Sand Vs. Gravel?

sweetpickles7 · 08-15-2007, 12:08 PM

A good method of getting the sand clean is to take a 5 gal bucket, fill it with the sand, and then with a hose and spray nozzle just power into the sand and clean it.Then just let the water out and do it agian.Then when the water ur letting out of the bucket starts to get clear dump it into the tank. I have never tried ecocomplete so u might just want to listen to seastaar.

exhumed07 · 08-15-2007, 06:03 PM

I use black for the clean look of it compaired to the white pool sand. playsand might look good and clean as well. You can also get some of the black and white cichlid sand as well. What I don't exactly recomend is what a friend of mine did. He went to the mississippi and got muddy nasty sand off the shore. he spent 3 hours trying to get it clean and he decided to give up and just throw it in his tank. well his tank looked like the mississippi water for about a month before it finaly cleared up. and u have to think about the pollution that is in the sand as well. but the fish in his tank came from the river in the same spot he got the sand.

punkrockfish · 08-16-2007, 12:03 AM

i go with whatever fits the fish. do some research, find out what your fish prefer, if they even have a preference, and go from there.

skratikans · 08-17-2007, 06:52 AM

i have a hard time cleaning sand...i can never completely get the poop off the bottom without ending up getting sand into the bucket and then putting it back in the tank is a pain..

angelmom · 08-17-2007, 07:42 AM

I've done both sand and gravel. I have sand in my tanks now and love the natural look of it. It was not easy to clean being that both times when I was setting up my tanks it was winter. Running your hand through the sand to mix it up while the hose is running through it in the winter is down right painful but makes it so much easier once in the tank.

Now the other thing you can do is after you put the sand in, (do pre rince it first) use your gravel vac or pyton and suck the sand that if floating around in the water out, then add more water as it gets low. Helped us out alot...as it was getting much too painful to be outside doing it (as you can imagine).

Dan Steveo · 08-19-2007, 03:57 AM

so in everyones opinion.. sand is better? i have sand in my 10g which i have just shut down and my 12 litre has sand but only my male fighter. i have always thought of getting sand for my tank but it would have to be black and i would have no undergravel filter.

can the rocks and slate still stick firmly into the sand? and can the roots of plants still grow through it too? also... i like the look of ecocomplete (exhumed07, is that what you have in your dp?) i was wondering if it is easier than normal sand to maintain.

its great to be back. i haven't been on mft for a few months now =[

tjmino · 08-19-2007, 11:56 AM

I'd also like to hear the answer to this. I'm going to be putting Eco Complete in my tank because of the looks, and it doesn't hurt that you don't need to wash it first.

But how is it in regards to vacuuming?

exhumed07 · 08-19-2007, 03:36 PM

I can't remember the exact brand or the name of the sand that I used but it was not eco complete. all I can remember is the pic on the front of the bag lol. it had the heads on easter island with a float plane flying above it. and I have some slate in the tank just laying down flat and after a few days the sand compacts and gets verry hard. So it seems to hold slate and other rocks/decor. and as for plants it seems to hold them just fine. as it compacts around the root system it holds verry well and it don't inhibit root growth or plant spreading. I don't have alot of plants just a few swords and they hold just fine except in my 10 but that is because my dojo loaches like to dig under it. also with my 10 I have a mix of black sand and real small gravel. the gravel is about as big as the head of a needle. if I had a faster connection and was able to post pics I would. I might have someone post pics for me in the future. when I get the room and the money to get another tank 150+ gallons I'm going with sand all the way.

superchode · 08-25-2007, 02:44 PM

I had gravel and just covered it up with black sand. I like it this way a ton better, and my fish seem to, too! I'll never use gravel again !
But I am wondering how to clean it when waste builds up. Can I vacuum it like I did to the old gravel?

MrBungle · 08-25-2007, 03:19 PM

just gotta hold your vac like an inch over the sand and you should be good.

08-15-2007, 12:08 PM	#11
sweetpickles7 Super Fish Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Central Illinois Posts: 1,228	A good method of getting the sand clean is to take a 5 gal bucket, fill it with the sand, and then with a hose and spray nozzle just power into the sand and clean it.Then just let the water out and do it agian.Then when the water ur letting out of the bucket starts to get clear dump it into the tank. I have never tried ecocomplete so u might just want to listen to seastaar. __________________ 55gal SW 29gal FW

08-15-2007, 06:03 PM	#12
exhumed07 Large Fish Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Illinois Posts: 700	I use black for the clean look of it compaired to the white pool sand. playsand might look good and clean as well. You can also get some of the black and white cichlid sand as well. What I don't exactly recomend is what a friend of mine did. He went to the mississippi and got muddy nasty sand off the shore. he spent 3 hours trying to get it clean and he decided to give up and just throw it in his tank. well his tank looked like the mississippi water for about a month before it finaly cleared up. and u have to think about the pollution that is in the sand as well. but the fish in his tank came from the river in the same spot he got the sand. __________________ 20 gallon 45 baby electric blue red shoulder peacocks 1 dojo loach 1 bushy nose pleco 30 gallon, going to be a species tank of brichardi 50 baby/juvie electric blue red shoulder peacocks 1 clown pleco 2 brichardi 55 gallon 1 tiger shovelnose/redtailed catfish hybrid 1 bushy nose pleco 5 elecrtic yellow labs 5 mainganos 1 venustus 5 yellow lab maingano hybrids 5 electric blue red shoulder peacocks 1 male 4 female

08-16-2007, 12:03 AM	#13
punkrockfish Large Fish Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: New Orleans Posts: 839	i go with whatever fits the fish. do some research, find out what your fish prefer, if they even have a preference, and go from there. __________________ 100g paludarium, 2 Julie Dickfeldi with more fry everyday; 3 ocellatus "gold" 20gL, empty (saltwater perhaps?)

08-17-2007, 06:52 AM	#14
skratikans Large Fish Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: clemson,sc Posts: 819	i have a hard time cleaning sand...i can never completely get the poop off the bottom without ending up getting sand into the bucket and then putting it back in the tank is a pain.. __________________ 85g-1f krib,2 female bettas,3 gourami, angel 6 dwarf frogs,6 ghost catfish, badis badis, badis assamensis, sparkling qourami 65g-2 kribs+30 2month old fry, 2 plecos,1 platy 33g long-peacock gudgeons, goo obo gudgeons, badis buxar, whisker shrimp 20long whisker, neocardina, green cardina, ghost shrimp 3.3g badis assamensis fry and peacock gudgeon fry!

08-17-2007, 07:42 AM	#15
angelmom Medium Fish Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Vernon, CT Posts: 527	I've done both sand and gravel. I have sand in my tanks now and love the natural look of it. It was not easy to clean being that both times when I was setting up my tanks it was winter. Running your hand through the sand to mix it up while the hose is running through it in the winter is down right painful but makes it so much easier once in the tank. Now the other thing you can do is after you put the sand in, (do pre rince it first) use your gravel vac or pyton and suck the sand that if floating around in the water out, then add more water as it gets low. Helped us out alot...as it was getting much too painful to be outside doing it (as you can imagine). __________________ 110g Salt Water Fish Only, 65g Fresh Water __________________________________________

08-19-2007, 03:57 AM	#16
Dan Steveo Medium Fish Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: south england Posts: 475	so in everyones opinion.. sand is better? i have sand in my 10g which i have just shut down and my 12 litre has sand but only my male fighter. i have always thought of getting sand for my tank but it would have to be black and i would have no undergravel filter. can the rocks and slate still stick firmly into the sand? and can the roots of plants still grow through it too? also... i like the look of ecocomplete (exhumed07, is that what you have in your dp?) i was wondering if it is easier than normal sand to maintain. its great to be back. i haven't been on mft for a few months now =[ __________________ Thanks very much. Hope I've Helped. (19G uk) (23g in u.s) :3 bristlenose plecos,2 clown plecos ,2 leopard corydoras (1M+1F)1 corydoras julii,2 clown loach,6 cardinal tetras,1 pregnant female guppy,2 cherry barbs (2Female) Dan.

08-19-2007, 11:56 AM	#17
tjmino Teenie Weenie Fish Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 44	I'd also like to hear the answer to this. I'm going to be putting Eco Complete in my tank because of the looks, and it doesn't hurt that you don't need to wash it first. But how is it in regards to vacuuming? __________________ - Trevor - 25g Planted - Bolivian Ram Cichlid, 2 German Blue Ram Cichlids, Petricola Catfish, Clown Pleco, African Dwarf Frog, 2 Otocincluses

08-19-2007, 03:36 PM	#18
exhumed07 Large Fish Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Illinois Posts: 700	I can't remember the exact brand or the name of the sand that I used but it was not eco complete. all I can remember is the pic on the front of the bag lol. it had the heads on easter island with a float plane flying above it. and I have some slate in the tank just laying down flat and after a few days the sand compacts and gets verry hard. So it seems to hold slate and other rocks/decor. and as for plants it seems to hold them just fine. as it compacts around the root system it holds verry well and it don't inhibit root growth or plant spreading. I don't have alot of plants just a few swords and they hold just fine except in my 10 but that is because my dojo loaches like to dig under it. also with my 10 I have a mix of black sand and real small gravel. the gravel is about as big as the head of a needle. if I had a faster connection and was able to post pics I would. I might have someone post pics for me in the future. when I get the room and the money to get another tank 150+ gallons I'm going with sand all the way. __________________ 20 gallon 45 baby electric blue red shoulder peacocks 1 dojo loach 1 bushy nose pleco 30 gallon, going to be a species tank of brichardi 50 baby/juvie electric blue red shoulder peacocks 1 clown pleco 2 brichardi 55 gallon 1 tiger shovelnose/redtailed catfish hybrid 1 bushy nose pleco 5 elecrtic yellow labs 5 mainganos 1 venustus 5 yellow lab maingano hybrids 5 electric blue red shoulder peacocks 1 male 4 female

08-25-2007, 02:44 PM	#19
superchode Teenie Weenie Fish Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 28	I had gravel and just covered it up with black sand. I like it this way a ton better, and my fish seem to, too! I'll never use gravel again ! But I am wondering how to clean it when waste builds up. Can I vacuum it like I did to the old gravel? __________________ [SIZE="1"] moderately planted 55 gallon. 5 American Flagfish 4 Angelfish 5 Platies 7 Bloodfin tetras 4 Cories 5 bushynose plecos heavily planted 5 g 1 infected angelfish 1 platy 1 platy fry

08-25-2007, 03:19 PM	#20
MrBungle Medium Fish Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: NY, on an island... Posts: 421	just gotta hold your vac like an inch over the sand and you should be good. __________________ 27G hex FW: 1 Bolivian Ram, 8 Serpae Tetras 12G SW Aquapod: Six Line Wrasse, Yellow Clown Goby, corals, and a crew... 55G FW: Leroy the oscar