Changing the substrate?

[GoldenGardner]

HI All, 

 

When I set up my tank I originally put in pebbles, in varying sizing from tiny to nickle size from the pet store. When I was there I could not find any sand to put in the tank. Turned out it was in the next aisle over. Oops. When I look at beautiful aquariums they usually either have sand OR rocks as the substrate and not a mixture of both. Is it possible to add sand into the substrate of a tank that has pebbles to make it look good? I did add sand by hand into my 5 gallon tank, and I'm not really sure if it looks good or not. It's my grow out tank, so I just slowly brought in handfuls. My 29 gallon tank has a ton of fish in it though so if I want to add sand it will be kind of hard with all the fish in it. I do think the plants are doing better in my 5 gallon tank now that I have added some sand.

Edited April 22, 2021 by GoldenGardner

[Fish Folk]

1 hour ago, GoldenGardner said:

HI All, 

 

When I set up my tank I originally put in pebbles, in varying sizing from tiny to nickle size from the pet store. When I was there I could not find any sand to put in the tank. Turned out it was in the next aisle over. Oops. When I look at beautiful aquariums they usually either have sand OR rocks as the substrate and not a mixture of both. Is it possible to add sand into the substrate of a tank that has pebbles to make it look good? I did add sand by hand into my 5 gallon tank, and I'm not really sure if it looks good or not. It's my grow out tank, so I just slowly brought in handfuls. My 29 gallon tank has a ton of fish in it though so if I want to add sand it will be kind of hard with all the fish in it. I do think the plants are doing better in my 5 gallon tank now that I have added some sand.

In general, though attractive, actual sand is not a good substrate to grow plants in. It tends to become very compact, and microlife does not burrow through it well. A number of aquarists luke “pool filter sand.” There is a fine stone that _looks_ like sand, but actually moves around more. We keep that in our African Cichlid tank (see photo below). Substrate that doesn’t absorb and release nutrients is tricky to successfully grow plants in. 

It isn’t impossible to alter substrate, but if it were me, I’d remove fish to temporary quarters. Looks are really up to you. Gravel with sand can work. I’d caution that if you ditch your gravel and toss in sand, you’re going to lose some beneficial bio, and will stir up a mess.

 

[Eric R]

Something to consider is that in my experience, if you just place sand on top of the gravel, it's likely the sand will work its way down through the spaces between the gravel instead of staying on top.

[Nate s]

If your gravel isn’t too deep, scoop half of it out and then spread it out, top it with some pool filter sand. I have mixed sand and gravel in my tanks. Looks a little more like a river/creek bed 

[Tanked]

If you like it, it looks good! 

In nature, there is mixed substrate everywhere.  Depending on the rest of your hardscape and your choice of pebbles there are many possibilities. The river/streambed @Nate smentioned, winding sandy trails, rocky outcrops gradually  merging into sandy beaches...  Let nature be your guide.