i have a 200 that i am gonna set up as a native tank with native palnts and sunfish and a bullhead. should i use sand or gravel? i am going to pick some up in like 2 hours.
Sand or Gravel???
- Thread starter MinnowMagnet
- Start date
I hate sand...it always gets compacted, starts to smell bad, gets dirty...and its a pain to clean. Gravel is easy, just get out your python (made in wisconsin 
) siphon the crap out of the tank (literally) and then fill'er back up. Daily water changes of 25% in about as many minutes I imagine.
) siphon the crap out of the tank (literally) and then fill'er back up. Daily water changes of 25% in about as many minutes I imagine.yeah, i did. i caught it in a land locked saltwater lagoon in my yard, so all the more reason to release it.
Definitely sand, especially for a tank that size. I have gravel in my 225 gallon and I hate it, it is a complete PITA to clean and I can stand there for hours (literally) siphoning the crap out and never get it completely clean (or even close to it). With sand, all of the poop just sits on top of the substrate where it is very easy siphon out. Plus, sand looks a lot better.
+1 sand for sure IMO. Looks a lot nicer, much easier to clean as well! and if you have any concerns about the sand compacting itself, it takes 2 seconds to move it around with a net 
I've got a mix of sand and gravel in my native tanks. But if you got to go with one or the other I'd go with sand.