black gravel or black sand?
- Thread starter thorzep
- Start date
i have 3 tanks a 75, 55, and 40 tall.. my 75 has natural colored silica sand which i love for the look that i went with that tank but my other two tanks are black themed and the 55 has tahitian moon sand (black sand) and the 40 tall has a small black gravel substrate.. out of the 3 the 2 with sand in them are easier to keep clean but if you dont vacuum fairly often the waste always sits on top of the sand.. and if your worried about sand in the pickups just go over to your lfs and get filter socks to put over the end of the pickup.. although i dont use them and i have little to no problems with sand in my filters..
I used to have the problem with the sand sucking up sand but the best thing to do if u decide to go the sand way is to put a prefilter on the in take or cut a piece of the sponge on the intake.. I have done this and my filters dont get sand stuck no more..
Ever since I switch from black sand to play sand/white sand - I've been hooked. In fact I don't think I'll ever do a black substrate again. Though in the end, it really is a matter of personal preference.
go with a thin layer of black sand. the thin layer will be easier to clean and will not trap noxious gasses as much as a deeper bed
Most definitely go sand!!! I switched to sand several years ago, and its all I use in my tanks now. 
You should do a combo light sand and dark sand mixed together, looks rather dashing if I do say so myself. I use pool filter sand (whitish) and tahitian moon sand (black) mixed together. More natural lookin.
Definitely put a prefilter on your AC110 filters. I've had to replace the motors as well from them suckin up sand. Prefilter mostly stops that headache.
BTW...REGARDLESS of what kind of sand you get, WASH IT REPEATEDLY BEFORE PUTTING IT IN THE TANK!!! Otherwise you are not even goin to be able to see the back of your tank for a few days. So much dust! Blah!
You should do a combo light sand and dark sand mixed together, looks rather dashing if I do say so myself.
I use pool filter sand (whitish) and tahitian moon sand (black) mixed together. More natural lookin. Definitely put a prefilter on your AC110 filters. I've had to replace the motors as well from them suckin up sand. Prefilter mostly stops that headache.
BTW...REGARDLESS of what kind of sand you get, WASH IT REPEATEDLY BEFORE PUTTING IT IN THE TANK!!! Otherwise you are not even goin to be able to see the back of your tank for a few days. So much dust! Blah!
