# Sand v. Gravel



## dprUsh83 (Oct 5, 2006)

I'm just curious, what are the major differences? I've been looking in my tank lately and have never had anything other than gravel, how do the two differ? Is one better than the other? 

Was just bored and curious....:lol:


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## Zoe (Feb 26, 2006)

Really, there isn't much of a difference.

You can't use sand with an undergravel filter, but then you shouldn't be using an undergravel filter anyway 

Sand needs to be stirred up every few days, either with something like a wooden chopstick, or with malaysian trumpet snails. Otherwise toxic gas accumulates.

Sands gets dirty-looking faster (DON'T go with sand if you have a pleco! lol)

Sand is harder to clean - you can't really vacuum it without sucking it up. When I clean my sand, I end up sucking a lot of it into the bucket, so I just dump out the water, rinse out the sand and put it back in.

Depending on what kind of sand you get it, it can harden your water (ie crushed coral). it can also make your water cloudy for a few days. However, I got tank-specific sand. It did not make my water cloudy for more than a day. Mind you, it works out to be about 1$/lbs. It cost about 25$ to put a 1" sand bed in my 28gal.

Plants will grow fine.


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## harif87 (Jun 5, 2006)

Well sand = more surface area for beneficial bacteria growth which is a plus. Its also much nicer aesthetically to many people, but thats just a personal preference. Its also a pain to do a vacuuming. With sand you wont be able to have an undergravel filter. Those are just some basic pros and cons.


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## Ringo (Apr 10, 2006)

I dont really think that there is much differance between sand and gravel.
Sand can get and look pretty dirty pretty quick, but all depends on how many vacuums you do.
I have sand in my tank and it stays alot cleaner than I would have thought it would have, but maybe thats where I have a few catfishes.
Where sand is so dense it should be turned every now and then with a spoon, cause' over time it settles, and settles in. Which if have catfish (like corydoras) that like to go throughout the substrate, may damage the barbels on them.

One thing I have noticed that is differant with sand and gravel. is that Gravel gets alot of junk down in the substrate, while the sand doesen't.
Caused from the junk that doesn't get sucked up by the vacuum, so it just sits on the very bottom of the tank. Or I coulde've just been cleaning wrong.


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## flamingo (Nov 5, 2005)

Surface area, anaerobic capability, etc. are a few differences. Personally, I like sand over gravel. In some systems it's incovenient, in others it's convenient. Personal taste, etc. are a big difference. In saltwater tanks, sand is better for nitrate removal, etc. though.


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Some fish do better with sand, such as those that like to burrow, whereas some do better with gravel, such as cories whose whiskers can get worn down by sand which can lead to infections and death.


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## Ringo (Apr 10, 2006)

Boxermom said:


> Some fish do better with sand, such as those that like to burrow, whereas some do better with gravel, such as cories whose whiskers can get worn down by sand which can lead to infections and death.


Only if the sand isn't turned over ever now and then


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

SpoiledFishies said:


> Only if the sand isn't turned over ever now and then


Huh? What does turning sand over have to do with wearing down cories' whiskers?


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## harif87 (Jun 5, 2006)

SpoiledFishies said:


> Only if the sand isn't turned over ever now and then


That really doesnt have much to do with cories barbels. The turning over of the sand just prevents pockets of nitrate buildups and other aerobic pockets from forming. The prevention of these pockets doesnt help the cories barbels in any way.


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## Ringo (Apr 10, 2006)

I have heard that the sand compacts when it sits in a tank, causing fish like cories to wear down there barbels.

I have sand in my tank, and I have cories in there. Have had them in there for a long time, no problems with them at all.


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## joe kool (Jan 24, 2005)

I think the "compaction" problem has more to do with the kind of sand used than anything else. A LOT of people use "pool filter" sand because it's real cheap but I think the problem with that it its' designed to work effectively at grinding up waste into tiny bits and working while being tossed about by current. In a still environment (even the highest flow fish tank is "stagnate" compared to the filter this sand is designed to work in) this stuff compacts down over time and settles into itself and gets "hard". Sand box or "Play sand" is just that, 1 step above dirt and that's just if you get the good play sand :lol: it packs easily if wet (try a bunker shot in the rain lately?) 

A lot of the aquarium sands are expensive comparatively but the stuff I use (eco-complete) I've had in the tank for almost 2 years and I just moved from 1 side of town to the other and stirred up all the sand good to give it a good cleaning while in transit and there were no clumps much less packed areas.

I like the sand over the crushed coral and gravel I was using because its' easier to keep clean. You dont' need to vaccume but just the very top layer and that's easily done by pinching the hose to slow the flow slightly to keep the sand in your tank not your bucket or my case yard as I use a hose to the outside of the house from the tank (lazy I guess but hauling 5 gal buckets back and fourth is for the birds espicially when you've had as many as 13 tanks up and running:lol: )


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Eco Complete isn't sand though. All sands compact, some tighter than others, and need to be stirred often not just because of the compacting issue but because anerobic gas pockets develop and if they escape, they can wipe out the entire tank in an instant. However, stirring the sand has no effect whatsoever on a cory's barbels. I have 9 cories in my 55g tank with Tahitian Moon sand and haven't had a problem. However, it is something I'm aware of so I watch for it, as several people have lost cories to infection that started in their barbels due to sand issues.


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## joe kool (Jan 24, 2005)

It's not silica if that's what you mean but it's indeed "sand". Sand by definition is: a loose material consisting of grains of rock or coral. I'm sure there are several others but that pretty much sums it up. Eco-Complet is aragonite which is refined from coral or other calcium carbonate sources but is sand ...


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

See now I've heard the opposite is true, cories get infected by gravel scraping their barbels... any cory expert here that could shine light on the situation?


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

to clarify, sand is just a certain size of particles. I would say ecocomplete and florite are more in the silt and clay size of particles much finer than sand size wise.


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Are you refering to the cichlid substrate? Generally, ime on quite a few forums, when one refers to Eco Complete, they are referring to the black Eco Complete planted aquarium substrate, which is very different from the cichlid substrates.


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## joe kool (Jan 24, 2005)

Eco-Complete African cichlid substrate :http://www.carib-sea.com/pages/products/fresh/africancichlid.html

they have many "eco-complete" products for salt and fresh water fish as well as planted tank varieties


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## dprUsh83 (Oct 5, 2006)

I'm going on a trip to Jamaica in the future, would it be possible to use that sand? Would be kind of cool if it could work.


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## joe kool (Jan 24, 2005)

Fishfirst said:


> to clarify, sand is just a certain size of particles. I would say ecocomplete and florite are more in the silt and clay size of particles much finer than sand size wise.



there are many flavors of eco-complete guys ... salt variaties with several diffrent colors and textures, fresh variaties with diffrent colors and textures and also the flourite in 2 colors and other planted tank variaties

eco-complete has a "complete" line of products :lol:


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

dprUsh83 said:


> I'm going on a trip to Jamaica in the future, would it be possible to use that sand? Would be kind of cool if it could work.


I wouldn't put it in any of my tanks. God only knows what kind of pollution, chemicals, etc. is in it.


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## joe kool (Jan 24, 2005)

dprUsh83 said:


> I'm going on a trip to Jamaica in the future, would it be possible to use that sand? Would be kind of cool if it could work.



there are import laws about this sort of thing ... I think you have to be certified and have a licence it's a whole big ordeal. Plus you'd have to bring back quite a bit (about a pound a gallon and I find sand is about a pound and a half or more a gallon) to do a tank in it. Many places actually have laws against taking things like that. 

Corals are protected under the CITES umbrella.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

don't use the sand from jamaica... for legal and the health of your fish


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