecosystem. Salt or fresh water sand is not THAT hard to clean. If you have a siphon just be careful not to completely press down to the bottom as the lightweight sand will be immediately sucked into the siphon and clog it.

Answer 6

i have had many gravel tanks and 1 sand once. i found the sand easier to keep clean and is better for plants. you may want to get a catfish and a sucker to help keep allergy down.

Answer 7

It also depends on what type of filter you have. If it's an undergravel filter, then no. Also, it will be harder to keep the sand clean because you won't be able to vacuum it.

Answer 8

if you a good filter system it dosnt matter what you if you like do it you can always change it back,and by the i have 9 tamks ranging from 5 gals to 110gal fresh and saltwater.

Answer 9

What type of fish?

Most advise against sand, it is messy and hard to clean and replace.

Answer 10

erm not sure how you clean it

But just rinse your filter alot or it will get clogged