sand or gravel

[friedegg45]

can you give me advice on sand or gravel in the tank what is best does it matter what fish is in the tank and also is sand ok for an under gravel filter? my mate has asked me so i told him i would ask the real fish keepers cheers

[goldenpuon]

I'm guseeing sand wouldn't work well for an undergravel filter but I'm not sure.

Gravel is generally better because it is easy to clean and if debris getv stuck in gravel, it won't build up hydrogen sulfide like sand does which can be harmful.

Also, is your tank frsh or salt water and what kind of fish do you have? Some species actually need or prefer sand but a lot don't so that's something that would be good to know.

[Carl]

Sept 9, 2008 15:04:45 GMT -5 friedegg45 said:

can you give me advice on sand or gravel in the tank what is best does it matter what fish is in the tank and also is sand ok for an under gravel filter? my mate has asked me so i told him i would ask the real fish keepers cheers

I would generally recommend #3 size gravel, especially for UGF as this will work best with aerobic nitrification.

While sand is OK for planted tanks or Marine, it CAN (not always) lead to high amounts of Organic Mulm and DOC (disolved organic compounds) in the average FW aquarium and with UGF, sand is definitely a bad choice.

I might suggest looking at thes two articles the first in the substrate section:
Freshwater Aquarium Basics

Aquarium Answers; Which Gravel Size

Carl

[friedegg45]

mostly different types of guppies,and platies my mate has and it is fresh water

[murdock6701]

gravel definitely my friend! as Carl suggested, prevents a lot of potential problems w/ fresh water - tell your friend to join us online! need more platy support - LOL - hope all is well - John - ps...LOL, I'm not a fan of undergravel filters in larger tanks personally - anybody care to comment?

[Carl]

Sept 9, 2008 16:27:23 GMT -5 murdock6701 said:

gravel definitely my friend! as Carl suggested, prevents a lot of potential problems w/ fresh water - tell your friend to join us online! need more platy support - LOL - hope all is well - John - ps...LOL, I'm not a fan of undergravel filters in larger tanks personally - anybody care to comment?

I have a review of UGF in this article:
Aquarium Filtration
which I just posted a new update in today.

I have used many UGFs over the years and not all are created equal, those with ridges vastly out perform the flat plate ones. Also the type of fish kept and care makes a difference on performance.
I had a restaurant I serviced for years that had almost 100 UGFs, but I new the ins & outs of them and did not over stock.

I guess the bottom line is that I generally do not recommend them and in fact have not sold one in probably 18 years (if that says something?), but I would not totally pan them assuming proper care, a good UGF, & modest bio load.

Again I would suggest my article about filtration for more

Carl

[brenda]

I think sand is prettier but gravel more practical. Easier up keep.

[jonv]

I think reading this over, in terms of what's best for you, it seems gravel is the better option. I haven't done a sand tank yet, but I'll agree with Brenda. All the sand tanks I've seen look stunning. Looks hard to maintain and would love to try it sometime.

[eve]

if your friend wouldnt' have an UGF, i would say go for it
but with an UGF, i would never go with sand, only with gravel as recommended

[bikeguy33]

as too undergravel filters....I hate them. That is not to say they don`t have their own lil nich in our hobby(or passion).they actually work well in conjunction with another type of filter whether it be HOB, canister, internal sponge ....whatever.As most of you know I try to overfilter everything. although not necvcessary, filters do fail and I would rather something under powered still working than nothing at all.

[rekoyu]

I have a heavily planted tank with sand, so if you are planning on having alot of plants then you should get sand. Also I wouldn't recommend getting an under gravel filter for sand.
I never use those, cause too much work. You always have to remove the gravel to clean.

[cashay]

I had sand for my tank, It was very pretty but OMG what a pain in the butt trying to clean it, most of my sand would end up coming out with my siphon hose,when cleaning tank, I also had a filter that ( i cant remember the kind) but it would get the sand in it also. I would agree with the gravel.