Currently... I am running 2, 20g tanks. Both with gravel... i thought about changing the gravel to sand in one of them.
However Im curious about cleaning... To clean the gravel I have this plastic thing with a hose on it and it sucks the fecies/agae/dirt etc etc etc. up and into the bucket for the water change... to keep the gravel clean... hwo do u do this with sand?
*n1
I prefer sand and simply don't clean it. Have a tank that has been running since 2002 and have never cleaned the sand.
But it does have some "crud" which I could siphon off if I wanted. None of the gravel cleaning tube type things needed.
FWIW I use a three layer substrate now. 1" of peat moss ($10 for a 3/4 yard bale), 1" of play sand ($3/50 pounds), and 1" of pc select (50#/$8). You could also use gravel for the final layer also.
what I do is put in the peat moss and add water just to the top of the moss. then level the moss and clean up the tank sides.
then add 1" of the sand and add water to the top or the sand. level and clean again.
Then add the pc select (or gravel), add water and again level and clean.
I then add all the plants.
Then with a dish fill the tank to the top.
I have found that method results in very clear water. Each layer seems to "trap" the previous layer and prevent the "floaties". The peat moss seems to keep KH and gh constant. And fish such as neon tetras that did not do well with just sand have lived for years.
Oh yea, I use no mechanical filter, no circulation, tap water, and no water changes.
just my .02