As the title say's lets have a vote on what type of substrate we all use..........

Gravel...but I do use sand for my fry tank.

Ive tried all three and find gravel the easiest to control....
Although sand substrate and bare tank's do have there benefits but they didnt work for me....

so thats 1 vote for gravel for me....

I agree gravel is the easiest to control but in my fry tank I vacuum everyday with a 5%-10% water change. They poo so much it looks like someone threw dirt on the white sand. For me it makes "spot" cleaning a lot easier and uneaten food doesn't drop below the sand.

I have only ever used gravel, wanted to try bare bottom but just gonna keep going with what s been working for me.

I use a sand and fine gravel mix, a. to give the plants a bit more to root in and b. for aesthetics.

Hey Spreebok what kind of mix do you use, 50-50 60-40? Never thought of that before.

I'll have to try get a photo for you, I use a net to shake it out so there's a bit of a sprinkling of fine gravel on top with a net, looks great!
@Lunchbox: I'd say about 40-60 to 30-70 in gravel and sand respectively. there's enough fine gravel to make a layer at the bottom and to sprinkle on top of the sand. Plus the sand is great if your a meanie pants like me and don't let your khuli loaches dissapear :P

I say sand but what i use is kinda a mix between sand and bare botom. I throw in about enough sand to cover the bottom of the tank to a depth of about 2~3mm then as water get tipped in and curents push it around bare spots form. I find this is the perfect mix as it allows substrate for the good bacteria to live in but make cleaning such a breeze!

i use gravel coz i have ugf on my tank plus it makes vac alot easier

My tanks have mostly small normal gravel, but I have the peps in a sand bottom..I find the plants struggle a bit in sand, but given plenty of ferts, it will grow on ok..

ive used most sustrates in the past but please be carefull when using sand.
The thing with sand is if the sand is only shallow the fish will turn it over more than enough to avoid any build up of solid waste and any risk of anaerobic dead spots which become deadly over a peiriod of time. this is why i dont use it in my bristlenose tanks. i dont like moving caves that are burried at the back into the sand. ie anarobic dead spots under the cave.
also be carefull on type of sand you are using as most sands will buffer the water to a higher ph than you will want for youre bristlenoses.

also remember if using a bare bottom tank to scrub the bottom every week. before youre weekly water change. the slime that builds up on the bottom will kill youre fish.