Gravel on top of Sand?
- Thread starter ThaDude
- Start date
depending on your bioload you may not notice a difference. Also if you have big fish that dig you'll have trouble. Keep us updated.
I've put sand and gravel in the same tank before... the heavier gravel particles end up beneath the sand.
The situation where I think this is a good idea is when you have a cheap source for X colored gravel and an expensive source for X colored sand. The gravel falls to the bottom and displaces the sand, and the sand sits on top (visual plus) and fills the gaps between the gravel preventing waste from settling into the substrate (common benefit of sand).
I've dabbled in salt water and have a few salt water geek friends... from what I understand the bulk of the anaerobic bacteria in a slatwater tank lives in the "live rock" and very little lives in the Deep Sand Bed. Instead the Deep Sand Bed is kept as a place for the bugs to colonize. And the bugs serve a critical purpose in most salt water set ups.
I helped a friend move a few months back and he had a 92 Gal corner Reef tank. He gripped and whined about his sand, but we moved his stuff into a 120 gal tank with the sump/refug all set up and all of his live rock in the tank... but no sand... and everything went perfect... (although he vac'ed the bare bottomed tank daily with a canister intake).
It took him abotu a month before the 92 was back together... and the sand was thoroughly washed before reasembly and all went well on the 92...
Sorry for the long story, here's the short summary, I don't think you are going to colonize any amotnu of Anaerobic in your sand bed to make the slightest difference in anything... and I think all of your gravel is going to end up on bottom in a few months time...
But I also see no harm in doing it this way...
The situation where I think this is a good idea is when you have a cheap source for X colored gravel and an expensive source for X colored sand. The gravel falls to the bottom and displaces the sand, and the sand sits on top (visual plus) and fills the gaps between the gravel preventing waste from settling into the substrate (common benefit of sand).
I've dabbled in salt water and have a few salt water geek friends... from what I understand the bulk of the anaerobic bacteria in a slatwater tank lives in the "live rock" and very little lives in the Deep Sand Bed. Instead the Deep Sand Bed is kept as a place for the bugs to colonize. And the bugs serve a critical purpose in most salt water set ups.
I helped a friend move a few months back and he had a 92 Gal corner Reef tank. He gripped and whined about his sand, but we moved his stuff into a 120 gal tank with the sump/refug all set up and all of his live rock in the tank... but no sand... and everything went perfect... (although he vac'ed the bare bottomed tank daily with a canister intake).
It took him abotu a month before the 92 was back together... and the sand was thoroughly washed before reasembly and all went well on the 92...
Sorry for the long story, here's the short summary, I don't think you are going to colonize any amotnu of Anaerobic in your sand bed to make the slightest difference in anything... and I think all of your gravel is going to end up on bottom in a few months time...
But I also see no harm in doing it this way...
I have a 5.5g planted with a layer if sand and a few pellets of gravel on top of it, but they are very losely scattered for a natural effect. But I'd imagine that with a full layer of gravel on sand, the gravel would eventually sink into the sand.
Delhezi222, yes, I am threadstalking you.
Delhezi222, yes, I am threadstalking you.
