# Sand or gravel?



## kirch24 (Apr 14, 2006)

do you prefer sdand or gravel?
which is easier to keep?


----------



## RB 32 (Mar 2, 2005)

.


----------



## Pnewb (Apr 10, 2006)

i just got sand... although it looks really good. the upkeep is no picnic


----------



## RB 32 (Mar 2, 2005)

..


----------



## Pnewb (Apr 10, 2006)

it doesnt suck... just a pain in the ass


----------



## PiranhaStein (Dec 30, 2005)

I'm doing sand right now, and so far it's a pain. Used a pollow case to filter out the small particles but the water is still super cloudy. Up to u.


----------



## Pnewb (Apr 10, 2006)

initial cleaning is hella long.. but im talkin about regular maintanance and planting plants... thats a pain too...


----------



## RB 32 (Mar 2, 2005)

.


----------



## Pnewb (Apr 10, 2006)

RB 32 said:


> it doesnt suck...* just a pain in the ass*


That's why I said it sucks!
[/quote]
looks good tho


----------



## kirch24 (Apr 14, 2006)

haha sound like im sticking to gravel! thanks guys!


----------



## matc (Jul 31, 2004)

IMO gravel sucks !!!! when doing a water change, you have to push the vacuum into the gravel to suck all the crap. With sand you just syphon 1'' over the sand to remove all the crap., it's much quicker.I had sand before but last month i switched to gravel but I'm gonna switch to sand again because gravel sucks. Sand looks better also


----------



## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

Sand looks better IMO and I find it easier to clean than gravel. Also I find that plants tend to stay planted better in sand than gravel. This is esspecialy true if you are trying to grow carpet plants.

Trystan


----------



## nswhite (Mar 23, 2005)

I like sand, although sand does have more maintenace the sand has a nice natural effect to it.


----------



## Fresh2salt (Jul 16, 2004)

I like both but gravel is easy to vac.


----------



## 2PiRaNhA~2FuRrY (Nov 1, 2005)

sand look awsome but suck to clean, gravel look great as well and easy to clean...........for natural look i'll go with gravel.


----------



## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

Pnewb said:


> it doesnt suck...* just a pain in the ass*


That's why I said it sucks!
[/quote]
looks good tho








[/quote]

Sand looks great IMO, but gravel is easier to clean (IMO).


----------



## miltonfool (May 12, 2006)

sand is ok for the first little while but after some time ( a longer time like a few months) it get packed down unless you stir it once a month or more often. It is dangerous if you have bigger fish also cause if your fish kick it up and it goes into the filter then it can damage or even just break the impeller. But I agree it looks really nice in the tank. I use thin layers of gravel just to cover the tank bottom cause I really don't like bare bottom look at all.


----------



## pyrokingbrand (Nov 30, 2004)

I like the sand in my tank!! If you keep the intake for your filters a good distance away from your sand you will be just fine in my opinion, even if your fish kick it up a little bit. If you wash your sand properly It will not be super cloudy, even if you introduce it into your tank for the first time. The "Bucket Method" works the best even if it is a little time consuming, the work and time is worth it in the end!


----------



## miltonfool (May 12, 2006)

Hmm. Well maybe I have just had small tanks with sand and that was the problem with the filter being to close to the sand bed. I do like the way sand looks though.


----------



## piranha_guy_dan (Oct 4, 2004)

i like the look of sand better. sand show the crap easier which on one hand is good for easy cleaning but on the other hand isnt really attractive.

gravel allows places for sh*t and ammonia to build up and spike in between all the spaces. sand doesnt

i would go with sand or bare bottem tanks


----------



## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

piranha_guy_dan said:


> i like the look of sand better. sand show the crap easier which on one hand is good for easy cleaning but on the other hand isnt really attractive.
> 
> gravel allows places for sh*t and ammonia to build up and spike in between all the spaces. sand doesnt
> 
> i would go with sand or bare bottem tanks


and doesn't allow ammonia to built up, because denitrofaction begins in the first few inches of the sand bed. The sand is actually helping the nitrogen cycle changing the ammonia to nitrite, then nitrate, and then of course to nitrogen gas. In reef terms this would be considered a "deep sand bed" or DSB.

So, if you are not going to be very steady on water changes, then I would agree with Dan, and go with either sand or bare bottom.

:nod:
[/quote]

Sorry, the first word is Sand. Perhaps if I had proof read, I would have caught that.


----------

