# sand or gravel??



## esob0i (Oct 5, 2008)

i havent put anything in the tank yet so now im thinking of rock or sand? 
ima be putting rustys, yellow labs, acei, maybe some red zebras, maybe kenyis i dout it tho an ill be adding more not sure what tho oh yea an its a 180gallon tank


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## mithesaint (Oct 31, 2006)

Sand. Generally it's cheaper than gravel, and I think it looks much better. Since I switched to sand, I can't stand the look of gravel anymore. Go with a larger grained sand like pool filter sand though. The play sand type of sand is more difficult to clean, maintain, etc.


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

Another vote for pool filter sand. In addition to the advantages mithesaint mentioned, fish like to dig around in the sand. This gives them something to do in their otherwise dreary existence - and it allows you to observe one more of their natural behaviors. Everybody wins :thumb:


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## khaki (Jan 12, 2008)

Silica sand is very clean! just rinse it a couple of time and then you will have an awesome looking natural tank.

are you sure you want to put red zebras and yellow labs? they can make hybrids :fish:


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## Aquarium Guy (Oct 27, 2008)

I found some silica sand at Home Depot. Its pretty fine, I think it has a #30 on the bag. It has some black/gray sand grains in it too, but not a lot. I think it says is from Washington on the bag, 100lbs for $8. Would this sand be ok? are there different sizes of the sand?

thanks.


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## iceblue (Apr 27, 2004)

I switched from gravel to sand a year ago and am very happy with the results. My Mbuna seem to like it too. :thumb:


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## esob0i (Oct 5, 2008)

mithesaint said:


> Sand. Generally it's cheaper than gravel, and I think it looks much better. Since I switched to sand, I can't stand the look of gravel anymore. Go with a larger grained sand like pool filter sand though. The play sand type of sand is more difficult to clean, maintain, etc.


an how would i go about sand? same way as the gravel? or is it a different approach


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

esob0i said:


> an how would i go about sand? same way as the gravel? or is it a different approach


I am not quite sure that I understand your question. You are setting up a new tank, right? If so, you just put the sand where you would usually put the gravel. No difference. If you are switching over, meaning you have a tank with gravel and want to replace it with sand, I have just posted some instruction how to do that in this thread. What esob0i means by easier cleaning and maintenance of coarser sand, such as pool filter sand, is that the stuff stays down when you do gravel vacuuming, and it doesn't clump up and form anaerobic pockets. That's a great plus over play sand, which I only ever used in a 5G, and wouldn't use again. Another great substrate is 3M Color Quartz. It behaves very similar to pool filter sand, and there is no great advantage, but it's available in a variety of colors. It's quite a bit more expensive though.

Frank


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## esob0i (Oct 5, 2008)

yea sorry about that i forgot to put cleaning in there :zz: haha thank you all very much looks like ill be having sand in the tank

i can buy the sand from home depot? an there a certain thing i have to look for or just anything that says pool filter sand?


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

In my area Home Depot, Lowes, and other hardware stores carry only play sand, not pool filter sand. I had to go to a pool supply store to find the right stuff. Luckily Litehouse has a number of stores in my area, and they carry it. If you follow the ling to their site you shoudl be able to find out if there is a store close to you. Otherwise I am sure there has to be some other pool supply place close by.

Best of luck

Frank


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## esob0i (Oct 5, 2008)

thank you


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## esob0i (Oct 5, 2008)

fmueller said:


> In my area Home Depot, Lowes, and other hardware stores carry only play sand, not pool filter sand. I had to go to a pool supply store to find the right stuff. Luckily Litehouse has a number of stores in my area, and they carry it. If you follow the ling to their site you shoudl be able to find out if there is a store close to you. Otherwise I am sure there has to be some other pool supply place close by.
> 
> Best of luck
> 
> Frank


i got another question about it is there a certain type of pool filter sand or its just one kind?


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## mithesaint (Oct 31, 2006)

it's just one kind. The color may vary from place to place, but it's all the same


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## esob0i (Oct 5, 2008)

mithesaint said:


> it's just one kind. The color may vary from place to place, but it's all the same


ok cool thanks


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## GoofBoy (Jul 3, 2007)

> I found some silica sand at Home Depot. Its pretty fine, I think it has a #30 on the bag. It has some black/gray sand grains in it too, but not a lot. I think it says is from Washington on the bag, 100lbs for $8. Would this sand be ok? are there different sizes of the sand?
> 
> thanks.


Pool filter sand is the same as #20 Silica sand - you want the larger 'grit' sand . 20 is larger than 30. Local pool place verified this as they don't bother to carry 'pool filter sand' as it takes too much space on the shelf for the money they get from it. They told me buy the #20 silica from the local builder supply instead.

Clean the #20 grit very thoroughly and you will never, ever, ever have an issue.


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## xoxemoneyxox (Oct 28, 2008)

how much sand should you use per gallon? i have two 55g.


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## D-007 (Jan 3, 2008)

Depends on how deep you want the sand bed.

Go *here* and at the bottom you'll be able to find the amount you need after putting in some info.

A good sand depth in my opinion is about 1Â½".

:thumb: ,
D


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## Evilpenguinj (Mar 22, 2008)

I am using Pool Filter Sand, the one question I have is, the sand keeps looking slightly brown on top....is there any way to stop this from occurring?

Jason
www.gadgetboyz.net (Blu-ray and Product Reviews)
www.definitivedefinition.com (Blu-ray review site coming soon)


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## iceblue (Apr 27, 2004)

The type of lighting you use can have a big influence on how the sand may look and their is a difference in color between wet sand and dry sand. Brighter more intense lighting may help wash out some of the brown.


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## Stickshifty (Feb 20, 2006)

pool filter sand here. looks great, and its easy to clean. All the poop and food bits sit on top making it very easy to suck up. I try to stir mine up and vacuum every 2 weeks.


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## Junebug76 (Sep 29, 2006)

I'm having huge issues with the sand we have in our 55g tank. We got it from petsmart and it is so fine that it keeps getting in my filters. It's only been in there for about a week and if you touch it you can't even see the sand floating in the water... I want to switch it to the pool filter sand everyone keeps mentioning... How hard would it be? I am willing to move all my fish and filters and water to a large container to keep everything going since we are cycling with Tetra safe start... Would changing the sand now harm the process???


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## iceblue (Apr 27, 2004)

Junebug76 said:


> I am willing to move all my fish and filters and water to a large container to keep everything going since we are cycling with Tetra safe start... Would changing the sand now harm the process???


Should be no problem at all as long as you keep the filters running on the storage container you keep the fish in and cycle per instruction.

One thing you want to keep in mind is to let the new sand come up to room temperature before or after the sand change. If it's been left outside it can be pretty cold and change the temp of your water. If you have a spare heater you could bring the whole tank up to temp before adding the fish and filters back to the aquarium or add warmer water to the tank to reach proper parameters.


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## is300soon (Nov 2, 2008)

I just got pool filter sand, cilica #20.. Im trying to clean it in a 2.5 gallon but it's not getting there very fast. Im going to put feeders in there to see what happens before i use it for my fry.

D


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## esob0i (Oct 5, 2008)

i just got #30 today cleaned it off looked nice lil cloudy but the filter will clear it out not to bad but yea thank you for all the help


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## air4ceguy06 (Dec 28, 2008)

I've thougth about sand also but the main thing that I've had a question about is cleaning it..How do you clean sand???


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## esob0i (Oct 5, 2008)

air4ceguy06 said:


> I've thougth about sand also but the main thing that I've had a question about is cleaning it..How do you clean sand???


same way as gravel for the most part. put it in a big container an run the hose or whatever through it an run your hands through it making sure you rinse it well. takes kinda long but the after look is well worth it


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