# sand or rocks?



## MJAVY7 (Apr 4, 2012)

I am in the process of building a fresh water tank and I have a questions for the pros. I am looking for the maintence-free option for the bottom of the tank, is that small rocks of sand?


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

Nothing will be 100% maintenance free.

Either

or 

both.

Sand is better for rooting plants. But wastes are right on top and visable.

I would recommend some peat moss with sand on top. I then use small diameter gravel on top of that. So actually I use both.

my .02


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## MJAVY7 (Apr 4, 2012)

What does peat moss do for me?


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

MJAVY7 said:


> What does peat moss do for me?


IME it allowed me to keep neon tetras. With just sand neons did not last long. 

I did some testing finally and found out that KH and GH remained constant for over 2 years (4 degrees, 9 degrees respectifully). but in my sand only tank KH and GH both climbed to very high values.

I also use the 1'x'1x3' plastic cubes of canadian spahgum peat moss sold as soil conditioner for agout $12 per cube. Not the smaller peat moss with added fertz for potted plants.

my .02


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## MJAVY7 (Apr 4, 2012)

beaslbob said:


> IME it allowed me to keep neon tetras. With just sand neons did not last long.
> 
> I did some testing finally and found out that KH and GH remained constant for over 2 years (4 degrees, 9 degrees respectifully). but in my sand only tank KH and GH both climbed to very high values.
> 
> ...


Thanks, but neon tetras are not on my top 5 whish list.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

MJAVY7 said:


> Thanks, but neon tetras are not on my top 5 whish list.


Understand.

but I look at that as being kinda an canary in the coal mine type thing. 

the effect (to varying degrees) might very well apply to any fish in the tank.

my .02


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I wouldn't mess with peat unless I was sure what type of fish I was going to need and knew they benefitted from it. Otherwise, it has very little use in a tank IMO. Neons/Cardinals don't need softwater (I've kept in gh/kh of 10) and anything that rises over time is due to lack of incoming freshwater in the form of a water change on a weekly basis. Plus, if you have hard water like I do even a sub-bed of peat will make very little difference and peat, just like driftwood/leaves/etc loses its effectiveness over time.


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## FishFlow (Sep 13, 2011)

I wouldn't considered Multiple layers of substrate in a non-planted tank "maintenance free"

If you are not going planted, small gravel would be the easiest, but the fish store purchased sand is almost as easy. The difference was mentioned, you can see junk much easier on top of sand (which then you may feel inclined to clean *more often* ) hence a bit harder to maintain.

Lol Bob, Using Neon's as canary’s in your tanks? I'm not quite sure how to interpret that.
I've had really good luck with Neon's, and at least in my tanks, and I do not consider them sensitive.


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## Subaru4wd (May 6, 2011)

If you are looking for less maitenance, go for a darker and larger size rock. The sand is so tiny, nothing will sink through it. All your crap will sit ontop of the sand, and after a while your gonna get sick of seeing it and end up maintaining your tank.

If you use gravel, the crap has a place to go when it breaks down. Also, if you have a good team of bottom feeders they can help keep the floor clean.


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## MJAVY7 (Apr 4, 2012)

Thanks for all the help, I went shopping and got some brownish rock (75lbs), a versa top (or lid) a light for the top, some bio balls (2more gallons), drift wood, vales, tubing, plumbing etc. I cant wait to see my credit card bill .


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Just throwing in my opinions here.

Owning an aquarium will never be maintenance free and and successful,just doesnt work that way.You will need to do water changes and pay attention to the livestock that lives in there.Otherwise whats the difference between that and buying a dog,throwing it outside on a chain and looking out your window to see if its alive every once in awhile.

That being said I think the gravel is a good choice.I myself like sand because its easier to get the gunk off the top of it,and seeing as I have planted tanks Its useful lol.


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