Adding Sand To Current Set Up

[pippoodle]

Hi there i want to add some sand to my current community tank how do i go about it - do i need to remove it all and start again or just put it where i want it ?
If i get play sand does it need all the washing other sand does ?

what i want to do

I want to shallow out the gravel in the middle of the tank and add a sandy area around the sides and under the bridge ornament for my panda corys as i've read they enjoy exploring sand --- (finally managed to convince kids the star fish and dora ornaments should go in the hospital tank)

Thanks Sarah xxxx

 

[pippoodle]

bumping to see if i get a reply before i go bed if not will try again tomorrow

cheers Sarah xxx

 

[SharonCC]

Hi Sarah...hope you're still up! I don't think having a sandy area is going to work. I think the sand will get mixed with your gravel, due to substrate vacuuming.

 

[Ficious]

its perfectly possible!

what you have to do is push around or remove a couple of handfuls of gravel in the area you want to add sand. then, find as many small rocks as you need to outline and hold back the gravel. im talking about rocks the size of 2-3 inches. i found mine in the rock bed along our sidewalk.


heres a pic of mine when i did it. i too had a few corys that enjoyed it. its been 2 months and yea, the sand has seeped into the gravel a little bit. hardly enough to tell. i have a strong current in my tank but still no need to change my aquascape.

i did a pretty big area...all the fish enjoy feeding off of it

 

[pippoodle]

its perfectly possible!

what you have to do is push around or remove a couple of handfuls of gravel in the area you want to add sand. then, find as many small rocks as you need to outline and hold back the gravel. im talking about rocks the size of 2-3 inches. i found mine in the rock bed along our sidewalk.


heres a pic of mine when i did it. i too had a few corys that enjoyed it. its been 2 months and yea, the sand has seeped into the gravel a little bit. hardly enough to tell. i have a strong current in my tank but still no need to change my aquascape.

i did a pretty big area...all the fish enjoy feeding off of it

WOW!!!

that looks great thats sort of the thing i want and put the bridge on it - as my 5yr old son says thats where it has to go lol
i dont think it matters if the sand seeps into the gravel a bit either
will give it a go on a couple of weeks and see how we get on - hubby gotto help lol

thanks for the replies

Sarah xxx

 

[Straydum]

yeah it can be done. white silica sand would look great in fact. all you need to do is get the sand, wash them really really, i mean really well (i used buckets of water and the tank didn't cloud up). and add them in. for me i took out all my gravel cause i wanted the whole sand bed thing but you can do either thats to your liking.