Opinions wanted. Gravel or Sand?

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benzjamin13;1511998; said:
I have black sand, rocks, dfrifwood, and a couple of Anubias plants. I got some Dats, a couple of fancy plecos, and a senegal. I don't know the type of sand (I didn't even know that there were sand types besides black or tan back then).
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Cool, yeah, youd be suprised at the different types of sand now. I thought there was black .. and tan.. and thats it, pick your color. Boy was I wrong!

Humm.. got any pics?
 
I've used sand....gravil.... Bare Bottom and combinations of the three over the years.... BB tanks just don't do it for me...nor have I found them easier to clean. Yes they are easier to vacuum but even the smallest amount of debris stands out like a sore thumb in a BB tank so you find yourself cleaning the tank far more frequantly. Sand seems attractive when all that youve been exposed to are gravil substraits but it's a bit dull and one diamentional after a while. Sand is also a lot harder on filter systems and more difficult to maintain. Sand seems a lot softer than gravil but in actuality it's far more abrasive than smooth rock or gravil. After 30 years I've settled on a fairly standard mix of assorted sized natural gravil and stone over a base coat of crushed coral ( used to buffer our RO/DI water to a stable 7.6 PH.)

In your case I don't think it would be worth switching. Your set up look nice and the fish seem to be thriving and happy.
 
Wolf3101;1512067; said:
I've used sand....gravil.... Bare Bottom and combinations of the three over the years.... BB tanks just don't do it for me...nor have I found them easier to clean. Yes they are easier to clean but even the smallest amount of debris stands out like a sore thumb in a BB tank so you find yourself cleaning the tank far more frequantly. Sand seems attractive when that all youve been exposed to are gravil substraits but it's a bit dull and one diamentional after a while. Sand is also a lot harder on filter systems and more difficult to maintain. Sand seems a lot softer than gravil but in actuality it's far more abrasive than smooth rock or gravil. After 30 years I've settled on a fairly standard mix of assorted sized natural gravil and stone over a base coat of crushed coral ( used to buffer our RO/DI water to a stable 7.6 PH.)

In your case I don't think it would be worth switching. Your set up look nice and the fish seem to be thriving and happy.
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Wow, great point! That is EXACLTY why I am still a little hesitant. I do not like being "on the fence" about things but it is better to sit on the fence until you find out which side has the greener grass!

Did you find that the clarity of your water differed with BB, gravel and sand?
 
No...I always maintain crystal clear water no mater how the tanks are decorated although I have noticed that with the crushed coral RO/DI water combination...that the tanks are far more stable than they have ever been.
 
Wolf3101;1512099; said:
No...I always maintain crystal clear water no mater how the tanks are decorated although I have noticed that with the crushed coral RO/DI water combination...that the tanks are far more stable than they have ever been.
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hmm.. Thanks for the input!
 
I like that look. I think I like sand color more.

But I love how Simple your tank looks, very tasteful.

I have to many "black things " in my house to have that! lol... but black would make my ray's color better... hummm.

What'cha got in there Partner?
 
cszachury;1512157; said:
I like that look. I think I like sand color more.

But I love how Simple your tank looks, very tasteful.

I have to many "black things " in my house to have that! lol... but black would make my ray's color better... hummm.

What'cha got in there Partner?
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Yeah...I realized that when I put the pic up that it was hiding time for the fish. I just changed the water and decor that same day so they were just getting used to their new surroundings. I got 6 Indo Dats, a GT, a Albino Senegal, a Green Phantom Pleco, and a Vampire Pleco. I also have 2 Salvinis that I'm hoping to move once I get some free space.

If you look behind the first plant, you'll see the GT and under the driftwood, you'll see some glowing eyes.
 
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