It's a labor of love, I tell ya.

[rallysb1tch]

When we were setting up our 300 gallon tank we got the idea in our heads that play sand would be a good idea. It was cheap and we thought that it would look nice. We purchased about five hundred pounds of the stuff and rinsed it in pillow cases out in the side yard and then dumped it in the tank. (Thanks to the help of JD MAN and rallysman's sister Shelbie!)

Fast forward to today--we don't like the sand. Algae grows on it and it's hard to get fish crap out of it. For the past few days we've been sucking it out into our basement with a python. We purchased some pea gravel at Lowe's to replace the sand but it's dirty as hell. Now we get to rinse 300 pounds of rock and dump it in the tank.

We've gotten about 100 pounds in so far and it's already looking a lot better. So learn from our mistake--if you've got a large tank skip the play sand!

Before and after pictures soon to follow.

 

[redtailfool]

Ive tried different kinds of substrate, white sand, black sand, colored gravel, natural, grey , black etc etc. . . . It would look nice but at the end of the day, i just find bare bottom with a few choice rocks and driftwood suits me best.

But then, im a minimalist by nature so maybe that explains my preference..

 

[JD_MAN]

Yeah, that sand is a b**ch. I already got mad at my tanks and switched all of them back over to gravel. Only my tanks weren't even close to as large as your guys 300. But, I do agree...don't use the play sand.

 

[rallysman]

I hate that play sand!!
I'll still support the pool filter sand though Its coarse enough to clean fairly easily, but still gives the nice sand look

 

[loach43]

The zero sand/gravel thing actually isn't as bad as you might think. Looks awful in photos and in the "minds eye" IMO but I recently removed all gravel from one of my tanks and it looks better now than it did before. I DON"T KNOW WHY!! Guess it's just a cleaner look. Was gonna replace the chipped & ugly gravel I took out with different gravel and now it's not gonna happen because I'm diggin' the bare look so much.

 

[ewurm]

Ive tried different kinds of substrate, white sand, black sand, colored gravel, natural, grey , black etc etc. . . . It would look nice but at the end of the day, i just find bare bottom with a few choice rocks and driftwood suits me best.

But then, im a minimalist by nature so maybe that explains my preference..

Appreciate the fact that you are a minimalist. I cram my tank with plants and deco, and I have to tear it all down every week for four tanks. The upside is that the tank looks different every time.

 

[slammer]

I like the bare bottom look as well but I hate that some fish seem to constantly be trying to go "through" the bottom...simple solution...I cut cardboard to size, paint it black and attach it under the tank. Best of both worlds...

Slam

 

[rallysman]

I dont care fore barebottom tanks, and the fact that ours is a plywood tank would make it look terrible. Just blue epoxy over 2x4's and plywood??? no thanks

 

[rallysb1tch]

I dont care fore barebottom tanks, and the fact that ours is a plywood tank would make it look terrible. Just blue epoxy over 2x4's and plywood??? no thanks

I don't like them either. I have always been a fan of the natural look and a glass bottom is not what you'd see in nature.

I remember a time when you "wanted color" and put blue and purple gravel in your first tank. You've come a long way!

 

[HarleyK]

Howdy,

I have playsand, and I have not problems with it ... no detritus trapped, none in my filter's impeller, no algae, plants grow great .... There must be another underlying problem with your tank

Anyhow, I hope a change of substrate helps and you will have fun with your tank again
HarleyK