Sand

[guppy]

I like fairly fine gravel or very coarse sand, I also use small pots in the substrate to hold my rooted plants. Fine sand is a pain, it won't root your plants, is hard to clean, and can eat your filter. Some fish, esp. burrowers like horse face loachs really like it.

 

[lemcc]

i like sand
i think it looks alot better
but to be honest the stuff i use is more like very fine gravel
all the waste still sets on top of it which i like because i use a small powerhead to
blow all the waste into a corner where it can be easily remove
setting up this powerhead takes some time but once its done clean up is a breeze
i have 3 large tanks 2 sand 1 gravel the gravel tank takes as long as both the sand tanks to clean

 

[Miles]

If your worried about sand destroying your filter, it helps if you put a sponge over the intake.

 

[ShadowVengance]

Ok. i've decided to ditch sand, and use some finer gravel. thanks a lot.

the sponge in the intake wouldn't be nessesary, since the filter is an in water stingerray, there is aready a spong in the intake, i was more worried about loosing a lot of it when I vaccumed.

I'm sticking to the finer gravel. thanks

 

[guppy]

Since I've been thinking about it i decided to pass this on, one way to effectively clean sand in good size ammounts is to make a bag out of an old high thread count sheet, folded seams, triple stitched. fill the bag with dirty sand and stick in a hose with the bag folded and pin around it, run hose strongly while working the bag around until the water runs clean, and let sit until water stops draining out. You can put it back now or dry it for storage by spreading it out on anothher sheet about 1/2" deep in a warm, dry, still place until thoroughly dry. the bag can be turned inside out and shaken off after it dries. You don't lose much sand this way and it doesn't take that much effort to wash 100lbs at a time.

 

[ShadowVengance]

Thanks for that, but its still far to much work, if I have the option of a swift weekly gravel vacing and the bag thing, i'm going to have to go with the bag.

thanks though.

 

[IMPULSEBUYER]

i prefer 50/50 of white crushed marble sand and gravel, along with river rocks, it looks really cool

 

[ShadowVengance]

i prefer 50/50 of white crushed marble sand and gravel, along with river rocks, it looks really cool

do you have any pic's? sounds really sweet. one of my tanks has 20%sand along the bottom and 80% gravel mostly along the top, my loaches dig around and spread out the layers.

 

[Waldo]

sand sifters like some loricarea or leptodorus or other filter dudes will seriously help. plants have less strugles growing in softer substrates as well.

 

[ShadowVengance]

I was wondering, does smaller gravel bad for dwarf puffers, does it matter?

I added some fine grey gravel that looks like marine sand but was oh so much cheaper.

Waldo- How do you mean they have less struggles? their roots can move through easier?
I have some loaches that'd probably dig up the plants.