Does Fish Tank Gravel Actually Serve Any Purpose?

Have you ever thought that fish tank gravel serves no purpose at all ? If anything, at times, it is more of a hindrance to your viewing pleasure and makes cleaning the tank much harder. Is it's purpose purely to create a landscape that humans can identify with and is no use to the acquatic inhabitants ? Interestingly enough, fish tank gravel actually does serve a purpose: it covers the bottom of the tank, which is a significant part of the nitrogen cycle in your mini ecosystem.

So what is the nitrogen cycle ? If you have plants and fish in your tank, nitrogen is created and broken down. As your fish excretes, loses scales, and otherwise uses all biological means to make a mess, biodeposits collect on the bottom and stick to the gravel. In addition to what your fish decides to unleash on the tank, plants also leave deposits on the floor of the tank, adding to the mass.

If the fish tank gravel weren't there, the biodeposits would move across the tank floor or float in the water creating cloudy, dirty looking water which would affect the health of the fish and plants and impact on your ability to see inside the fish tank.

Instead, the deposits drift into the cracks and gaps in the gravel and begin to decompose slowly, through the action of bacteria. Bacteria that breakdown waste are good for the conditions in the tank and are essential for keeping your fish and plants in good health. If you find that the bacteria in your tank isn't working very hard, you may want to purchase a tube of fish tank cleaner with an active culture in it. You will, however, want to make sure that it matches up with your salinity, ph, and environmental specifications.

Once the bacteria breaks up the deposits, the compounds that are created in the process either float to the top of the tank and escape in gas form or are consumed by the plant life.

So does fish tank gravel serve any other purposes than strictly aesthetic ones? It aids the nitrogen cycle by absorbing or allowing bacteria to convert waste material into useful chemicals. But it also allows the fish tank owner to create his or her own world, which might include ornaments, colored gravel and rocks. So, in a way, in serves a practical and aesthetic purpose.

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