If you’re not keeping shellies and want to save yourself some time and effort, ditch the sand. In fact, unless you’re keeping species that genuinely make use of the substrate, such as eartheaters or shellies, or you’re keeping plants that need it, go bare bottom. Why?
I have used everything from sand to river pebbles as substrate, but there is nothing easier to clean than a bare bottom tank. For one, you can see every bit of detritus very easily. Second, you won’t have to worry about sucking up any substrate when you vacuum. Third, you’ll be able to vacuum without having to be careful at all (unless you have fry), which will save you lots of time.
If you have multiple tanks with substrate that isn’t really needed, and you lament the time it takes to clean them all, simply remove it down to the glass/acrylic. I am in the process of removing sand from all but one tank. I was surprised at how much time I saved each week just removing the sand from two tanks. Even if you have tanks with shellies, you could conceivably remove all the sand and cover the bottom with shells.
I will say watching shellies move sand or even eartheaters sift sand is fun. And yes, tanks look more natural when they have some type of substrate in them, especially when they contain live plants.
Do the fish really care? Probably not, since most of the fish we keep were domestically bred in bare bottom tanks anyway.
On the other hand, some hobbyists advocate for keeping substrate to a minimum, if at all. In fact, my friend Pam Chin will tell you to go easy on the sand (see my second interview with her).