im putting my green terror, pleco and my FLA gar in the new 125 im going with black substrate but i want to know sand, or gravel? also what type of plants can do good with those fish
new 125 ;)
- Thread starter Justin David
- Start date
Sand is cleaner...but looks more dirty. With gravel the debris go right into the gravel, while sand it stays on top. I personally prefer sand, easier to clean, can see all debris, and my fish like it better. Your fish species probably won't mind either way. The GT will probably find more food if it can pick it off the sand though.
Because you can pinpoint the "hotspots" where your circulation tends to leave all the debris, so you can easily siphon the top layer of the sand and be done. Also for a really deep cleaning just mix all the sand up with your hand, let settle for ~20 minutes, and suck up the debris that stay on top, also doing this the filter will get a lot of it. Just rinse your filter after you do this. Also if you get the right fish, the only thing you will ever be cleaning up is poop or other undedible debris. I have virtually 0 uneaten food in my sand tanks.
Then either get a stronger siphon, such as a python, or use a turkey baster to get the big pieces.