Sand vs Gravel?

Question

The more I read Q&A about fish the more I realize how little I know! Anyhoo next question...I've always used gravel in my fish tanks...thinking about it tho...sand might be a better option...
It would be harder for really big gunky stuff to get stuck in it...making the tank easier to clean...is this a correct assumption? It also would just look more natural...be easier to hold down decorations...at least in my mind this is how it all works out! I'm just attempting to verify my assumtions. As with all my questions...can anyone tell me the pros and cons of sand and gravel?

Answer 1

Personally I find sand to be considerably harder to keep really clean than gravel. You are right, it's harder for waste to accumulate in the sand, but it's harder to remove waste from the sand as well. Not to mention the possiblility of pockets of gas building up in the sand that could really harm or possibly kill your fish. Sand is the higher maintenance choice in my opinion.

Looks really nice though.

MM

Answer 2

I have to agree with MM on this one. I have both sand in some tanks and gravel in others.

Sand is more difficult to keep "clean" since when you use your gravel vac, you tend to suck up the sand more than anything else.

Either way it is up to you. Another option would be to go with a LARGE grit sand which is heavier.

Remember though, no more than 2" of sand in the bottom of your tank. 1" toward the front 2" towards the rear no deeper.

When you clean your sand you need to move it around to keep air pockets out. These pockets have the ability in fresh water to form gas if the water has dead spots in it.

Sand does look nicer and is a more natural bottom. It is actually easier however to clean the larger gravel if you are using the proper amount 1". most people don't use their gravel vac properly. When using your vac, push the vac into the gravel and lift up. you will see the gravel roll to the bottom of the tank and the waste go back into the tube. I find that when I am cleaning the large tank, once a month I will use a cheese cloth to filter the water I am removing from the tank since to clean it properly you will remove too much of the water. I will dump back the filtered water until I have time to clean all the gravel. Then only remove 25% of the water.

You can also vac the bottom of a larger tank by going in sections. The first and third week of the month deep clean the right half and only do the surface of the left. The second and fouth week do the left side.

Either way it is totally up to you and what you are willing to clean or not clean.

Answer 3

We use to have a sand bottom on the goldfish tank. The look was beautiful with the reddish gold of the fish and the light color of the sand. A color enhancer light tube made the rich colors really stand out.
We used a gravel washer to clean the tank, but you have to be very careful not to suck up the sand.

I also used a 5 gallon tank with a sandy bottom to get my cory cats to spawn. It was amazing to see the baby catfish develop.
We now have a tropical aquarium with parrot fish and others with a gravel bottom. We also have an undergravel filter, that I couldn't use with sand.

It won't cost much either way you go. Start with sand, and if you don't like it, you can always switch to gravel.

Answer 4

I have converted every tank I have to sand. It's cleaner, looks nicer, and is quite easy to keep.

It is incredibly easy to keep. When you do a water change you simply use a hose to syphon waste off the surface. Wow, tough.

Here's a video showing how difficult it is:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/videos/cleaning_sand.php

Sand is sometimes deemed 'dirtier' because you see more of the waste. Quite the contrary, it's much cleaner because it doesn't sink in to be out of sight and mind as in gravel. Instead it is in plain sight where we want to remove it, or floating around to be picked up by the filter. The previous poster contradicts herself - she says gravel is better then sand, yet bare is better then both - sand acts much more like a bare tank when it comes to keeping things nice and clean.

And this is where the biggest con comes in - sand tanks tend to have more floating particulate in the water and this bothers many people. I don't mind it because I know how perfectly clean the tank really is. Plus, good filtration will take care of most of it.

The other con is that it can ruin the impeller if sand gets into a hanging filter. You can easily overcome this by turning of the filter when doing maintenance, or using canisters, which filter out the sand before it hits the impeller. I've never had it clog any of my filters and don't know where this comes from. Anaerobic bacteria is easily taken care of by mixing up the sand every now and then, or through the use of trumpet snails, which do an excellent burrowing job, or with plants, in which case the root system will keep things in order for you.

In 10 years of keeping sand I've never had any problems like those mentioned. Maybe I'm just one lucky ducky.. or maybe there are some misguided ideas going around concerning sand.

FYI, the sand I use is a simple playsand that is simply washed beach sand, from Home Depot, and costs less then 5 bucks per bag. I can show you picks of the tanks if you wish.

Answer 5

I've got both. I have gravel in my Freshwater setup and I have sand in my saltwater setup. The only problem with sand is that you need to have something that stirs up the sand so it stays clean and airated (sp?). It looks more natural and it's softer on the fish. I have a dragon wrasse in my SW tank and it buries itself in the sand to sleep, and he wouldn't be able to do this with gravel. I've never had sand clog my filter. You can also use the vacuum syphon in your tank to clean your sand. I did and yes it sucked some of the sand up, but barely anything, you just need to be mindful of what you're doing.

Answer 6

Gravel is better. Bare or almost bare bottom tank is even better! Less to clean, the fish can get all the dropped food from between what rocks are there. Sand does not belong in a fresh water aquarium. Sand harbours anarobic bacteria, when disturbed can release hydrogen sulfide which is instantanous death for fish. I'd avoid sand and small grained gravel at all costs. I'd avoid colored gravel, it can leech deadly toxins into the tank. Natural pea gravel is best. Or you can be like me and use marbles and glass rocks (if you want color, glass is inert) and leave more tank open on the bottom than covered. The filter will pick up the poop better too!

Answer 7

There is a very simple answer to your question. Sand can and will get stuck in your filter causing it to jam and not function properly. Gravel is the best choice. If you find that sand is nicer, maybe try a smaller gravel size or a different color to make it as similar as possable so that it fits your likings. I once used sand and it destroyed my filter...

Answer 8

How would sand affect your filter. A fine sand may clog it and then bye bye fishys.

Answer 9

complex thing. search onto a search engine. this might help!

Answer 10

confusing problem. research on to google or bing. this could actually help!