Okay so where did my old thread goes *cries* I can't find it sad Ah well to update what I did some months ago. I have two 30litre tanks that used to have gravel in but a lil while ago I replaced all the gravel with sand. Now first off I added 1 inch & 1/2 but found out this is very a bad idea. Due to the weight of the sand in compacts down and allows bacteria to grow in any air pockets. You either have to move the sand each day or to make it a lil easier add only 1 1/2 cm of sand. I had found the plants do not like that depth and the pleco's find it funny to did the plants up *rolls eyes* but with the help of some pebbles they can be anchored down.

It really is a brilliant substrate for fish as it is easy to clean, the fish love the feeling of being able to rummage through it, even the pleco's enjoy rubbing against it.

So yesh sand is very good.

Don't forget to clean it for hours when you first get the sand... Don't just think "hey it is clean enough for now". Trust me you will regret it. Clean it till it is exceptionally clear. I sat outside with a hosepipe and bucket. Kept sticking the pipe into the sand, let it fill up and then poured it out again. I lost a lil bit of sand but getting rid of the really fine stuff is a good idea.
You will only need a thumbs thickness of sand in the tank otherwise it will compact.

NEVER USE SAND FROM THE SEA. Unless your making a salt water tank XD. You will NEVER get rid of the salt out of that sand.

Don't forget to move the sand around a lot so that any bubbles come up. I use chop sticks to stick in the sand and move around the plants. The rest I do with my hand wink

My own aquariums just have a sand substrate with some plants added in, then I find slate (make sure there is absolutely NO METAL in the stones. Otherwise you will have the lingering smell of iron, it really is horrible, if you ever had to polish silverware you know what I mean.) and other rounded pebbles to stack into miniature caves. I even add the air stone under the slanted stones so that the fish who enjoy the feel of the air on their scales can anchor themselves to the underside of the stone. The little caves can be made into mazes for the fish to enjoy. I find these seem to work so much better than elaborate castles and expensive figurines you find in shops. If it works for the fish in nature then make use of it where you can.