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i am not sure if this is the right place or not for this post but i am going to be getting a much larger aquarium and would like to use sand rather than gravel what are the pros and cons of each and how do you vac an aquarium with sand? thanks

To vacuum the sand all you have to do is, keep the vacuum 1 inch from the sand & the fish "poo" will be sucked & the sand left in your tank. You must also stir the sand from time to time, so no bacteria will be captured in the sand pockets.


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Also, Malaysian Trumpet Snails are great for any substrate, especially sand. They burrow in the substrate and keep it airated(keeps bad bacteria from building in the sand) and help with algae and the like.

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I will give you some reasons for not using sand.

I can be difficult to clean as stated,

Plant roots can be crushed and not suitable for most plants that have to be rooted into the sand.

If using a filter with an impella it can chop it to pieces very quickly.

Some sands can often be glarey and "can" cause stress to some fish.

Keith

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Hi,
You would have to go back in the AquaScaping and Aquarium
Plant forums for additional information. Sand vs Gravel
is a frequently pondered choice and asked question.

Some folks love it, and others hate it. Actually, it
depends upon what fish and plants you are going to use.

Generally speaking, planted tanks all have substrates
that is 3-4 inches thick. The problem with sand is that
the spaces between the individual grains is very small.
These spaces are easily filled with detritus (fish&snail
poop, excess food) and other junk that accumulates on
the bottom of the tank. This stuff rots. Along with that,
the weight of the sand and accumulating waste compresses
the small spaces even more, and the result is areas that
turn "sour." That is the breed anaerobic bacteria forming
black foul smelling areas in the tank. They give off a gas
called Hydrogen Sulfide that smells like rotten eggs and
is toxic to plants and fish.

If you should decide to use sand, keep the layer very thin,
say 1/2 to 1 inch thick, plant only plants that either
grow on rocks & wood such as java ferns, or plants that
have a very small root system such as the carpet plants.
Use the MTS snail, and cories to keep the sand loose and
aeriated, and clean on a regular basis.

If the sand gets into the water column it can be sucked
into the filter system, destroying the pump and cloging
it. If you use sand, I would ALWAYS use a sponge
"prefilter" wraped around the filter intake to keep the
sand out. When cleaning the tank, always turn off the
filter as an additional precaution.

Frank


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