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

[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