Gravel on top of Sand?

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T

ThaDude

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 11, 2009
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I'm re-doing a tank for a friend, and currently for a substrate he has a 2-and-a-half-inch layer of sand underneath a half-inch layer of pea-sized gravel.

(tank is currently dry)

I can't find any info on this particular combination of substrate!

Is anyone aware of any pros/cons of doing things this way?
From what I've read 2-1/2 inches of sand is way too much.

I was thinking about putting another quarter inch layer of pea-sized gravel on top, that way, he could vac without disturbing the sand.

Another option I suppose would be to remove the gravel completely.

Ideas? Thoughts?
 
i'm not sure why you did this. i could visualize a sand bottom with pebbles scattered on top of it. that would be aesthetically pleasing, from my eye view. are you going for a layered effect? i've seen various colored layers of sand stacked. that also can be pleasing. i might be misunderstanding you. maybe there is some technical advantage to laying gravel on sand.
 
That's a rather thick sand layer. Unless it gets vaced with some frequency I would worry lots of anaerobic decomposition happening underneath. This effect could be worsened with the gravel, which could trap lots of detritus down at the bottom.
 
Yes I believe he was going for a layered effect when he did this.
To my understanding, he never vac'd it.
His fish always seemed to be in good health
(the tank is currently dry due to a move)

I believe he was going for a natural look, as the gravel on top does look pretty sweet.
I know his plants did very, very well - to the point of overgrowth.

He asked me to re-do the tank for him, any ideas on what to go with/changes?
 
This is kind of interesting. With an inch or two of gravel on top you could effectively be creating a freshwater DSB (deep sand bed). The sand would become anaerobic creating a nitrate reduction zone with the gravel layer protecting it from distruption from the fish or vac.
 
Sounds interesting! That's what I was originally thinking of going for, but I had no idea that it would have other beneficial side effects like nitrate reduction.

(goes off to google DSB)
 
it looks cool. i'd take out some of the gravel and go for a scattered look, rather than a full, heavy and complete layer.
 
The info i'm finding mainly pertains to salt water.
This will be a freshwater tank, just thought i'd throw that info out there.
 
It's a saltwater technique but the biology of it is the same in fresh. SW people use a lot of different techniques to lower the cost of keeping a SW tank. Water changes for them can cost a lot of money.
 
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