Habitat - Indoor :: opinions?

[rsour24]

so right now i have pond rocks to big for my turtle to eat. they cover the whole tank, im not sure if i should get rid of them or not, he is close to 2" and enjoys digging in them. idk if i should take most of them out, bc the support some live plants i have in the tank or just seitch to sand(which i dont rly want to spend money on) or just leave it how it is. i know when he is bigger ill take it out to add some space, i know they dont take up much but they take some.

soo input?
rsour24

[Kemul]

I prefer bare bottom, makes the water cleaner longer. But that's just me.

[papoopeepoo]

It's personal preference. If you hate cleaning the rocks then take them out, if you don't mind it so much then it can't hurt to leave them.

[rsour24]

its not like i hate it or anything and i think it looks really nice but i know the guppies like to hide in them and they hold up the plants, but i have the tank on a stand so i can see the bottom and the rocks block a lot of dirt from being picked up by the filter and i feel liek sand will cause problems with the filter

[Kemul]

As long as you position the intake 2-3" above the sand surface, I doubt the filter
can suck the sand. People using sand as substrate can give you more info. Or,
you can read the sand as substrate sticky.

[koreyleigh]

I have some large glass rocks. I like them too much to take them out, but the amount of waste they trap is frustrating sometimes. Search for some "sand" topics and see the pros and cons -- it might be better to stick with what you've got

[elwray]

I've got sand in three tanks. Two are RES tanks.

1 - 75 gallon RES
2 - 55 gallon RES
3 - 10 gallon aquascape

There are definitely pros and cons to sand. This is my opinion:

PROS:
-Cheap ($3/50lb bag at hardware store)
-Natural look
-Clean (it's so dense that debris and waste sits ON it, doesn't get stuck in it)
-Easy to anchor plants/decor

CONS:
-Dirty. Needs to be THOROUGHLY washed and sifted (If you use the pet store kind it may be easier but its extremely expensive)
-DIRTY. Seriously, the hardware store stuff really really takes a long time to get clean!
-Takes LONG to settle (depending on how much of the fine grains you wash away)
-Gets in filter. If your intake is a few inches above the surface of the sand, its a MUCH smaller problem. But the turtle will kick some up from time to time. Not a big deal with canister filters since it just gets into the filter floss and doesn't clog or grind. But those magnetic spinning type pumps don't play well with sand.