Aquarium Advice - Gravel or Sand? by Tyne Valley Aquatics

[Racingjunkey20]

would you suggest using sand for live planted aquarium? anyone can reply to me that knows. Thanks!

[pondguru]

I would always go sand unless the plants have difficult requirements, then a 'proper' plant substrate would be better for planted zones.

[AndehX]

@Racingjunkey20 definately use sand for planted aquariums. the plant roots will grow much easier in sand than in gravel.

[mctravish107]

What about pool sand? Will that work?

[pondguru]

If you want a lower pH, ditch the gravel also a pool of sand will get mixed in with the gravel in time.

[AndehX]

@mctravish107 pool filter sand, if thats what you're refering to, should be fine to use in aquariums provided its washed throuroughly. I personally use childrens play sand, which is very fine, and is perfect for corys and other small bottom dwellers.

[0rgazmatron]

i agee guru sand is definetly better with catfish, ive got a platydorus witch loves to glide through the sand please check out my tank to see the sand set up

[dazzy1975]

Thanks for the advice, I am fed up of my gravel in my tank and was thinking of a change. Although I do have a couple of albino bristlenose, would these be ok with sand, or would I be best of staying with gravel.

[pondguru]

I wouldn't use gravel for any tropicals so best to go sand.

[2001naveedpk]

Well Mate! Tell me one thing, for Angels, Discus and Ram Like fish if we use Silt soil, Sand mix. Will it work? Also in such a tank can we go with live plants? What happens if we habitat some Flower Horn, Oscar, and African CiChilid those are digger? Advice would be appreciated, Thanks.

[pondguru]

As long as it isnt gravel, the south american species will be happy. Large cichlids will move stuff about in the tank no matter what you have as a substrate.

[blownable]

For the best look, I always prefer to use a mix of one part gravel to three parts sand.

[2001naveedpk]

Is this some type of special sand i mean it is marine sand or can i go with simple golden desert sand? advice would be appreciated.

[pondguru]

I always wondered about the sand sold for reptile tanks as there are some nice colours but I have never used it. I always use sand sold for aquarium (wet) use.

[Cr1sth1an108]

@pondguru I have a tiger cichlid which do u suggest is best for my fish gravel or sand ??

[pondguru]

Sand - I would use it for all tropicals.

[supermotomadness]

I'll be moving back to the U.K in april and can not wait to set up my aqua one ar 850,i used to have gravel in this tank but have all ways thought of having sand in it,is the sand also good for plecs and shrimps?how far are you from darlington?,cheers Sean.

[pondguru]

Sand is good for most tropicals, yes. We are about 10 minutes west of Newcastle, postcode NE43 7BT. Not sure how long from Darlington - maybe 45mins?

[supermotomadness]

@pondguru Just google mapped your address and it's 40 mins from my new address,so not that far really,also looking to get back into the tropical fish scene,home and work. Do you know of any jobs availiable at Tyne Valley Aquatics?

[pondguru]

I do know there are no jobs going at present. I have a couple of part time staff coming back soon since we will be starting the pond season soon.

[SavingRyPrivate]

I'll save you all a lot of time and money, go to your local pool retail store and purchase pool filter sand, it work and looks beautiful

[TheBadVideoGamer]

I just set up a tiny 20L tank (coldwater) put aquarium sand in and its so cloudy..any ideas of how long it will take to clear?

[pondguru]

It can take a day or two. If you put some filter floss / fine particle matting in the filter it will settle out much quicker.

[AndehX]

@TheBadVideoGamer You should always wash any kind of sand thoroughly before you put it in your tank. fill half a bucket with sand, and rinse it under the shower 5 or 6 times, untill the water runs clear. Then its good to go in the tank.

[TheBadVideoGamer]

@AndehX OK thanks very much =D

[Cur1yFrys]

what kind of sand do you use in your aquarium? I have bristlenose plecos guppies and plan on getting some corys what would you recommend i use?

[pondguru]

Just ordinary aquarium sand. Some people use playpit sand as it is very fine. We used that in the shop for about 30 of our tanks (to save money) and it took weeks to clear - we were swapping fine foams in the internal filters almost daily as they blocked up with fine sand which was most annoying. The 'proper' aquarium sand (not coral sand - it raises pH) settles much quicker.

[jessica56786789]

do corydoras do a good job on cleaning the sand do they eat everything? or do u feed them

[pondguru]

They do root about in the sand and fish out any uneaten food but they should still be fed - ideally on sinking food which gets down to them fast.

[AndehX]

@jessica56786789 corys will turn over the sand, and keep the muck "hidden", which will then be used as food for any live plants you have. You should still feed them though.

[ryanhenderson81]

Just started out with a 12 gallon Fluval edge, I'm kinda new with this but, can the filter handle the fine sand? It looks sooo much cleaner. I have gravel now but want to switch to sand after watching some vids online. Thanks

[pondguru]

Should be no worries. If in doubt, switch the filter off when cleaning or stirring up the sand.

[AndehX]

@ryanhenderson81 the only filter you should not use with sand, is under gravel filters. Every other filter should be fine with sand. Like pondguru says, switch the filter off whenever you're working with the sand, so it doesnt clog it.

[mctravish107]

Do corydoras agitate the sand to prevent co2 or oxygen build up??

[pondguru]

Yes, as do loaches.

[extreemfishkeeper45]

i have 2 corys in my tank with gravel some gravel is fine and some big if you use natral gravel no ph problems will occur

[pondguru]

Whilst cory can survive varied water parameters,its more the physical stress of feeding in gravel which does them no good - especially with the smaller species.

[Raidmaxgaming1]

@pondguru lol bro u doing eny more metal detecting? 

[pondguru]

I have got another detecting video to upload tonight. I took an SD card to work with the video on and the shop computer doesn't have a card slot so it will have to wait until I get home.

I'm so stoopid, man.

[MrSkooty1968]

@pondguru chop chop then,waiting for it lol......sub to me too,i've just started with the detecting vids,and will do a few bushcrafting too,cheers,HH

[extreemfishkeeper45]

salt is sand fresh is gravel :) thats what i do

[pondguru]

If I understood that I would either agree or disagree.

[ben191209]

@pondguru he means in saltwater go sand, in freshwater go gravel.

[thorglenn]

can you use play sand?

[pondguru]

I used playsand in some of our tanks and it took weeks to see out. We went through so much fine particle matting that it would have worked out cheaper and much quicker to use proper aquarium sand.

[pondguru]

Yes, no worries.

[fabihanski]

i would really like to convet to snad like my first aquarium had but its special fourite gravel for the plants thats cost £34 ,£22 for the gravel and £12 for pst and pakege

[gamingnewsweekly1]

nice, this helped me so much to pick which i wanted I chose sand thanks keep posting videos plzz :)

[pondguru]

I'll keep filming as long as people keep watching.

Thanks for appreciating.

[jessica56786789]

@gamingnewsweekly1 hello i rinsed my sand like 10 times and let it sit for hours my tank is a lil foggy will it clear?

[pondguru]

It will gradually clear as your filtration will filter out the very fine particles.

[gamingnewsweekly1]

@jessica56786789 Yah just wait like 2 or 3 days and the water will be cristal clear thats only a one time thing though the next time you change the water it shouldnt happen

[africancichlidman]

whatever you do, dont get sand with malawi mbunas because they stir up the sand and they ruined my brand new power filter( the screwed up the impeller!)

[joetom698]

What sort of sand would you recommend ? :)

[pondguru]

Just normal aquarium sand is fine.

[pondguru]

I would rinse anything which is going into an aquarium just to remove dust etc. as a precaution and to keep the water clear.

[joetom698]

Ok, I think I'll go with sand then, thanks.

[joetom698]

hi, i'm stuck between choosing gravel or sand for the aquarium i want, does the sand clogg up the filter? thanks :)

[pondguru]

If the intake of an internal filter is resting on the bottom of the tank or the sand is totally stirred up then the filter may suck some in but not in any sort of quantity to worry about. I would always choose sand especially if I wanted to set the pH lower than 7 and keep tetras, rams, corydoras as gravel often raises the pH and corydoras need sand to feed in (gravel wears out their mouth and barbules)

[mctravish107]

Do you know anything about freshwater plant substrate? Like after I newly make a layer of flourite than cover it with sand how long after should I change the substrate?

[pondguru]

Maybe another viewer will know but I tend to just go for hardy plants with very few light / nutrient requirements, therefore almost no maintenance.

[mctravish107]

What kind of Corydoras are those at 1:13?

[pondguru]

Corydoras sterbai.

[showpup]

Thank you so much for sharing this information. I am setting up a 55 now and trying to do more planning than I have in years past. I collected a good amount of black sand from Agate Beach. Given this is from the salt water of the ocean and not put through any formal cleaning process, can I use it for my aquarium? If I do not have enough, my plan was to use the black for special effect and use pool sand for the other. Texture of the black beach sand is quite nice, similar to the course pool sand.

[showpup]

@showpup Sorry, I should have specified that I am setting this up as a freshwater aquarium.

[pondguru]

I personally wouldn't use sand from the beach. I tend to use sand which is marketed for aquarium use but it is available in different colours (although black sand is very expensive)

[Commissarius]

This is a good video, I have a question, I have had some people interested in buying small glass beads as a substrate. I can easily source the type that is used in swimming pool construction, google 'swimming pool glass beads' will show you these. Different types range in size from 1-3mm and other types around 5-10mm. Obviously the smaller will fit tighter together. Do you think there is any advantage or disadvantage to the beads being the fine size over larger glass pebble size?

[pondguru]

If it is a tropical tank,then I would always go sand as fish can feed in it and keep it turned over. I don't have any experience of glass beads but would assume that the 1mm ones would act like a very fine gravel / coarse sand so would be OK for tropical tank.Larger glass pebbles would be probably no good for fish due to their size.

[Chromebully]

what if you mixed sand and gravel would that be okay??

[pondguru]

Why mix it? sand would be no good to corydoras and loaches to root about in if it was mixed with gravel.

[UFPAlexraptor]

Great video!

I converted my Oscar & Pleco tank from coarse gravel to sand.

Mainly because I was not happy with how all the crap ended up getting packed down into the gravel and polluting.

With sand I find it much easier to keep clean, as most of the major droppings stay on top of the sand bed, making removing it a much easier task.

[AwesomeAssassin1000]

does it matter what sand it is coz i want to get just regular sand from pets at home

[pondguru]

Aquarium sand is always best as it tends to have very little organic matter. Some people skimp on the sand cost then spend the next few weeks with cloudy water and loads of fine filter pads used up to clear it. Not sure what sort pets at home do but we've never had any issues with ours apart from very temporary clouding which will happen with the best of sands.

[AwesomeAssassin1000]

im thinking of converting to sand from gravel what do u think about that mainly for my 2 yo yo loaches and my 3 corys do u think i should and also how much should i use

[pondguru]

Most definitely I would use sand if you have loaches and corydoras. no more than 1" deep as the sand will trap organic matter if the loaches can't dig deep enough to turn it over.

[AwesomeAssassin1000]

@pondguru but what about my live plants i dont think 1 inch would be deep enough would u coz i like to plant them with the root structure quite in tact i only trim alittle

[pondguru]

I never trim the roots, just open them up in the shape of pengiuns feet, bury in sand and secure with a stone or ornament. Once the roots have picked up sand the plant will be weighted enough to stay put.

[AwesomeAssassin1000]

na SOZ im agravel guy just mainly coz i had bad experiences with sand

[pondguru]

If sand is too deep (over about 20mm) and the loaches / corydoras can't keep it turned over it can lead to dead spots of trapped organic debris which can cause problems with water quality.

[divemunster1]

What do you thik of dirted tanks ?

[pondguru]

I've never made a dirted tank personally so I don't have any views either way on that one.

[FishHib]

Why do you use undergravel filters? I thought you would of used external or internal

[pondguru]

Internal filters take up too much space in a small tank and an external filter for each of our 100 tanks. A maintenance apocalypse. We could have gone system like most chain stores but then you can't tailor each tank to each species' requirements and then you run the risk of cross contamination if there is a problem with one of the tanks. We use internals on the sand bottom tanks as they are larger than most of the ones with under gravel filters.

[paducahFishFan]

My ghost shrimp love the sand as well. If you use fresh water clams be careful you don't have one die on you and you can't find it. Really could foul up the water.

If you look at the Sun light hitting my tank vid on my channel. I show I have 3 layers. Organic dirt, fluorite gravel and then 2 to 4 inches of sand. Does great and the plants love it as well. Cheers!

[asiandude666]

sand is the way to go fi you can!

[pondguru]

Word up and respect. My view exactly.

[pondguru]

Black sand is difficult to get hold of but is beautiful in an aquarium - really highlights the colours of the fish. If you wash the sand and add gradually once the gravel is gone, it shouldn't cloud the water too badly.I often pierce loads of tiny holes in the bottom of the sand bag then put a hose in the top, letting it run through for a while and shaking the bag every so often. Should clean it nicely.