gravel vs sand ? 1/4" gravel max?

One website that seems to be fine for purchasing fish on the Internet is
www.aquariumfish.net . How ever this site recommends that a MAX of 1/4"
of gravel be used. I don't think I would agree with this but I was
wondering if anyone else had any experience in the comparison. I
actually use black sand. It is the first time I have used sand and it
seems to be working well. One advantage I see is that the waste sits on
top of the sand and is easily removed. The way I was to told to clean
the sand is to stir the sand and the waste will be cleaned be the
filter. I have 40 lbs of black sand which ends up being about 3/4" of
sand. Another question of mine is if the sand is actually better than
gravel.

Well I am trying something new, mostly because I hated the color of the
gravel I had (green, black, yellow). At the time I had to make due
because the place was out of blue and they did not have enough any one
color. The sand is much prettier.

Erik

Hi..

> I actually use black sand.

Is this a natural sand? I've river sand in each of my tanks.

> It is the first time I have used sand and it seems
> to be working well.

It does. If this were a loach-less tank it might be
beneficial to add some Malaysian Livebearing Trumpet Snails
(Melanoides tubercutata).

> One advantage I see is that the waste sits on top
> of the sand

But no real advantage using river sand. ;-)

> The way I was to told to clean the sand is to stir
> the sand and the waste will be cleaned be the filter.

Depends on fish mates and fish load I think, the waste may
also be removed by water changes.

> I have 40 lbs of black sand which ends up being
> about 3/4" of sand.

A planted tank may have 2-4" sand, but don't know at all if
yours is a planted tank, how big that tank is, if your
floor might be able to take that additional load..
--
cu
Marco