Sand vs. Gravel vs. something else (river rocks, etc)

[Sharra13]

Switched Cecile and Ruth to the new, much larger tank the other day with sand. The sand was SUCH a pain to clean--we spent two hours washing it, but so worht it in the end. Put it in the new tank and let it sit for a day It was still fairly cloudy), then added the filter, and another day later the water was crystal clear! I ended up switching the frogs over before I planned...I originally wanted to run the filter for at least 24 hours before putting them in, but their older tank filter happened to break a couple days before and their tiny tank got GROSS super fast. Even with daily cleaning with a turkey baster, it was just aweful, and way more grungy than just the newer cloudy water of the large tank. Anyway, they adjusted right away and LOVE the sand. It is so easy to keep clean and look really nice.

[Jenste]

Just so you know, the new filter is not doing much of anything else other than making bubbles and moving water around. Filter bacteria - the stuff you WANT to grow and which is what actually filters the tank, can take 6-12 weeks to properly grow.

Do not replace the filter media in your tank....the instructions to replace every 4 weeks is simply a gimmick to make you spend money and is actually detrimental to the cycling of your tank.

If you don't know about the Nitrogen Cycle, do a quick search through Google

[rodsboys]

Just to clarify what Jenna is saying. Your filter is not established so the most important aspect of filtration is NOT in place. It will still mechanically filter your aquarium. Ie.. Remove solid waste and give the aquarium that "clean" look. It does however need to build up a solid bacterial (aerobic and anaerobic) colony to remove harmful ammonia and nitrite from your system. As she said look into the Nitrogen cycle and get a good understanding of it. The information is vital to the health of your animals.
I upgraded my 10 gallon to a 33 gallon yesterday also. However my filter is fully "cycled" as I transferred media over from existing aquariums that I had been seeding for several months in anticipation of this upgrade.

Just so you know, the new filter is not doing much of anything else other than making bubbles and moving water around. Filter bacteria - the stuff you WANT to grow and which is what actually filters the tank, can take 6-12 weeks to properly grow.

Do not replace the filter media in your tank....the instructions to replace every 4 weeks is simply a gimmick to make you spend money and is actually detrimental to the cycling of your tank.

If you don't know about the Nitrogen Cycle, do a quick search through Google

[Sharra13]

Thanks guys--I'll look into it. I did think ahead on the fact that going right into brand new water could be bad for them, so we spent a lot of time slowly putting some of their old water into the new tank before moving them over to get it mixed with the new. They are sill doing great and love thier big tank.

Update on the sand: Still easier to clean thean the pebbles, but we have to keep at it daily. Little tiny bits of poo and decayed food get spread out easily, and it's a bit hard to pick all that up without taking any of the sand out. The sand was such a pain to clean that I don't want to end up "cleaning" to much of it out and having to refill. Hah! The frogs just seem happier with the "solid" floor over the pebbles. They can skuttle along easier, dig their feet in if they want, and they can find their food MUCH easier (without dropping it to gt lost bettwen pebbles forever). I have a little dish set into the sand where I (try) to put their food into every day (bloodworms at night and pellets in the morning), and they know now to head to that corner of the tank at meal times. If any food floats out of the bowl, it's super easy to put back in or for them to find on their own.

[xxianxx]

I use sand and a few large rocks for decoration and hiding places.

[littlemissprincess]

Wow thank you everyone for the awesome advice! I will be going with sand! Wish me luck