Sand

you just have to approach vaccuming it differently. get a much smaller and less turbulent gravel vac or siphoning device and go over the bottom skimming the detritus off the top. every so often you should agitate the sand on one half of the aquairum and do a water change. alternating sides every time you do the procedure.when you agitate, make sure all pumps are off so you dont get sand in there. the only reason you stir the gravel is that if left it will compact and form dead spots which could produce poisonous hydrogen gases that can kill fish. doing one side at a time allows the biological organisms responsible for you biofiltration do not get too depleted causing an amonnia spike. sand looks great in tanks, just have to be a little more careful than with gravel. give it a shot, if you keep it clean i find it brings more comments than a standard gravel substrate.

if u ad sand. make sure tank has no fish in it first in my oppinon. And unplug all the filters to prevent them from sucking it up and cuaseing impeller damage to your filters. Id didnt do this and ruined three magnum canister filters this way./

Didn't know about the half side vaccuum aspect. No wonder my only finicky and sometimes kill tank is the one with fine white sand. It's all my fault

YOUR FUNNY SLEEPY. JUST DONT LET IT GET COMPACTED AND YOU SHOULD BE FINE. I DEFINITELY AGREE WITH WICKED, ADD BEFORE FISH ARE IN THE TANK

using the right brand/type of sand will not create too much trouble, infact, ever since I started using sand, I never went back to gravel. I use Este's Reef Sand, however, it is safe for freshwater use also. it is very easy to clean and will not cloud your water.

sand is a little more work than gravel or barebottom.

The black moon sand looks great but there is alot more upkeep to it...anything lighter in color shows up on the bottom right away...but think its worth the hassle....its looks unique

I just recently started using sand and I have to say that it's easier to keep than I thought.

Sand is a breeze. If you have a good filter current, you don't need to vacuum the substrate at all; just change the water.