What are your opinions on this? It's for my tank with my cichlids, I was told stone is alright but then reading other things it's saying it should be sand or a fine grain stone. I currently just have a basic aquarium stone in there with them.
Sand vs. pebbles/rock for a cichlid tank
- Thread starter rabbithearted
- Start date
I had the same questions but as my friends and i converted our tanks to sand weve noticed water changes and as well cleaning the tank is easier with sand because it lies on top so with the little pebbles/rock you have to sift it . but with sand i have been told you have to sift it and move because of gases that can biuld up in it or not. i'm no expert and i am new so i hope my info sort of helped and if not im sure someone will have answers for you. ! 
I've been looking at fostor and smiths eco-complete cichlid sand. They have a sand and a very small grain stone. It is supposed to help keep ph levels up too, but it's rather expensive.
Get playsand. I have it in all of my tanks; it looks natural, doesn't trap debris, and is super cheap (40lbs for 5$).
I have both sand and small peastones in my tanks and I must admit there both easy to clean, just different methods. With sand you basically just clean the top (i usually stir up the sand a bit after to), and for gravel or small rocks use a gravel cleaner. So really the choice is yours on which you want in your tank.
I think I've decided on a fine grain gravel. I am wanting to get a black or a dark brown and after reading the horrible experiences people have had with the black and darker colored sand, it has kind of moved me away from it.