sand or gravel????

[waqar]

hi
i m planing to re arrage my aquarium i need to know which is best sand or gravel. and if i use sand then how can i clean it???
in my tank i have
2 tin fie
blue line shark
flower horn
parrot fish.

i m uploading some pictures of my aquarium hope you will like

 

[Natural_Born_Killer]

I personally would go with sand, but that is because I think it looks much nicer. It is however quite a pain to keep clean.

You can use a vacuum to clean it, or you can use a hose and just suck it up as well. There are a few different types and you'll just have to find what works for you.

 

[waqar]

thanks but my tank is 6 feet and i m scared to clean the sand i know it is very difficult to clean sand let see wht hapend

 

[Natural_Born_Killer]

Its not that hard to be honest- it does take some time and some patience but I do it about once a week? I notice that if I give my fish smaller feedings but more often then it stays cleaner longer....

 

[Venomancer]

Which is better in holding the beneficial bacteria?

 

[Natural_Born_Killer]

If I am not mistaken I think its sand... but I'm sure someone else will either come and agree or teach me I'm wrong

 

[Dixon81]

I wouldnt count on the substtate holding BB. Im not saying it wont but i wouldn't take that into consideration when filtering your tank. I just changed my 125 gal to sand from river rock and i am so happy i did. You just need to get into a weekly maintence mode and it will stay looking nice.

 

[JakeH]

My sand is pretty easy to clean. I just swirl the vacuum around an inch or so above the surface & the sand will swirl, but not get sucked up. The detritus gets sucked right up. Just never let the vacuum fall into the sand... Also, you can stir the sand with your hands right before you vacuum. The crap will sink slower than sand & float to the top.

 

[Yanbbrox]

Gravel, but that's my opinion

 

[swede]

if you plan on planting anything and are deciding between plain gravel or sand, i would say sand. i think sand looks a lot more natural for most tank setups and its very appealing. it is also better for plants (unless were talking a made-for-plant substrate) since it doesn't hinder the roots as much. as far as the substrate holding BB, it does play a role, but i would say the difference between sand and gravel for holding BB is really insignificant.