There are several factors you should consider when planning your substrate, whether it is sand or gravel:

1) plants – the smaller grain size lets plants “root” better as long as the bed is deep enough

2) grain size – there still needs to be some circulation of water (with dissolved oxygen) into the substrate or anaerobic areas will accumulate harmful gasses which can later be released into your tank

3) particle material – true sand is particles of silica – this can encourage growth of diatoms (“brown algae”) that use silica in building their external shell; cichlid “sand” contains particles of calcium which raise the pH of your tank; some marine sand is made up of crushed shell material that will also raise your pH – you need to find a sand that is inert – meaning it won’t dissove or react to change the chemistry of your water; there are sand products made for use in an aquarium

4) tank inhabitants – some fish and inverts like a sand bed for digging and hiding – they’ll help you keep the bed stirred up

5) ease of cleaning – particles of food and fish waste don’t fall into voids in the sand – they lay on top where it’s easier to see and remove them

Should you decide to try sand, choose your material and grain size carefully and be sure to wash the sand before adding it to your tank. Very fine sand can be an irritant, so I’d go with a coarser grain size. I’ll provide some links with additional information, including one on cleaning/water changes with a sand substrate.

Sand looks great but it is more difficult when it comes to cleaning the tank. Many times cleaning the tank withthe gravel siphone tends to suck up more sand than poo. It can also get caught up in the filters.

As far as PH it won’t effect your PH as much as you think. Very slightly, if at all. When doing water changes pouring water from buckets tends to stir up the sand unless you use a plate or a bowl at the bottom of the tank to dispurse the water.

most fish do love the sand. No more than 2 inches in the tank. More than that can build up toxic pockets of gas.

Larger sand, closer to the small pebbles work the best, black sand blasting sand (Course) is also great. Just watch any scaleless fish can be hurt on the sharp edges of this Looks great.

It is a matter of what do you want to care for. Sand has more cons than pros in a fresh water tank since the fish waste is so different. Personally, I would not have sand in fresh water due to cleaning, but I have it in salt. (Different).

It is impossible to keep clean, get’s into everything, and ends up killing your filter by wearing out the impeller. (if you are using a power filter).

My best advice would be to stick to a fine gravel, and leave the sand for the beach.

Good Luck.
E.

but it always looks good to have nice coloured gravel…but its ur choice…
anyway hope this helps u

There are 2 basic compositions available, Aragonite and Silica. Aragonite has the added advantage of buffering your PH and I have read several times in various forums that Silica based sand tends to harbor algae growth but have not found that to be the case.

If you choose to use sand there are a couple of considerations to keep in mind. First of all be sure that the grains are fairly uniform in size and not too fine. Secondly, if your tap water is low in PH, it may be worth it to find Aragonite based sand to aid in buffering the desired higher ph that your cichlids require. And perhaps the most important advise I can give you, clean it extremely well prior to placing it in the tank and when your sure you have it clean, clean it again.

How much is the right amount of sand? To have a uniform 2-3 inches of sand, you will require about 1 pound of sand per gallon of tank capacity. A little more or less depending on the shape of your tank.

just read up on the details..
it requires a filter.. heater (some come in sets).. some plants..
fish food.. ph balance stuff.. light.. (you also gotta cycle the water)
rem to let good bacteria grow for a while before u put the fish in..
maybe two weeks..
um.. and basically just contact your local fish store and also read up on it.. there are fish forums.. for people who are new to tropical fish as a hobby.. i visited the website its pretty good