# Sand vs. Gravel



## YelowLab8706 (Jan 30, 2008)

I was wondering.... is sand easier to clean/keep clean than gravel?


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## CichMomma (Mar 3, 2010)

In what regard? How big is your tank? How many fish do you have? What kind of fish do you have? Do you have any bottom feeders? What kind of filtration do you have on your set up? Any "dead spots" in your tank? Too many factors to answer this question outright. Please provide more info.


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## YelowLab8706 (Jan 30, 2008)

Ok My tank is
55 gallon standard, I have 1 albino red top, 1 all white cichlid(don't know proper name), 1 rusty, 2 labs, 2 synodonus catfish, and 2 blue cichlids, so 9 total. The syn, catfish are bottom feeders. I have a fluval 305 for filtration, and what do you mean by "dead spots"?


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## liquid134 (Feb 22, 2010)

by dead spots he means the movement of water (usually an issue with bigger tanks) aka power heads and such. as far as is sand easyier to clean... it takes alittle longer but the poo/food doesnt sink like it does in gravel.


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## YelowLab8706 (Jan 30, 2008)

how often do you have to vaccum the top of the sand?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Whether sand or gravel it's best to vacuum weekly.


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## Rhinox (Sep 10, 2009)

liquid134 said:


> by dead spots he means the movement of water (usually an issue with bigger tanks) aka power heads and such. as far as is sand easyier to clean... it takes alittle longer but the poo/food doesnt sink like it does in gravel.


I disagree with sand taking longer. With sand, ou see the poo, and you know when you got it all. With gravel, you gotta churn it all up to make sure you got it all cuz you can't see where the poo is. And then its floating around the tank and you can't get it all out of the water without taking the time to chase it around with the siphon hose.


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## aaronjunited (Sep 29, 2009)

i'm trying to decide on this myself aswell. I'm not sure wether to get coral sand, white sand or white gravel. Im setting my mbuna tank up very slowly trying to get it right first time.

Alot of people dont like sand cause of the siphoning but i'm not sure, *** always had gravel anyone else vouch for sand??


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## CichMomma (Mar 3, 2010)

aaronjunited said:


> i'm trying to decide on this myself aswell. I'm not sure wether to get coral sand, white sand or white gravel. Im setting my mbuna tank up very slowly trying to get it right first time.
> 
> Alot of people dont like sand cause of the siphoning but i'm not sure, I've always had gravel anyone else vouch for sand??


What is the pH of the water you are filling the tank with? If it is low, and you need buffering, that may help you decide between sand and gravel. My pH is very low (out of tap at about 6.0 although professional water test says 5.5) and I use an Aragonite substrate with lace rock for decor. With only these two things, the pH has held steady at 8.2. Just a thought. I'll stop rambling.


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## aaronjunited (Sep 29, 2009)

ph is around 7 so i would need something buffering the ph up.


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## YelowLab8706 (Jan 30, 2008)

Yea I figured it would be easier since the gunk stays on the top of the sand, this making for an easy exit thru the syphon. Would crushed coral work just as well?


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## aaronjunited (Sep 29, 2009)

crushed coral would be like gravel in my eyes, it would make the siphoning harder.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Aragonite sand is available as well, but it's not going to get your pH up from 7.0 to 7.8 where it needs to be. I would use pool filter sand and adjust pH with baking soda and epsom salts.


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## ASTYLIN (Feb 24, 2010)

We have aragonite and texas holey rock and we use salt......Our pH is good......I like the look of sand.....I think it looks kinda contemperary.......Its all in what you like........


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## aaronjunited (Sep 29, 2009)

so i would need to figure out how to get my ph to the level i need by experimenting without fish in there. adding baking soda and so on.


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## CichMomma (Mar 3, 2010)

DJRansome said:


> Aragonite sand is available as well, but it's not going to get your pH up from 7.0 to 7.8 where it needs to be. I would use pool filter sand and adjust pH with baking soda and epsom salts.


So is it just coincidence that the aragonite and lace rock have buffered my water from 6.0 to 8.2? I have not added any other elements to aide in buffering. I think its working great!!


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## aaronjunited (Sep 29, 2009)

how long does it take for the argonite and rocks to buffer water? Does anyone know?


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## CichMomma (Mar 3, 2010)

I tested my ph 24 hours after adding water to my tank.


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## aaronjunited (Sep 29, 2009)

So really it takes around that time to work, would you put it in the water that your refilling with?


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## CichMomma (Mar 3, 2010)

aaronjunited said:


> So really it takes around that time to work, would you put it in the water that your refilling with?


I don't understand this question.


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## aaronjunited (Sep 29, 2009)

Does it takes around 24 hours for the argonite to buffer the water.


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## CichMomma (Mar 3, 2010)

I don't know that there is "X" amount of time that it is supposed to take. I just happened to test after 24 hours and it was buffered. I also just set up my quarantine/hospital tank, with aragonite and lace rock as well, and it was buffered in the same amount of time. I just happened to test after a full day, that's not to say it wasn't buffered after 12 hours, but I did not test sooner than 24.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Never heard of a story like that, I'll save it for future reference. The chemists on here claim that aragonite, crushed coral and limestone can only bump your pH up slightly. My tap is 7.8 and I have aragonite substrate and crushed coral as filter media. My tank is 7.8 as well. So zero increase for me over four years.

Wonder why the difference?

I know the buffers have more impact at low pH numbers than at high pH numbers, so I just thought 7.8 was already too high for additional increase.

Interesting!


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## aaronjunited (Sep 29, 2009)

interesting indeed. i cant get my head around it lol, i hope its the case with my ph when my new mbuna tank is set up.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

How about this reason CichMomma, have you ever tried testing your tap water after it stands for 24-48 hours?

When tap water is in the pipes, not exposed to air, there often is a higher CO2 level in the water and CO2 will lower the pH. This is the reason for the 48 hour baseline, to give the water a chance to stabilize and outgas CO2 and ingas O2 to *normal* levels so you will know your true baseline parameters.

I have a well so this does not happen to me.


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## rarefaction (Aug 6, 2009)

DJRansome said:


> How about this reason CichMomma, have you ever tried testing your tap water after it stands for 24-48 hours?


I'd like to hear the result of that test myself. A ph of 6.0 out of the tap is incredible! I have to use an R/O unit to get that low.
Then the aragonite and 5 tsp sodium bicarbonate per 5 gallons brings it up to 7.8ish. 
If your information is correct CichMomma, I gotta get some of that magic lace rock... lol

Back to the thread though, I just got some #50 pool filter sand thats pretty cool. Large enough grains to not get sucked into my AC70, but still has that sand look. Sand is way easier to maintain... I'll never go back!


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## CichMomma (Mar 3, 2010)

DJRansome said:


> How about this reason CichMomma, have you ever tried testing your tap water after it stands for 24-48 hours?
> 
> When tap water is in the pipes, not exposed to air, there often is a higher CO2 level in the water and CO2 will lower the pH. This is the reason for the 48 hour baseline, to give the water a chance to stabilize and outgas CO2 and ingas O2 to *normal* levels so you will know your true baseline parameters.
> 
> I have a well so this does not happen to me.


We are on a well as well  I have done this test too. With my API test kit I get 6.0 out of the tap. After sitting for 24hours I get about a 6.4-6.6. Not much of a difference. The other day we had a professional test done due to the acidity of our water and some other stuff, and that test came back with a pH of 5.5!!!  Anyway, there ya go!


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## YelowLab8706 (Jan 30, 2008)

Ok so I went with the sand at my job.... I work at the University of Houston as a an intern and I sifted the sand we use for our concrete mix and this is what I came out with.... Rocks are on the right to suffice for the necessary bacteria needed to bring life to mi fish


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## slimjon (Mar 27, 2010)

NICE WORK!!! If only they would let me do that at my job!



YelowLab8706 said:


> Ok so I went with the sand at my job.... I work at the University of Houston as a an intern and I sifted the sand we use for our concrete mix and this is what I came out with.... Rocks are on the right to suffice for the necessary bacteria needed to bring life to mi fish


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