Whats better for oscars sand or gravel. I have rocks in my 30 gallon tank now, So the other question was how to you clean sand.

It's a case of personal preference when it comes to substrate. If you want my opinion on what is best, that's a different matter. Having used both gravel and sand, I can categorically say that sand is better than gravel or in more than one way. Firstly it is probably slightly more authentic than gravel, Oscars probably wouldn't live over gravel in the wild. More importantly, it's easier to clean. All the crap and dirt tends to lay on top of the sand, rather than get imbedded underneath. This means that you can get it out easier and keep your water in better condition. It also means that your filtration will remove the dirt more efficiently as well. I really like sand, I would never again at the gravel. If you look on the Oscar SetUp page, you can see a video of cleaning sand

Where would i go about getting sand? Would play sand for childrens sandboxes be ok or should i get it somewhere else?

Garden centres normally sell sand. A lot of the time, it is almost identical to the stuff that aquatic centres charge a fortune for. I think that sand that is meant for sandpits would be okay. Never used it myself. You just got to make sure there is nothing horrible in there like lime and things like that. I wouldn't have thought sand would contain lime anyway, it is normally gravel that content contained lime. Just check it out before you put in your tank

Thanks for the info about the sand. I have another question tho. Right now i have my baby oscar in a 30 gallon tank. hes about 3 inches long now. I do plan on upgrading to a 55 gallon tank later on. I was wondering when i should do this? I am planning on moving to another house in about 3 or 4 months and was going to get the tank then. Is that too late to upgrade or should my oscar be fine until then?

At a rough guess, I would say that your Oscar will be around 6 inches, maybe slightly bigger in four months time. It should be okay in your 30 gallon tank until then. Just keep a close eye on the water. However, you must upgrade to the tank as soon as you move because the fish will keep growing and once it gets over 7 inches, the 30 gallon tank will be too small. Even that six or 7 inches, the Oscar will produce a lot of waste, more waste than a lot of other fish the same size.

Actually they DO sell already sterilized sand in most aquarium stores. Thus, no fear of putting your oscars in danger of infection...you never know what's in the beach sand or at garden centers.

I NEVER USE GRAVEL OR SAND--I have a plain tank. Talk about easy cleaning!!! Just a few times a week I do a quick sweep of the floor...instant clean tank! I have a good biological filtration system consisting of two over the tank biological system filters. What I think is REALLY TOPS with collecting bacteria are those old fashoined SIDE bottom filters, powered by a simple air hose. Put a few STERILIZED rocks in them to keep them on the bottom, and fill the rest with plain aquarium floss. And never change it, other than a very rare occasion rinse. IN THE TANK side filters actually collect considerable quantities of bacteria probably the same as having gravel or sand.

I *never* had a problem with ammonia levels.

Ooops what I meant is a tank CORNER filter (not side) powered by a simple air tubing.

c_etude wrote:

I bought playground sand and it is pretty easy to sterilize. You just have to boil it. It is pretty time consuming but still way cheaper than buying from the LFS. I boiled some for my crab tank.

Most pool filter sand is safe for your fish. Just make sure you wash it out really good in a bucket before putting the sand in your tank.