# Sand in the planted tank



## Aquatic Neurotic (Oct 22, 2017)

Questions about sand in a planted tank:

1) If I slope it (higher in back to create depth) will it stay pretty well or will it all end up migrating to one flat level?

2) Best depth in order to facilitate plants yet also prevent compaction gas. 

3) Should I rake the sand in a planted tank to prevent gas buildup or is it pointless?

4) Would putting a thin layer of gravel under the sand help prevent gas buildup under sand?

(I know sand is not the best substrate for plants, I am using it because I want Corydoras to be happy.)

Thank you!


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## The Bungulo (Aug 28, 2017)

im actually switching to sand pretty soon. heres a good guide on sand you need to read: Sand as a (Superior) Substrate | Advanced Aquarium Concepts


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## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

1. Not 100% sure on this one but I'd think sand would have more tendency to want to kinda flatten out once you get water movement in the tank. Perhaps using some retaining features like wood or rock or even plastic barriers would help.
2. Probably 2" or less. I see most recommending 1" to 1.5" sand caps when using dirt. I'd say about the same when using just sand. Larger grain sand would probably help out some too. Not the super fine playground stuff but pool filter sand or even slightly larger.
3. Some people will rake or poke the sand with a chop stick during maintenance to try and prevent or eliminate pockets. You can also use MTS snails that burrow around in the sand to so the same thing. Or have fish that sift through the sand.
4. No. The sand will end up sifting through the gravel and the gravel will end up on top anyways.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

This will fly in the face of what some propose but I totally find the idea of sand trapping gas to be somewhat overblown as a hazard. I can see it "might" happen in some extreme cases but then I also find lots of confusion and false info passed around when fish die. It is very much easier for me to believe fish die and we don't know why than it is for me to believe a gas will be trapped by something as porous as sand. I will believe it possible if the sand is really poor grade and left to pack down into a solid sheet but I don't see that being possible if plant roots and snails can move through it. It takes a pretty solid, tough membrane like a balloon to hold gas under water. 
I may get caught someday and regret it but I have never had a fish die from trapped gas so I just go along with the normal flow and ignore the hazard. If your tank begins to stink, yes, you do have a problem and the fish may die but I'm guessing most of us have that figured already? No reason to pass gas on the subject!


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## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

Aquatic Neurotic said:


> (I know sand is not the best substrate for plants, I am using it because I want Corydoras to be happy.)


Notice @burr740 tank shot, dutch tank winner this year, Black Diamond Blasting Sand!
Cory safe too!!!


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## Aquatic Neurotic (Oct 22, 2017)

Haha that is awesome Maryland Guppy 

No matter what substrate I use I will never come close to anything beautiful like that. But it's encouraging to see what can be done growing plants in sand!


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Aquatic Neurotic said:


> Haha that is awesome Maryland Guppy
> 
> No matter what substrate I use I will never come close to anything beautiful like that. But it's encouraging to see what can be done growing plants in sand!


I like your handle so don't take this wrong! But I am afraid that we do tend to be a bit neurotic when it comes to lots of things in the hobby. We tend to look at all the parts like substrate, Ph, GH, lights, CO2 and every other little bit of the game but I'm afraid most of the fault is not in the ingredients we mix into the recipe but most of the fault will lie with the cook?? 
I keep telling my wife that the trick to cooking is not to be able to cook what you like but far more important to like what you can cook! 
:grin2:


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## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

burr uses the BDBS and I believe some root tabs too.
I wish my tank looked that good!
Many also use pool filter sand.
Nothing wrong with sand.


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## agrasyuk (Jan 5, 2018)

My 125gallon is ecocomplete covered with playsand, started almost 4 years ago.

Couple of observations:

Slope - sand will slide whenever it wants to slide no matter the slope just from the flows of filters (my flow is not crazy and not high at all). I have a ridge in the middle. Hardscape will affect flow and floor shape too. So don't count on it.

Gasses - another vote for "not much of a concern". IMO raking or no raking will have exactly same level of impact - none. MTS will steer it good.

Appearance - After years I do have some black susbstrate particles emerge (this happens when pulling plant roots), but it is still almost all sand on top. And that's with the ever changing "flow" of the sand dunes. So yes, the substrate will mostly stay down without sand seeping.


Overall I really like my substrate choice. And my cories like it too. It's amazing to watch them sifting for live worms that I deposit into the sand.


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## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Sand does not "flatten out" any more than any other substrate. If you slope it higher in the back it will tend to stay that way unless you have fish that like to move it around (my kribensis and Steatocranus move it all around. Corydoras don't to any large degree). My very powerful polishing filter does move sand around if I leave it running for several days but regular filters do not.

ETA: I have never had any sort of gas buildup issues in my tanks due to sand. Sand is also just fine for plants if you are fertilizing the water column.


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## silvery1 (Jan 4, 2018)

PlantedRich said:


> I like your handle so don't take this wrong! But I am afraid that we do tend to be a bit neurotic when it comes to lots of things in the hobby. We tend to look at all the parts like substrate, Ph, GH, lights, CO2 and every other little bit of the game but I'm afraid most of the fault is not in the ingredients we mix into the recipe but most of the fault will lie with the cook??
> I keep telling my wife that the trick to cooking is not to be able to cook what you like but far more important to like what you can cook!
> :grin2:


ya got that right, too bad most threads ya see on our hobby is somewhat injected by companies that wanna sell their *s* to us. haha


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## sherryvan (Feb 11, 2019)

Sand started as a good substrate, but after a while, the water pressure wrapped it tightly, which caused a “dead” point in the sand and the air could not fall through the layer. This also means that fish and aquatic animals that like to dig holes and hide will not be able to do so.

As long as the gravel is not too big and too heavy, they can perfectly compress the roots of living plants. The perfect size of the gravel is about the size of the pea.

Pool filter sand and gravel can be used together in an aquarium, but if the gravel is first lowered, it will eventually fall on as the sand gradually settles to the bottom. When using a gravel filter, and cannot be used with gravel because the motor will not be able to absorb water through gravel and hard-packed sand. This means that the waste will not be filtered out and can only be placed on the substrate.


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