Gravel or Sand for my 150.....

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YukonBlu

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 11, 2013
12
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United States
I have always used Gravel which i like until it gets on your algae pad and you scratch your tank with it
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But anyway, i just got my new 150 and am looking into getting sand and need some advice. I like the way both sand and gravel look, maybe sand just a tad more. But anyway listed will be whats in the tank... your thought would be great.

no plants
1 Oscar
2 Jack Dempseys
1 Green Terror
1 jaguar cichlid
1 Pleco

So what do you think and why??
 
Pool filter sand, it's cheap about $5-10 for 50 lbs and it's heavier then play sand so it won't be stirred up as much and easy to clean just a couple rinses in a 5 gallon bucket and it's washed

I always start with gravel from Home Depot it's cheap and looks good but I always go back to sand as I like the look better


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I like sand. I use black diamond from tractor supply. It was $8 for a 50th bag. I got the 20/40 medium coarse. I like it a lot.

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I Would do about 1/2 inch(just enough to cover bottom) PEA GRAVEL from home depot...cheap & very easy to clean at that depth...maintenance is a breeze :)
 
There are fish that do much better with sand (sand sifters, many that swim along the bottom, ones that hide in the substrate), but the ones you listed aren't those. It's preference, and although I once used pea gravel and liked it, I am more prone to sand now.

There are pros and cons for both. If sand was not an option for me, I'd have no problem using gravel.
 
X2 for PFS.another choice is quickcrete all purpose sand.has larger grain similar to PFS.I usually throw a few cups of smaller gravel on top of any sand I use, changes the look

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What type of algae ? I had the problem of algae growing on my sand when I had my puffer, it looked like grass and covered 90% of my tank floor I picked it out by hand vacuumed some up then went a week with no lights it went away but would come back again and again so now when my tank gets stocked I'm raising my lights up and reducing the amount of time my lights are on to hope it doesn't grow back it's a pain in the tail fin


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Jag586 said:
What type of algae ? I had the problem of algae growing on my sand when I had my puffer, it looked like grass and covered 90% of my tank floor I picked it out by hand vacuumed some up then went a week with no lights it went away but would come back again and again so now when my tank gets stocked I'm raising my lights up and reducing the amount of time my lights are on to hope it doesn't grow back it's a pain in the tail fin


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Click to expand...

Obviously you don't, but I'm actually rather fond of this green, grassy carpet look on the tank floor.

To the OP, I also preffered the look of sand or a mixture of sand(70%)/gravel(30%). I just personally find the look of stand alone gravel artificial and cheesy.
 
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