Gravel To Sand...

[lucasluke]

Hi all!

I am thinking of doing a change from gravel to sand as there are so many benefits to using sand it is a no-brainer really. How would I go about this? Presumably I would have to take the fish out, scoop all the gravel out and put sand in?

 

[HayzH]

Hi all!

I am thinking of doing a change from gravel to sand as there are so many benefits to using sand it is a no-brainer really. How would I go about this? Presumably I would have to take the fish out, scoop all the gravel out and put sand in?

I just find it easier on the eye...you can see the dirt better on it...and lots of fish prefer it.
yes you would need to take fish out..it clouds up the tank quite a bit for a while..just make sure you have washed it WELL before putting it in..i had 4 buckets, going in stages of cleanliness. water cleared overnight in the tanks!

 

[lucasluke]

Thanks! Did you use argos play-sand? I heard it is quite good...

 

[AnimalHouse36]

When I changed my sand, it lowered my water temperature ALOT because I used hose water to clean it.

I'd soak it in warm water afterward. It worked well! And expect to do lots of water changes to get the water to clear up.

 

[phishyphil]

Well done for seeing the light and moving over to the Dark side Kidding

Sand really is the best option IMO, but each to their own. What is your tank size BTW, how many fish will you be removing? If I ever need to remove all the fish, I use a regular plastic storage box from the hardware shop, drain off the tank water into the bucket, and place the heater, filter into here and place the fish in. Then the fun begins

Step 1) Wash all your sand, I mean REALLY WASH IT. The water wants to be crystal clear when rinsing it, when this is done, move on to the next bucket of sand. This video shows basically how I do it mate
Step 2) Remove all the water (Obviously )
Step 3) Remove all your decour, and give it a good wash to remove any algae (might as well get the tank looking great)
Step 4) Remove the Gravel and give it a good wash and leave it some where to dry.
Step 5) Add your sand to the tank, add your decour, Half fill the tank, plant whatever needs planting and there you go, Gravel Sand

Other's may do there's differently but this is how I personally have Changed over to sand in the past, and never had any issues. If you wash the sand Really well, you will get hardly any cloudiness, and your filter won't clog up as bad, I would still do a 10% water change after the tank is slear and rinse the filter media to remove any sand debris that may be in there

 

[lucasluke]

Well done for seeing the light and moving over to the Dark side Kidding

Sand really is the best option IMO, but each to their own. What is your tank size BTW, how many fish will you be removing? If I ever need to remove all the fish, I use a regular plastic storage box from the hardware shop, drain off the tank water into the bucket, and place the heater, filter into here and place the fish in. Then the fun begins

Step 1) Wash all your sand, I mean REALLY WASH IT. The water wants to be crystal clear when rinsing it, when this is done, move on to the next bucket of sand. This video shows basically how I do it mate
Step 2) Remove all the water (Obviously )
Step 3) Remove all your decour, and give it a good wash to remove any algae (might as well get the tank looking great)
Step 4) Remove the Gravel and give it a good wash and leave it some where to dry.
Step 5) Add your sand to the tank, add your decour, Half fill the tank, plant whatever needs planting and there you go, Gravel Sand

Other's may do there's differently but this is how I personally have Changed over to sand in the past, and never had any issues. If you wash the sand Really well, you will get hardly any cloudiness, and your filter won't clog up as bad, I would still do a 10% water change after the tank is slear and rinse the filter media to remove any sand debris that may be in there

Thanks! The tank I'm switching is only a small 12 gallon. I'm removing all the fish, so about 18 of them. If the water is still cloudy after the sand goes in will it go away after doing lots of water changes?

 

[HayzH]

Thanks! Did you use argos play-sand? I heard it is quite good...

yes i bought 2 bags. I only used 1, and it did my 70L and 66L . mine personally only took about an hour. and it cleared overnight in the tanks.

 

[phishyphil]

You should not need to do LOADS of water changes, as long as you clean it. Let the sand settle and when it has cleared, then do a small water change to pick up any sediments on top of the sand and rinse the filter to shed anything out of it, and jobs done This is why sand is great, all the stuff lies on top so you dont have to go searching through gravel for waste

And argos Play sand is a good choice, Really wash it though, as I bought this and needed to wash it for a while mate

 

[ripil]

i bought coral sand for my tank. i must of washed it through around 5 times in clean buckets took me around an hour to get it clean. although after all this effort the tank still clouded up for a few hours. so washing it is important i'd say the more the better. i use a fluval 4 filter in a 3 and a half foot tank along with a air pump filter so as long as your filters good it'll clear up quick enough. if your keeping fish that don't mind the alkaline i'd go with coral sand. more expensive but i find it looks better than argos play sand.

 

[CrazyAirborne]

i just swapped out one type of sand for another this past week, and virtually had to do the same process

one trick ive learned is if you have a spare internal filter lying around, you can fill it with nothing but filter wool/floss, and let it go a few days (or however long) and it will help clear the water. Ive now just hid it in one corner and will probably leave it in there, if it helps water clarity, and circulation, and it was a spare, than why not!