Gravel or barebottom

[Scorponok]

Hey wolf, got these pics from Astro whoes bichir ate some gravel and died. But this will never happen to your 130 years of fish keeping experience because you never owned a bichir. Things don't happen in your little world doesn't mean they don't happen to others.

 

[Merbeast]

Just to play devil's advocate, the bichir did not necessarily die as the result of eating gravel. The bichir died with gravel in it's gut, but was it the gravel that killed it? Was it eating gravel to scrape out a parasite or because of a vitamin deficiency? We can guess, but we don't know, and it would be dangerous to draw conclusions based on one instance. I keep bichirs on gravel and sand (two aquariums) with no apparent problems, and I assume I am not the only one. Beblondie has substrate in her aquarium, and I doubt you would suggest she doesn't know about the care of bichirs. Could gravel kill bichirs (or other fish)? Possibly. So can filters, heaters and any number of other things. What is the actual risk posed by gravel? 1 in 1,000,000? 1 in 1,000,000,000? I don't know and I bet you don't either.

Wolf, I have seen you post in a lot of threads, and you are very helpful. Keep up the good work.

 

[tonymofo]

I had large gravel in my tanks till my RTC started eat the gravel. He ate so much gravel that it looked like he swallowed some ping pong balls. Well I also have a 16 inch silver aro, 17 inch knife, 20 knife and 2 syndontic oci-something and my 10 inch RTC. These are all big poppers. So I added a strong powerhead. That helps pushing all that poop to one side of the tank, but I notice I never have any poop at the bottom of the tank. My syndonits cats are eating the poop. They make sure my bare bottom tank is a clean bare bottom tank!!!!!!!

 

[elting44]

GRAVEL/SUBSTRATE vs BARE BOTTOM

Everyone needs to keep in mind that an argument is a truth-seeking process in which both sides respect the other's opinion. I believe what this situation boils down to is a matter of preference. Here is what I believe, and it is only my opinion:

1. Aquariums with natural substrate (No pink or blue gravel) look more aesthetically pleasing than aquariums with bare bottoms, but that is only my opinion and this comes down to ones partiality.

2. The extra 2" of water depth is insignificant in most cases, fish will stay in the strata they are comfortable in and I highly doubt they miss the room that is sacrificed by having substrate. If that volume of water is critical, please upgrade.

3. The extra water volume that is sacrificed in favor of substrate DOES mean there is less water in the system for hazardous chemicals i.e. Nitrate to diffuse in. The inverse to this argument, that gravel increases the BB and Bio-Filtration is also highly valid. Unfortunately neither is enough to sway the debate:
If the aquarist is doing regular water changes, the extra water in the system doesn't matter.
If the aquarist has ample bio-filtration to handle the bio-load of the aquarium, the surface area added by the gravel doesn't matter

4. The aquarium is easier to keep clean by having a bare bottom, and is easier to CONTROL water quality. This doesn't mean a substrated tank will have lower quality of water. Clean/Chemistry/Quality are all separate entities. It may be easier in a bare bottom but easy does not = better. Once you throw in plants and sumps this item of the argument will have too many variables and will come down to an individual issue. I personally enjoy the challenge of maintaining pristine water quality while having fish, substrate, and plants.

5. The weight issue boils down to simple physics. If your tank and stand are built properly on a sturdy foundation the difference in density (Density=Mass/Volume) between water and gravel will not cause catastrophic failure. Gravel is typically a little under twice as dense as water, but once submerged it loses much of its weight (Mass with downward force [gravity] included). If you are worried about the weight, calculate the numbers beforehand. This is a good site to see the density of different materials -http://www.simetric.co.uk/si_materials.htm

6. It has been suggested in many aquatic journals and forums that the color of the substrate of an aquarium can have an affect on the coloration of a fish. Parachromis Managuense keepers will argue that the darker the substrate, the more vibrant the coloration. Symphysodon aequifasciata keepers will often discount this notion.

In conclusion it is my personal belief that unless your tank’s purpose is a quarantine or possibly a breeding tank, the aesthetic benefits and the ability to better house plants tilts the argument in the favor of gravel, But that’s my opinion

 

[*KrAmEr*]

Well I just took all the gravel from 220g out and the bare bottom doesnt look too bad. The reason I took it out is because I couldnt even reach the back of the tank to clean the gravel and was very tiring cleaning all the gravel I could reach.

Im not for or against barebottom but when you have a larger tank it really is alot harder to gravel vacuum.

 

[joey02]

I think a bare bottom wouldnt look all that bad if you first emtied the tank and painted the outside bottom black. then it would almost look like you had gravel and the fish would be more happy with a dark bottom. anyone ever done this? i havent seen it yet, but i think its a great idea if you want a bare bottom.

 

[Blue Butcher]

Another view: If it's a glass tank, try putting a picture of a sand, or gravel, or rocks underneath the glass. The fish get some comfort and you get more space. I use a picture of pebbles on my sick tank for extra comfort. Nobody likes tobe sick. I have gravel in my 100 gallon and partial bottom coverage of rocks and pebbles and bare spots in my plastic 200 gallon pond. I dont see much of a difference cleaning wise.

 

[joey02]

here are two pics of my tank with the back and bottom out side painted black. i had black sand in it befor, so it almost looks the same as befor. i will try this out for a while and see how it goes. the fish dont seem to mind it at all.

 

[duke33]

Wow, that was a good read. So it seems to be a matter of preferance. I have gravel in a 300g. I use an extra long vac. I am "trying" to keep it planted so therefore gravel. I have breeder tanks barebottom. They are for breeding, I'll look at the offspring in a decorated tank later. In my humbe opinion, gravel is the only way to go for several reasons. All of them have been dis"cussed". To each his own is what it boils down to.

 

[viking252200]

In the end it will always be a matter of personal taste...

For me, i want to keep a piece of nature in my room and in the nature you always have some kind of substrate...
It might mean that the maintenance of the tank takes a little longer, but that is something i don't mind.
Another thing is that many fish like to dig and if they are denied that, then their true behavior are not displayed.

Just my thoughts..