Dumping The Sand.......

[JawsA10]

i heard from another topic that a peacock eel will get cut on gravel and get a huge soar. well would it be alright if i dropped the sand on top of the graval? if not ill just dump out the rocks and put in the sand (which will take about two hours) which is fine!

 

[jayjay]

The sand will fall through the gravel eventually.

 

[samyboy]

depending on the size of gravel the sand will fall to the bottom and your stone will remain on top, drain the tank keep as much water in buckets as possible remove as much gravel as you can, add the sand (rince it well otherwise your water will be cloudy for several days then add the water back..........keeping as much of your old water means you wont have to cycle again

 

[PaulEbs]

My guessing is that over time the sand will just sift through the gravel as it's much smaller, and you'll have a mix of the two. Which means anaerobic pockets can build up more easily.

In my opinion, I'd take the gravel out completely, and replace it with the sand [there are many topics on this forum with people's experiences and advice on doing so].

Paul.

depending on the size of gravel the sand will fall to the bottom and your stone will remain on top, drain the tank keep as much water in buckets as possible remove as much gravel as you can, add the sand (rince it well otherwise your water will be cloudy for several days then add the water back..........keeping as much of your old water means you wont have to cycle again

But surely it's the gravel and the filter that will hold the beneficial bacteria, not the water?

 

[jayjay]

Which means anaerobic pockets can build up more easily.

There not that bad, they lower nitrates and as soon as they come into contact with oxygen in the water are harmless.

Yes the water holds little to no bacteria, it's pratically all in the filter media.

 

[JawsA10]

thx , just makin sure, i wuz probably gunna do that anyway just in case he could get hurt. im to scared for him

 

[Tommy Gunnz]

I have two peacock eels in a tank and went through the same dilema with the gravel I had in the tank. I went to a bunch of stores to get as many opinions as I could and I was told more often than not that gravel would be ok if you can find the stuff that is slightly smaller. I have it in the tank right now and my eels have been fine for over a year now. I cannot remember the brand name, but it is the stuff that comes in all kinds of colors. I have seen it at petco and walmart. Anyways, the stuff is not natural so when they color it, it gets tumbled in a big machine and this smooths the rougher edges.

I will stop to say though that when you are cleaning out your tanks, be SUPER careful when you have these eels. I had one situation in which my wife didnt realize that they can move while they are completely buried and ended up....well, it was like his back was broken. It was heartbreaking and I had to euthanize him. I also realized that having these eels in the same tank with other bottom dwelling fish (like loaches in my case) will only end up with eels that are constantly hidden. I finally took out the loaches (great excuse to get another tank, by the way) and bought a set of little green lights to get some lights in the tank at night time. Now I can watch the eels all the time and I have been able to hand feed them quite a bit. They are awesome to watch swim around, but they can and will jump. And pretty far as well!

 

[JawsA10]

umm why is it bad to keep loaches in there again? i didnt quite understand. but my loach and spiny eel are always at least 3 inches from each other if not on top of each other. they do not fight and seem to like each other. heh today i bought some marine sand for the eel. im pretty sure it will be fine in freshwater but..................will it?

 

[scubadoo]

Quite a few people on here have had to go through mini cycles immediately after removing all their gravel and changing for sand.

Be prepared that this may happen.

Maybe you could do 50% one day then leave it a few days before doing the rest ?

 

[JawsA10]

sounds like a good idea. marine sand is ok for freshwater right?

 

[jayjay]

It will knock the pH up.

 

[JawsA10]

ok then i will have to cycle it and then put them in there