sand AND gravel? is this plausible?

[Lydia]

[shadow=deepskyblue:65519a201d]i have a 15 gallon with 2 cories in it (about to be 4) and i heard cories like sand best....BUT i already have fine gravel in there that i like and i do not want to get rid of it all...do you think it would look alright/work alright to put a patch of sand somewhere for them to burrow in? also, how hard is it to take care of sand....i usually do a 20-30% water change/gravel vacuum every 1 1/2-2 weeks...would that work to keep it clean? please tell me if you think this would or wouldnt work....thanks![/shadow:65519a201d]

[TheOldSalt]

Personally I wouldn't bother with the sand unless your gravel has sharp edges. look at their whiskers. Are they all okay or are they cut up and red? If they're in bad shape, apply the sand, but don't expect the cories to just stay where the sand is.

[osteoporoosi]

Sand and gravel are not a good option, usually this kind of mix just blocks up. I really recommend that you try the fine sand, and you'll see how much happier the corys become.

[pookerpics]

I have a 10 gallon with two albino cory's in it and it's mix of white sand with natural brown stones. I really like the look, kind of beachy, streamy. I've never had a problem cleaning it either. I just cleaned out my one tank (yesterday), that was ALL white sand. This tank, for some reason was a pain to clean. Thank goodness all I have in it is a Betta, as I had to remove him every time I cleaned it because the sand would move around so much the whole tank would become like a sandstorm as I cleaned it. And, the vacuum never really picked up all the dirt on the bottom (don't know why), unless you just don't see what it's leaving behind with darker colored substrate. It did look nice when it was completely clean though, but just sand was alot of work for me.

[Lydia]

the gravel doesnt have sharp edges, and my cories whiskers arent cut up or red....osteoporoosi, ALL sand is not an option, for me....it would get dirty too easy and get stirred up a whole lot, because i put plants in there alot....the gravel i have is natural colored, by the way....that would only make a difference about the looks of it....anybody else have an opinion? thanks!

[buddah101]

I have just recently tried sand in my turtles tank and I think it looks great but a little hard to clean though. I would eventually like to do one of my bigger tanks with it but dont want to screw up my filters with sand.

[Damon]

If you are stirring up the sand, you're not cleaning it right. You don't push the gravel vac into the sand, but rather hover it above the sand as to suck up whats on top of it. Thats all that is necessary. Stirring up the sand will ruin your filter's impellers.

[DavidDoyle]

I normally have anywhere from 30-45 corys in various tanks doing just fine- none of my tanks has sand.

[Thunderkiss]

I always hated the way it looked when i mixed the 2. Now i only do one or the other. Never seemed to come out right.