Sand Vs. Gravel or rocks

[Dimond24]

I am trying to get a 150g set up for my baby fahaka puffer and i was wondering if anyone had an opinion about sand? I have heard that it can be great or it can be a mess. I have never had a tank with sand before but i think they look very nice. Does anyone know what fahakas prefer, sand or gravel? and if they like sand, what kind is the best? We are also going to do an under gravel filter (new to me as well) along with top filters, do those do ok with sand? Also how do you go about cleaning and maintaining it? any info will help.. thanks

[Hilly]

In large tanks it can become a nightmare, large fish produce big sh*t and it gets weighted down by the grains of sand making cleaning a right pain in the a$$. It's not too bad while the fish are small however a very thin layer is best to go for if going with sand. I had some bits that were shovelled up to deep areas by my fish and the areas started turning black. The there's the stirring if its too deep and impactation depending on the sand.

[yunachin]

Sand is difficult for cleaning as Hilly said but will encourage the fahaka to burrow. Rocks are easy to clean and you can get them in different colors. I have aragonite in my fahaka tank personally but you have to monitor the Ph in the tank.

[groovitudedude]

Yes, if you want crazy colors, gravel allows you to. However, for a fahaka, since they tend to burrow, it would be better for it's skin to go sand. Try to get slightly larger sand so it doesn't create an underwater tycoon and kill the filter.

[Dimond24]

What is the best kind of sand? i really like the natural look, even my rocks now are natural color but I also heard sand comes in black? Is there anything specail in that? and is it bad for the under the gravel filters to use sand, because i know those can become really expensive and i dont want to like blow the motor or something ( i know nothing about those filters yet).

[SpockthePuffer]

I don't think sand can be used with under gravel filters... If your other filtration is good, you don't really need and under gravel filter, I know a lot of people don't like them because they are a pain to clean

[groovitudedude]

Yes, it is a bad idea to use sand with an UG filter. It tends to get sucked in.

[Dimond24]

So what is better? to offer the puffer sand to burry in, or to get and UG filter because they are messy eaters and require a lot of filtration?

[sepgundamrg]

I use regular play sand in all my tanks including my 75 gallon. I think sand is easy to clean especially if its a planted tank. I rarely actually vacuum the substrate because all my tanks are also planted. A colony of mts will prevent the black spots , so will a gentle stir with your hands once a month. It is a beast to wash though.

[manutius]

I woold never use sand in one of my setups with a large puffer due to the big poops and how easily the gravel can go bad as the other guys have pointed out. I have some very natural looking small grade gravel substrate in my tank that may give you the look you are after withouth the associated problems of sand. Have a look at my gallery for some pics

[StormySkiez]

This is very good info. I was wondering the same thing...if sand is better then gravel or crushed coral. I am not completly happy with my CC. It has just started to turn brown in the feeding spot. I hope all of it does not turn brown. We do clean the gravel weekly. I had no idea sand was that bad to use. What is best?

[Hilly]

If you dont like crushed coral stormyskiez then try some aragonite sand, it has a bigger grain than aquarium sand so tends not to weight down waste, well it doesnt from my experience with it.

A Fahaka will have no problem burrowing in a fine grain gravel.

[Dimond24]

Im setting up my tank friday and im still not sure what im going to use. I typed the aragonite sand into google and everything poped up with saltwater. Is it the same sand for both fresh and sw tanks? I think i may go with that because i would like to give him the option to burry himself. Also what are the colony of MTS that you were mentioning? Are those like sucker fish or something?

[yunachin]

Malaysian Trumpet Snails

[Jase]

MTS= Malaysian Trumpet Snails= Evil.
took me forever to kill them all.