Changing Substrate

[skinbad]

Hi again all

Just a quick Q:

Was thinking of changing from gravel to either a mix of gravel / sand, or just sand, but as i only have the one tank with fish already in, can i add sand (once cleaned) to the tank without too much trouble? obviously not pouring it in, but like using a cup / glass / container and doing it section by section? I added the gravel with the fish in with no issues, though thats much easier to do.

Thinking of switching as i want the tank to be reasonably well planted when i can, and i have a cory and plecs in there atm.

 

[fluttermoth]

Adding sand, once it's properly clean, is not a problem; getting the old gravel out (you'll be shocked at how much gunk is stuck down there, believe me!) is the tricky bit.

Honestly, I'd do strip down with the fish in a bucket; much less stressful all round (I changed substrate in my bedroom tank last year and had my first outbreak of whitespot for over 20 years, so stirring that amount of rubbish up is stressful for fish).

You should really get some buddies for your cory once you've changed to sand; he'll be much happier, which will make you happier too

 

[minnnt]

The way i did it was to use about 4 buckets for the fish to go in whilst i did the work. Removing gravel with water still in is not ideal as it releases alot of ammonia into the water column.

I would do it like this:

1. Turn off filter and heater
2. Fill buckets with old tank water
3. Remove fish
4. Remove water
5. Remove gravel.
6. Thoroughly clean the whole tank, inside and out.
7. Add your washed sand
8. Add a little warm dechlorinated water
9. Add any decor you want in the tank
10. Add the rest of the water (dechlorinated again)
11. Turn heater and filter back on and get up to temperature.
12. Acclimatise fish back into your tank
13. Clean filter out in old tank water with next waterchange to ensure any sand particles are removed as they will cause damage to the motor and propellor.

Sit back and enjoy!

Your fish will be fine in their buckets for about 4 or 5 hours.