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May 27th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Gravel in tank; Good or bad??
ok so i was thinking, and would it be better if i kept my tanks without gravel??
i just thought of this cuz it could be easier to clean and stuff?
i came to you guys for help cuz you're more experienced!  | 
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May 27th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Gravel is good because it allows bacteria to colonize on its surface and it helps keep the tank cycled, but many people keep bare bottom tanks as well (especially discus keepers). It is easier to keep the tank clean when its bare bottom. Its just a matter of personal preference  | |
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May 27th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by MissMTS  Gravel is good because it allows bacteria to colonize on its surface and it helps keep the tank cycled, but many people keep bare bottom tanks as well (especially discus keepers). It is easier to keep the tank clean when its bare bottom. Its just a matter of personal preference | ok! but do the fish feel unsafe? or anything like that?  | |
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May 28th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| it's better to have gravel than no gravel, it stops left overs and "poo" floating around the tank, also it it's more natural for the fish and looks nicer. | |
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May 28th, 2009
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| | Fish Lore Newbie
| you can try bigger gravel sized rocks or get like really big diffent color rocks like the ones u buy to add some color | |
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May 28th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| You can go with small rounded river rock too. That's what I use and it's just as easy to use a gravel vac. Also several choose the decorative rounded glass stones.
Whichever you choose, make sure it's smooth so your betta doesn't rip his/her fins on it. | |
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May 28th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| Both of my tanks are mostly bare bottom (besides the decor).
What I did in my 20 gal. long livebearer tank is make a river like path that winds from one end of the tank to the other. I used the larger smooth river rock to accomplish this. Thus, I have some rock for beneficial bacteria to colonize on ... and for decorative purposes.
My Betta tank is also bare bottom besides the decor and 4 smooth extra large river rocks arranged for a low-lying perch. This tank however, is currently getting daily water changes as he's in need of some fin repair.
There are pro's and con's to both ... like anything else. With bare bottom, you do have to be somewhat creative in the way you hide plant bases, etc. But it can be done rather easily with other pieces of decor.
I've utilized both setups ... and it's definitely easier to vac the bottom, etc. with primarily bare bottom. Additionally, when rearranging decor, I don't have to pull it out of the gravel, thus stirring up a bunch of debris. It is true however, that gravel can keep debris from floating around the tank (the debris instead settle in the gravel). But with mostly bare bottom, I haven't had a big problem with this. If I were to go back to all gravel, I would likely use the small size ... as it doesn't allow debris to settle deeper inbetween cracks and crevices as readily ... because it tightly compacts together. | |
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May 28th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by ccb04 Both of my tanks are mostly bare bottom (besides the decor).
What I did in my 20 gal. long livebearer tank is make a river like path that winds from one end of the tank to the other. I used the larger smooth river rock to accomplish this. Thus, I have some rock for beneficial bacteria to colonize on ... and for decorative purposes.
My Betta tank is also bare bottom besides the decor and 4 smooth extra large river rocks arranged for a low-lying perch. This tank however, is currently getting daily water changes as he's in need of some fin repair.
There are pro's and con's to both ... like anything else. With bare bottom, you do have to be somewhat creative in the way you hide plant bases, etc. But it can be done rather easily with other pieces of decor.
I've utilized both setups ... and it's definitely easier to vac the bottom, etc. with primarily bare bottom. Additionally, when rearranging decor, I don't have to pull it out of the gravel, thus stirring up a bunch of debris. It is true however, that gravel can keep debris from floating around the tank (the debris instead settle in the gravel). But with mostly bare bottom, I haven't had a big problem with this. If I were to go back to all gravel, I would likely use the small size ... as it doesn't allow debris to settle deeper inbetween cracks and crevices as readily ... because it tightly compacts together. |
i'm going to try a bare bottom tank for a while and ill c how it goes,
Thank You! | |
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May 28th, 2009
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| | Fish Helper
| I keep my 3 tanks with no gravel. I tried marbles, they looked really nice but I had a hard time cleaning the bottoms of the tanks (poop got stuck under and between marbles all the time). It is much easier for me to clean a bare bottom tank. I use a turkey baster every other day and clean my tanks with a siphon once a week. | |
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May 28th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| Quote:
Originally Posted by tonyluvshisfish i'm going to try a bare bottom tank for a while and ill c how it goes,
Thank You! | You're welcome, tony. | |
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May 28th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| it looks really nice! i took some pics of how the tank looks now, it looks alot more roomy too!
i'll post a before and after pic.
thanks again | |
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May 28th, 2009
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| | Master Of Fish Poo!
| If you had a bare bottom tank, I'd add a sponge filter or 2 to the tank to provide more good bacteria to the tank system. | |
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May 29th, 2009
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| | Fish Addict
| Quote:
Originally Posted by COBettaCouple If you had a bare bottom tank, I'd add a sponge filter or 2 to the tank to provide more good bacteria to the tank system. | That's a great idea, Dave.
Tony, in place of (or in addition to) a bubble wand, air stone, etc... you could simply hook-up a sponge filter to your air pump for additional biological filtration. While good bacteria can also colonize on most decor ... it never hurts to have additional biological filtration (even with gravel).
As I mentioned in my 20 long, I used medium sized smooth river rock to make a river like path that winds from one side of the tank to the other. On either side of the path ... it's bare bottom. I also have a few porous rock and wood structures. | |
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May 29th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| I have a sponge filter already, but thanks!! i have the pics ready | |
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May 29th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
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May 30th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| is this the tank that is your aquarium info? if it is those guppies are female not male, just to let you know, it looks great! | |
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May 30th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Bad Wolf is this the tank that is your aquarium info? if it is those guppies are female not male, just to let you know, it looks great! | Is it because of the black spot on the back? ALL of the babies had them, i had read on how to tell the diff between males and females, and read that males mature faster than the girls, and they got their coloring first, thats why i thought they were the males, either way they're all the same sex... or so i think | |
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May 31st, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| All my tanks are bare bottom....It's not as pretty as having gravel but is easier to keep my fish in show condition...I use a turkey baster daily to clean up the poo.... | |
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