Red1313

Yep even for aquascaping, researching is still important. Who knew?

I finally got my big tank and I was so excited is wasn't even funny. Christmas and my birthday couldn't even compare to the wild glee I was feeling. So I ran out to Wal-mart and grabbed some gravel. After all I'd done my research earlier and was confident in my memory that gravel was fine. Turns out I was half/kinda right. Of the 3 fish I want to get for the tank (a possible 4th) "gravel" is in the substrate suggestions, right behind "sand or fine". So now I need to find a way to incorporate sand. This wouldn't be hard except that I've already opened both bags and that's enough gravel for a 2" layer.
so this is a story to remind everyone that it's a really good idea to never assume. Luckily with my appareently limitless MTS I've got lots of idea's and potential uses for 25 extra pounds of gravel... though I may be needing more silicone...
lol.

Betta_dude

Heres an idea. You could make a wall to seperate the gravel and sand. plexiglass maybe?

aquatic mouse

Ugh. I HATE sand. It's SO hard to clean. I recently changed over my 55 gallon tank from sand to gravel. It was SOOO gross to see all the black excrement under the sand. Not to mention the horrible guilty feeling I had that I'd been hurting my fishies by not being able to clean well enough.

capekate

Hi Red,
A great reminder. Yes, even what we would think is a simple decision also demands research from us. driftwood... a great addition, but a no no with many fish, same thing with live plants... sharp artificial plants too.
So it does pay to research your particular fish's requirements.

On another note, I also love the look of sand in the tank and am thinking of making the soon to be 120g a sand base. Now aquatic mouse mentions in the post above that she hated sand and found it a mess and hard to clean. uggh...
Is this true? I thought it would be easier to keep clean than gravel?

Red1313

I know that rinsing sand is a pain. Cleaning it as far as I know isn't bad, just need to be careful not to turn your tank into a dust storm. I don't think that it would be any worse then gravel for the gross factor, some of my tanks can get pretty icky if I slack off on the vac's for a little while. I suppose one concern with MTS (the snails) is that they could bury waste on the bottom where you can't reach it. However I know that alot have sand and like it. Personal Prefrence I think is what it comes down to.
....
I'm going to try scaping sand "pits" into my tank, sort of like the tank is along a river bank near a flood plain, where the water slows and sand starts to settle, not sure how it will work. There's going to a lot of driftwood and lots and lots of plants. Which theoretically in nature would cause the water to slow and potentially drop sand. I'll maybe try to scan in the "diagram" in later.
...
One question for everyone, "brown" sand to match the gravel or Black?
I ask b/c the evil ten gal has black sand so I could swap some of the extra gravel. Which would be more betta friendly in the end.

aquatic mouse

Maybe it's because I used play sand (cheap and I was told it would work fine) but I had so much trouble keeping the tank clean. I used a siphon to clean it, and with a siphon you can't get too close to the sand or it comes with the water.

aquatic mouse

It was also in the filter A LOT creating whirring sounds.

capekate

Hi Red
I remember a thread awhile ago about someone doing pretty much that. The photos were great! He used plants such as the short grasses and rocks to keep the sand and gravel separated.
I guess using both the black sand and gravel would help "look wise", in that any sand that gets into the gravel and vise versa wont look too sloppy.
And as hard as you will try to keep the two separated, Im sure over time some of it is going to get mixed up together and most likely cannot be helped.
I really love the look of sand in a tank, its so natural looking. I have wanted to do that myself for a long time but chickened out at the thought of changing out the 55 from gravel to sand. But do plan on it with the next tank.
Best of luck with that!

capekate

I may be wrong but I think I have read that play sand is very very fine, but others have used pool sand and said that it works great. Whether they are one and the same I really do not know?

CHoffman

play sand and Pool filter sand are not the same thing. I have pool filter sand and it's made with silica..I don't have any fish in there yet..still cycling..but I have had my filter running for about 3 weeks now and I have no sand in my filter, I've not had any trouble with it and it looks GREAT. I'll now more once I start stocking and having to clean it but so far so good.

Jess

Is the silica a glass product?

capekate

Thanks Choffman for clearing that up. Now I do remember it was the silica that made the pool sand different and easier to keep in the tank.

aquatic mouse

Play sand is very fine. I think my bubble wands are to blame for the sand in the filter.

agabr123

i have pool filter sand as well and i find that it's actually much easier to clean than gravel for a few reasons.

1. when the gravel is moved at all and rubs against other pieces, it makes a ridiculous amount of dust.
2. the sand generally will come up a bit into my gravel vac, but if i move it around the sand drops out and all the nasty stuff gets sucked out.

i'd have sand in all of my tanks if i could! oh, and it's WAY cheaper than the only kind of gravel i use any more, that only comes in 1lb bags and is $1.50-2.50 a bag

capekate

Hi Alex
thanks for your tips on the pool filter sand and hopefully Red will see these posts before she buys her sand as well.
I use natural small smooth pebbles for my tanks and yes, it can get very expensive. But other than the cost, I just think that the sand looks great in a tank!

agabr123

lol i agree, i love the way that the sand looks, especially under fluorescent lighting! i really love more natural looks in my tanks, which is why i tried my hand at planted tanks. unfortunately i'm not too great at it, but the really hardy ones are doing alright! i just really like the way that sand, rocks, and driftwood look in a tank.

Red1313

Thanks for the advice on the pool filter sand guys!
I'll check around and see if I can find any, not sure where to look though. Another aquascaping sort of tip, don't get lazy on the rinsing if you add lauterite to a tank... really really bad idea... The dust has settled now at least, eventually I'll vacumm most of it out.

griffin

i've also used sand in my tanks, and i love it! it's incredibly easy to clean. no need to go digging through the substrate to get leftovers and poop - it just stays on top for easy removal. once the sand is settled, it shouldn't get into the filters, and i would recommend not turning on the filters until the sand is settled. if you're really concerned about sand getting into your filter, you can also put a sponge over your filter intake to prevent sand from getting in.

i used play sand (also made of silica), and aside from the initial rinsing, i don't know if it's a lot different from pool filter sand as far as usability. it's cheaper, but you do need an one time rinse before using it.

TedsTank

above was mentioned seperating the sand and gravel as in a river...very nice idea and looks great. If you taper the "river bed" so it is wide in front and narrow in the back of your tank, it will give the look of deeper/wider perspective to your tank. I did this and was surprised how nice...but didn't provide for keeping the sand and gravel seperated well enough and it didnt last too long...lol