# Sand Pro's An Con's



## MFNRyan (Mar 27, 2011)

I'm going to soon be switching my tanks around. I would like to do sand in my new one but have been told its a really bad idea. The guy at the pet store said it stirs up very easy from the fish, it gets in your filters an clogs up your system and is very hard to clean an you always lose sand when cleaning so more is needed to refill. What have you guys using sand learned from it an if sand is not a good call, whats a nice bottom layer I can use besides the white rocks I use now? fairly new to aquariums but don't mind doing maintenance right now.


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## Piranha-Freak101 (Dec 8, 2010)

Yea honestly sands pro is that it gives your tank a more natural look but maintaining it is a bitch!


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## MFNRyan (Mar 27, 2011)

So the story is true. What do you think i should go with that looks nice, is different but not such a pain to maintain?


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## I Can Mate (Apr 8, 2010)

sand also compacts and needs to be stirred up occasionally if the grains of sand is small.


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## Sylar_92 (Dec 15, 2010)

It depends on the type of piranhas your planning to add in the tank. Pros for having sand is i'ts really nice for scaping your tank, it compacts so the waste sits on top of it so its easier to vac out, easy to remove if you do decide to switch back and some would say the fish actually prefer it as a substrate. Cons to having sand is the fact that it compacts, so you have to constantly stir it around to free trapped gasses, destroys your filter motor over time or even fatser if you have skiddish fish, can stratch the sh*t out of your glass if it gets under your sponge or magnetic algea scraper and sand clouds your water leaving you a short waiting period. I was recently at a aquarium convention a few months ago where I saw these guys doing something new with gravel. they poured a very thin layer of silicon I believe on the bottom of the tank, then added their gravel of choice and finished it off with pouring more liquid silicon over it creating a permenant substrate. Hope I helped in any way. Good luck


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## bob351 (Oct 23, 2005)

I keep sand for my oscar since his sh*t is so big it stays on top of the sand and i can just python all his sh*t up, quite convenient since it does not allow food particles and sh*t to fall under the substrate and cause ammonia and nitrate issues. I keep a sand bed that in some pats is probably a few grains thick so i remove the need to stir its more to cover the bare bottom and make it look somewhat presentable, although my oscar does a pretty good job of stirring sh*t up anyways.


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## 0S1R1S (Aug 29, 2010)

I used sand for a few months and got really sick of it. I was too hard to vac compared to gravel. It ended up all over the place. Plus I got minor scratches in my tank from just putting it in and then removing it again.

You shouldn't have to worry about your filters if you have canisters, because it filters the sand before it hits the impeller, exact opposite of HOB style filters. Pro: Looks nice. Con: Messy, hard to maintain. Hope this helps.


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## Smoke (Sep 8, 2010)

I have gravel in most my tanks, but flourite black sand in my 220G. I love the flourite black sand. It took a while to settle down as it was very dusty at first, but looks really nice and I don't really have any problems with cleaning etc. I run a FX5 for filtration and it seems to handle the sand well. I am getting ready to build up another monster tank soon, and will also go with the flourite black sand. Note, this is because I add plants to the tanks, so the plants also help keep things in check.


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## geo84 (Feb 27, 2011)

I have a 75g and I have half sand and half rocks I haven't had a problem


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## sapir (Jun 20, 2008)

it all depends on the kind of sand, ive tried around 5 different kinds and what im using at the moment is by far the best ive tried. you can find it at home depot its called quikrete commercial grade sand, make sure you dont buy the quikrete play sand. this stuff is very clean compared to the other kinds ive used. i have the medium grain and it settles quickly, the coarse grain is a larger grain size that might work better with Ps. heres what the bag looks like
http://www.quikrete.com/productlines/SandCommercialGrade.asp


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## Smoke (Sep 8, 2010)

sapir said:


> it all depends on the kind of sand, ive tried around 5 different kinds and what im using at the moment is by far the best ive tried. you can find it at home depot its called quikrete commercial grade sand, make sure you dont buy the quikrete play sand. this stuff is very clean compared to the other kinds ive used. i have the medium grain and it settles quickly, the coarse grain is a larger grain size that might work better with Ps. heres what the bag looks like
> http://www.quikrete.com/productlines/SandCommercialGrade.asp


Do you have a pic of how this looks in the tank? I am interested in checking it out...


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## 65galhex (Nov 5, 2008)

Here are my thoughts:

http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index.php?/topic/184587-my-official-sand-thread/


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## sapir (Jun 20, 2008)

i have it in both of my tanks and it looks great imo.


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## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

Looks nice but I personally prefer a smaller grain graivel especially for plants.

It all depends on your situation and what types of fishes that you plan on keeping and whether you have hobs or canisters, also as was said there are different typs of sand optionsin both color and grain size. I would also consider the tank size to be a factor in your decision, it will take alot more sand to fill anytank than it would take gravel.

I have used both and for me its gotta be black flourite or a reg small grain gravel.

Good luck with whatever you decide on and be sure to share some pics


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## MFNRyan (Mar 27, 2011)

Black fluorite is that gravel? or sand I put cichlid stone in my other tank which is very fine gravel and it looks awesome but is damn messy. The sand your talking about sapire, would it give me problems in my filters? Because I spent 500 bucks on this fx5. I don't want anything going wrong because I was a dumb ass about something. I will for sure post pic's of mine


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## CJPIRANHA (Apr 23, 2011)

Sand or gravel IMHO is just a matter of your personal taste. The only real difference is with gravel you don't see a lot of the waste. It works its way into the gravel. With sand it usually sits on top because the sand compacts more. Maintenance is pretty much the same with either. With gravel you have to vac it to get the waste out and with sand you just vac it above the surface of the sand. You do have to rake the sand but that doesn't take any more time than vacuuming the gravel. I just use a plastic kids rake (the type for a kids sandbox) and rake the sand after I vac the surface.

I have a slight preference for sand. Since you see all the dirt, I tend to clean the tank more often so my water quality is better. If you are concerned about sand getting in your filter don't be. It's never been a problem for me as long as you take a few precautions:

Don't stir your sand with your filter running. Use the rake, and go slowly. You just want to release any trapped gas bubbles, not actually mix the sand. If you are really worried you can use a shorter intake pipe. I use the sponge from a sponge filter like the elite or hydor and just slip it over my intake if I have to rake the sand. Once the water clears up you just take it off, rinse, and let it dry until next time. If you use pool filter sand, this is not even an issue. I've never used sand with Piranha but I am using it in my new tank once it's ready.


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## bob351 (Oct 23, 2005)

sapir said:


> i have it in both of my tanks and it looks great imo.


what are the dimensions of the bottom tank?


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## sapir (Jun 20, 2008)

its 72Lx18Dx12T


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## MFNRyan (Mar 27, 2011)

CJPIRANHA, 
What do you do about the sand that gets stirred up from the fish? Can you leave the sponge over the filter intake always or will the sand just make it's way through the sponge and into your filter motor?


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## CJPIRANHA (Apr 23, 2011)

RedBelly11 said:


> CJPIRANHA,
> What do you do about the sand that gets stirred up from the fish? Can you leave the sponge over the filter intake always or will the sand just make it's way through the sponge and into your filter motor?


My fish usually don't stir the sand up enough to actually get in the filter and make it to the pump. I use an Eheim 2217 on my 55g and just switched it over to sand about a week ago. So far the Rhom doesn't mess with the sand. He just hovers above it. A pretty slow moving fish.

My friend (employee at my LFS) keeps Oscars exclusively and they are messy as hell and he only uses sand. They will rearrange the tank the way they want it, moving rocks and driftwood several feet in his tank. Furthermore he uses play sand! He can get the best aquarium sand dirt cheap but he uses play sand because he likes the color. I think play sand is the most risky because it's dirty, sharp and it's not uniform in size. He's used it for 10 years with no problems and he's the one who gave me the tips on sand when I first used it.

I wouldn't keep the sponge on the filter because it will clog really fast with Piranha. Those filters are really for filtering a fry tank if you breed Guppies, Sword tails, mollies etc. and you need a filter that won't suck them in.


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## MFNRyan (Mar 27, 2011)

Ok I see what your saying. So what do you think would be the best sand to use. I'm real apprehensive about this because I have been told so much that the sand is messy an will ruin your filter motors


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## CJPIRANHA (Apr 23, 2011)

I like pool filter sand. It's the cleanest, the grains are round and not sharp, and they are all the same size. The only downside is the color. It has an ivory white look usually with some black or grey grains mixed in. Not everybody likes the color. I like the contrast since I paint all of my tank backgrounds black. I also like how it looks with Manzanita and my DIY bog wood. If you're not sure about sand just use a fine grain gravel. You'll have more color choices and you won't have to worry about messing up a filter. It will just cost you more. To be honest the main reason people use sand is cost. It's just cheaper than any substrate sold at your LFS.

I also forgot to mention you have to be careful with sand if you plan on using a powerhead. You'll have to be creative to keep the sand out of your filter if you use one. I've seen rock used to kind of shield the intake from the flow of a powerhead but I've never done that myself. I just keep any powerheads in the upper 1/3 of the tank.


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## MFNRyan (Mar 27, 2011)

I keep my powerhead up top of the tank. I want a darker color for the bottom of my tank but I will look at the pool sand your talking about. I do like the way it looks.


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## Sanjo Eel (Aug 21, 2008)

Sand is beautiful but I wouldn't use it if you ever want to breed reds. It looks great when the fish kick it up. Never had any sucked into my filters. Just raise your intakes to avoid being a sand sucker.


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## D.D.Denham (Aug 13, 2007)

If you are wanting the look of sand but the maintenance ability of gravel, check this out:
CaribSea Peace River
It is the smallest granule gravel you can find next to sand...check out the granule size specs compared to sand/gravel!


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