Gravel For Sand

[SLIM]

Hi everyone

I have a 260l tank which currently has a gravel substrate.
Iv been thinkin about removing it and going for sand.

Trouble is I have alot of fish and my QT tank isnt big enough to house all my fish whilst I strip the main tank down.

Is there a way I can swap the gravel for sand without removing the fish and without getting very sandy cloudy water and without losing any bacteria present in my existing gravel?
The less stress on the fish, the better!

Also how easy is it to keep sand clean when it comes to brown and green algae blooms?

Thanks for your advice in advance

 

[SLIM]

Anybody???

 

[moochy13]

do you mean as in algae growing on sand ? never seen it before, never happened to me anyway. the amount of bacteria in the gravel is insignificant in comparison to your filter, dont worry about it. have you not got another clean container of some description you can put the fish in ? dog bath, your bath or something ? preferably something you could put your filter in, though even that isnt essential.

i left my fish with no heater or filter and a half empty tank for about half an hour today, as i had to go out mid-clean (always happens ). no harm done. i have a dog bath i would put them in with some of the bogwood, and possibly the heater if i felt it was needed. the bogwood will give them some cover and put a blanket over the container to make it dark, less stressful. i would put as many small fish as possible int he QT. it wont be for long so you could put plenty in. just make sure youve got everything ready to dump straight in before you take the fish out. you dont want to be looking for things, or cleaning extra sand while your fish are in a bucket.

if you must do it with water in, take out at least half, and put the sand in a tupperware box or similar, again make sure its clean. this way you can get most of the sand straight to the bottom with only minimal sand escaping on the way down, though even that will settle. the sand itself settles very quickly, its all the bits in the sand that float - this is what you want to be removing when you clean the sand. the more you clean the less cloudy it will be. bear in mind if you clean sand with cold water, it will hold a lot of the coldness as its damp.

 

[SLIM]

Well im having abit of a problem with brown algae at the moment.
Its growing deep into the gravel and all over the decorations very quickly.

Im worred it will cover the sand in the same way making it very hard to clean. Or should I wait until the brown algae dies off before replacing the gravel with sand?

And its safe to completely remove my gravel also without gettin a spike?

I thought I might have to do it in stages over a week or two.
Doing it all at once would be much better

 

[StandbySetting]

Well im having abit of a problem with brown algae at the moment.
Its growing deep into the gravel and all over the decorations very quickly.

Im worred it will cover the sand in the same way making it very hard to clean. Or should I wait until the brown algae dies off before replacing the gravel with sand?

And its safe to completely remove my gravel also without gettin a spike?

I thought I might have to do it in stages over a week or two.
Doing it all at once would be much better

Replacing gravel with sand wont solve your algae problem, solving the route cause of the algae will - Ammonia causes algae, even small traces which are undetectable by hobby test kits, the best thing to do in this situation would be to reduce your lighting period and to increase the circulation within the tank.

 

[SLIM]

Well im having abit of a problem with brown algae at the moment.
Its growing deep into the gravel and all over the decorations very quickly.

Im worred it will cover the sand in the same way making it very hard to clean. Or should I wait until the brown algae dies off before replacing the gravel with sand?

And its safe to completely remove my gravel also without gettin a spike?

I thought I might have to do it in stages over a week or two.
Doing it all at once would be much better

Replacing gravel with sand wont solve your algae problem, solving the route cause of the algae will - Ammonia causes algae, even small traces which are undetectable by hobby test kits, the best thing to do in this situation would be to reduce your lighting period and to increase the circulation within the tank.

The reason for replacing the gravel for sand was not to solve the algae problem, I wanted to do it because I think it looks nicer and cleaner and I have corys and plecos which will do better in sand.

My aquarium is only about 3 months old and from what iv read online, brown algae is normal in newly set up aqauriums.

Also alot of sites online suggest putting your lights on for longer as this will encourage green algae to grow. Once green algae takes hold, brown algae dies off from starvation as the green algae steals all the phosphates present in the water.
Phosphates and nitrates are the main cause of algae not ammonia according to everything iv read.

Anyway, getting back to the question....

Should I wait until the brown algae clears up before replacing the gravel with sand? or would it be ok to do it now.

I dont think il have the brown algae for long as I can already see traces of green algae coming through.

 

[StandbySetting]

The reason for replacing the gravel for sand was not to solve the algae problem, I wanted to do it because I think it looks nicer and cleaner and I have corys and plecos which will do better in sand.

My aquarium is only about 3 months old and from what iv read online, brown algae is normal in newly set up aqauriums.

Also alot of sites online suggest putting your lights on for longer as this will encourage green algae to grow. Once green algae takes hold, brown algae dies off from starvation as the green algae steals all the phosphates present in the water.
Phosphates and nitrates are the main cause of algae not ammonia according to everything iv read.

Anyway, getting back to the question....

Should I wait until the brown algae clears up before replacing the gravel with sand? or would it be ok to do it now.

I dont think il have the brown algae for long as I can already see traces of green algae coming through.

The information you've read on algae starvation is very out dated, I suggest you take a look at the Barr report, Tom Barr, who I think is a member on here, did a series of investigations into algae, the resulting findings were that nitrates and phosphate do not cause algae, the logic behind it is not even plausible because in planted set ups it is desirable to have levels or phosphate and nitrate higher than normal due to plant demands and algae is non existent in most set ups, ammonia was then found to be the cause.

You're right in thinking that brown algae is present in new tanks, the silcone is leached from the seals of the tank and individual algae cells use it to form their outer membrane - however ammonia, excess lighting and poor circulation are also a cause, so it would be worth reducing lighting, and increasing circulation.

Switching to sand would be fine, are your fish small community fish? If so it would be fine to keep them in heated buckets for a few hours whilst you change the substrate, the silt left suspended in the water is easily removed also with the addition of filter floss in your filter.

 

[SLIM]

Yes my fish are small community fish but I have alot. Leaving them in would be alot easier!

My filter is on full so I cant get more circulation from it.
Im using a fluval 305
It should be enough though as all the plants move in the current.

As for the lighting. Is it true what iv read about green algae. Will the brown die off once the green starts growing?

Will the brown just die on its own? I really dont want to use cemicals to takle the problem

And if I do change the gravel before the brown algae has gone, will it grow all over the sand. If so will it jus grow on the surface or will it grow deep into the sand discolouring it like it has done to my gravel?

 

[StandbySetting]

To increase circulation I suggest using something like a small circulation pump such as a Hydor Koralia, when circulation isn't sufficient in areas, 'pockets of ammonia' can develop and that is where the brown algae will grow. The thing about green algae starving brown algae is up for debate, it depends on which utilizes the nutrients quicker, and if you replace the gravel with sand the chances are it will become covered with algae again, unless you tackle the root cause of the algae which will be too much light and not enough circulation. How many hours a day are your lights on for?

 

[SLIM]

To increase circulation I suggest using something like a small circulation pump such as a Hydor Koralia, when circulation isn't sufficient in areas, 'pockets of ammonia' can develop and that is where the brown algae will grow. The thing about green algae starving brown algae is up for debate, it depends on which utilizes the nutrients quicker, and if you replace the gravel with sand the chances are it will become covered with algae again, unless you tackle the root cause of the algae which will be too much light and not enough circulation. How many hours a day are your lights on for?

I have my lights on for 10 hours a day.

The funny thing is, the brown algae only appeared when I planted my plants and added ferts.

The brown algae is also growing everywhere even out on the open where water circulation is definately visable
Anymore circulation, my fish would jus be blown all over the place lol

 

[StandbySetting]

What fertilisers are you using? Drop your lighting down to 5 hours a day until the brown algae recedes, then you can begin to increase gradually again. If reducing the photo period does nothing then the circulation is a problem, it doesn't have to be blowing all over the place, you've just got to ensure that flow reaches all areas of the tank, try repositioning your filter too to see if that makes a difference. There is no readable ammonia when you test your tank is there?

 

[SLIM]

What fertilisers are you using? Drop your lighting down to 5 hours a day until the brown algae recedes, then you can begin to increase gradually again. If reducing the photo period does nothing then the circulation is a problem, it doesn't have to be blowing all over the place, you've just got to ensure that flow reaches all areas of the tank, try repositioning your filter too to see if that makes a difference. There is no readable ammonia when you test your tank is there?

Im using tetra plantamin

Ammonia and nitrate is 0

But now i come to think about it, I did reposition the outlet pipe to my filter to increase surface agitation. That was before the brown algae problem.

 

[StandbySetting]

You may want to get a fertiliser that has Nitrate and Phosphate included in it as well as Potassium and other traces such as Tropica plant nutrition +.

reposition the outlet pipe so you can get as much flow as possible out of the filter.

 

[SLIM]

You may want to get a fertiliser that has Nitrate and Phosphate included in it as well as Potassium and other traces such as Tropica plant nutrition +.

reposition the outlet pipe so you can get as much flow as possible out of the filter.

Jus repositioned the outlet and gona set the light to 5 hours. Wil my plants be ok with jus 5 hours light?

 

[StandbySetting]

Yes, the plants should be fine, what species of plant are you keeping?