sand VS gravel
- Thread starter keefe
- Start date
Sand for me. I have just the right amount in my tanks so I don't worry about air pockets. I don't vacuum anymore, water circulation keeps waste suspended and picked up by the filter. I'm not going back to gravel.
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Hello; I also have used both and tend to like gravel better, in particular for planted tanks. Sand is reported to have issues with building up of toxins from anerobic bacteria if the depth exceeds an inch or two.
I keep rooted plants and find they sem to grow well with four or more inches of substrate, usually gravel of slightly larger than bb size.
One of the more common criticisms I see in posts about gravel is that gravel being coarser will allow more detritus to penetrate into it. I find this to be not much of an issue as it cleans well with a gravel vac.
Sand can be very cheap if construction grade is used. It was $20 a ton a couple of years ago. I dry sift it and discard the fine particles. Depending on the screen size you can wind up with various sizes of sand particles. In any case the very fine stuff can be discarded as it will cause some serious problems in the setup of a tank and the operation of filter impellers. You can have quite coarse particles if desired.
The point you made about being able to use an under gravel filter(UGF) with gravel is well taken. The UGF systems have been known to work well for many years even tho they are currently out of fashion with many.
Some of the sands that are often discussed in the posts seem to be fairly expensive. As with many things there seems to be some preceved social value in using a more expensive product even when other products can work just as well.
If you do not plan to have rooted plants, a thin layer of sand can work for cosmetic value. For ease of cleaning a bare bottom is even better.
I keep rooted plants and find they sem to grow well with four or more inches of substrate, usually gravel of slightly larger than bb size.
One of the more common criticisms I see in posts about gravel is that gravel being coarser will allow more detritus to penetrate into it. I find this to be not much of an issue as it cleans well with a gravel vac.
Sand can be very cheap if construction grade is used. It was $20 a ton a couple of years ago. I dry sift it and discard the fine particles. Depending on the screen size you can wind up with various sizes of sand particles. In any case the very fine stuff can be discarded as it will cause some serious problems in the setup of a tank and the operation of filter impellers. You can have quite coarse particles if desired.
The point you made about being able to use an under gravel filter(UGF) with gravel is well taken. The UGF systems have been known to work well for many years even tho they are currently out of fashion with many.
Some of the sands that are often discussed in the posts seem to be fairly expensive. As with many things there seems to be some preceved social value in using a more expensive product even when other products can work just as well.
If you do not plan to have rooted plants, a thin layer of sand can work for cosmetic value. For ease of cleaning a bare bottom is even better.
It really depends on your preference. Mine is about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. I have bottom dwellers w/c stirs it up. Some members put thick layers and it looks really nice but they manually stir it up occassionally to release any dirt that might have been trapped in air pockets w/c releases toxins in the water. I'm too lazy to do that lol...hence the thin layer in my tanks.
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So I should use sand if I intend to keep monster fishes ?
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Doesn't matter, whatever you prefer. I've used both and I prefer sand but I don't go beyond an inch, less is easier to maintain.
I've asked this before, anyone ever actually have problems with the famed anaerobic pockets in sand beds with a freshwater tank?
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