2 be or not 2 be... sand!

[!guppy!]

i want to convert my tank to sand, its only a 10g planted but i think the plants will benifit from sand, my questions are

would the 8 fish (guppys plattys and mollys) be ok as i put the sand in the tank and took the gravel out

secondly, could i use any old sand of course washing it in hot water etc first?

thanks

 

[CFC]

IMO plants actually do better in fine gravel than sand, sand tends to get moved about a lot which disturbs root systems and inhibits good growth.

If you do convert to sand then silica sand is so far the best sand i have found though silver sand (playsand) and pool filter sand (diatom sand) are also popular, avoid coral sand as this will raise the pH of the water to levels than are only desirable for rift valley cichlids and brackish/marine fish.

 

[heresmike]

...
would the 8 fish (guppys plattys and mollys) be ok as i put the sand in the tank and took the gravel out
...

I made the switch from coarse gravel to fine gravel with the fish in the tank, and it worked out great. Should work OK with sand too, as long as you wash it thoroughly and gently scoop it onto the bottom instead of dropping it in from the top.

 

[!guppy!]

thanks for advice, my only other worry is that the gravel i put in might be abit dirty, so if the tank gets cloudy for an hour say will it be ok?

 

[clutterydrawer]

the gravel is dirty, or the sand?