Saltwater Gravel And Sand?

I’ve just had a 300 litre fish tank come in and want to set it up for saltwater, it came with black gravel, would it be alright to use that and mix with some sand too?

 

Welcome to Fishlore! We'd love to help you with your new tank.

Errr, I can't honestly say that gravel is 100% bad in a marine tank, but I can't say that I've seen folks use it either. Mostly, I'd worry about the life that inhabits sand, beneficial microfauna that are good for your tank. Then there are the critters you may want to keep that will benefit from having sand that they can work with/live in.

Are you hoping to have corals one day? If so, I'd also then wonder if the gravel is capable of leaching anything that corals may not like.

You'll probably want a better answer than I can give, but I wouldn't do it.

 

Gravel isn't a good choice for marine aquariums. The paint on the gravel may dissolve over time (not designed to be in salt water) and the large particles trap waste leading to ammonia/nitrate problems. IME, you would be better off with sand.

 

Thanks for the advice both, think I’ll get just sand

 

I’ve just had a 300 litre fish tank come in and want to set it up for saltwater, it came with black gravel, would it be alright to use that and mix with some sand too?

Gravel=Freshwater, Mixed Sand Substrate=Saltwater. The problem is that gravel will limit many options you have for stocking as there are many cool sand sifting/burrowing fish that won't do well with gravel. I would definitely get rid of the gravel and go with a mixed sand substrate (ie live sand or other comparable mixed substrate).