Gravel or Sand

SirHelm · Post by **SirHelm** » 01 Jan 2003, 08:40

I don't remember if this question was asked before.... I currently have 2 Pictus, 1 asian red tail (finally identified... thanks Silvianus), and one common pleco. I currently have small gravel with some smooth river pebbles dotting the landscape. See the link for partial picture. I was considering going to sand...... anyone have any suggestions? Also what should I do with my 55 gallon when I get it?

Thanks

SH

http://community.webshots.com/photo/590 ... 8883DbOylT

In this pic you can see one of my pitcus , and the larger river pebbles and the white aquarium gravel.

Yann · Post by **Yann** » 01 Jan 2003, 13:32

Hi!
The problem with sand is for the plants and about the flow....
When you have a huge water flow...the sand iseasily carried away... if you do have some plants they won't be able to grow their roots so well, plus it does not let water run in between so good. As you probably won't be able to let the plants grow their roots calmly without any fish in, you might find them pretty much all the time unrooted....
Personnaly i prefer using very thin gravel...it works great and it is almost sand like!!!!
Cheers
Yann

SirHelm · Post by **SirHelm** » 01 Jan 2003, 21:08

Cool,

Thanks for the advise. I haven't even gone to real plants yet. But when I get the new tank then I will do it right.

Thanks

SH

Post by **Rusty** » 01 Jan 2003, 22:38

I personally think that sand is more trouble than its worth. As yann pointed out, it is easily carried away by a strong filter/water change. It is also much easier to make anaerobic, which is a Bad Thing?. I like Flourite (I know it's expensive, but back in the day before the dot-com bubble burst, it was possible to get the stuff for free from pets.com if you were privy to the right coupon codes

), which is eye pleasing, and the fish and plants seem to like it a lot.

In the end, it all depends on what you and your fish like better. Some fish may even require sand/fine gravel (Chacidae comes to mind), but most catfish will not, and I don't think yours do.

BTW, that's probably not a pictus (Pimelodus pictus)! I'd say it's some sort of Pimelodus sp. (blochii???)

Rusty

Post by **Shane** » 02 Jan 2003, 00:22

Yann and Rusty are correct to point out that there are drawbacks to using sand as a substrate, but it can also be used to good effect. The key is to keep the sand substrate thin (about 1/2 inch or just over 1 cm). If you go very deep you can run into the anaerobic problem Rusty mentioned. That said, it might be interesting to experiment with anaerobic filtration as it is currently all the rage in the marine side of the hobby. I have found that by carefully arranging your powerhead/power filters you can stop them from blowing the sand around too much. It is also much easier to clean than gravel because the waste sits on top of the sand. In addition to Chacidae, sand is key for many loricariinae.

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Yann · Post by **Yann** » 02 Jan 2003, 00:43

Hi Shane!
Your tank sure looks great!
When yo say " Sand is key to many Loricariidae", what do you mean exactly as I did not quite understand it!
Why is Sand key, under what circonstances and for which Loricariidae???
Cheers
Yann

SirHelm · Post by **SirHelm** » 02 Jan 2003, 01:04

WOW! Nice tank. Very unique! How big is it?? and what does it usually hold?

SH

Post by **Shane** » 02 Jan 2003, 04:20

Yann,
I said sand is key for many loricariinae, not Loricariidae. The subfamily loricariinae contains many sand dwelling loricariids such as Apistoloricaria and many Loricariichthys spp.

SH, The tank is 40 gallons and contains five adult L 106, two adult L 207 (DATZ not Aqualog), and three adult Panaque albomaculatus. The Panaques will come out soon and be replaced by four adult L 52 making it a true Rio Orinoco biotope. The L 52 are pictured in the Cat-E-Log. These fish come from the Rio Atababpo, a tributary of the upper Orinoco.

Yann · Post by **Yann** » 02 Jan 2003, 15:38

Hi Shane!

Oops sorry I read it a bit too fast!
Yes they are but very thin gravel should do it fine as well, don't you think so?

Yeap great tank! Sure these are some hard to find Loricariidae around here!
Cheers
Yann

sharpshootercatfish · Post by **sharpshootercatfish** » 09 Jan 2003, 18:59

wont sand sink throu my under gravel filter and get sucked up throu my powerhead cloging it and kill my poor lil fish?

btw do doradid like sand more than gravel?