Changing Gravel To Sand

[Verdifer]

Hi folks.

I made the mistake of buying a starter fish tank then deciding that I wanted a bigger tank which I went and bought.

The problem I have is when I bought the first small tank I bought gravel for it, when I bought my larger tank from a LFS
the guy said sand would be better than gravel so I bought a big bag of sand for the tank.

The sand in the bigger tank sits at a depth of between 1.5 inches and 3 inches maybe a bit more depending on what my bristlenose
has been doing during the night.

I would like to replace the gravel in the smaller tank with some sand from the bigger tank as there is plenty in it.

Im wondering but if I would be better putting the sand on top of the gravel or remove the gravel and re-fill it with
the sand, if I remove I will be taking away the bacteria from the small tank but if I just put the sand on top of the gravel and have
it more or less buried under the sand then the good bacteria I have will still be there.

So am I best doing a complete swap or putting the sand on top ?.

 

[pumh]

are there any fish in the smaller tank right now?

 

[jacko32]

not much point adding sand to the top of gravel within a week the gravel will have worked its way back to the top
if its just a small tank with some fish in just bag the fish and keep a bucket of the tank water then empty the tank and do a full change over you wont loose much in the way of bacteria most of its in the filter anyway

 

[Verdifer]

Thanks Jacko I will do that.

There is only 2 fish in the tank also.

 

[JoshuaA]

If you it whilst the fish are in the tank add the sand slowly as it can cause a huge temperature shift if its not up to room temperature.