Gravel To Sand Any Method?

[zain611]

So im thinking of changing my gravel but im not sure what way to do it. should i leave the fish in the tank and take the gravel out all at once? can this do any harm for the filter/ fish?

 

[BerryAttack]

what i did what empty the tank water into large buckets (did for 20 gallon) and put the fish in that water... then i removed the gravel cleaned it and let it out on a garbage bag to dry in the sun.. (summer time) before i put it away so the gravel wouldn't be wet when storing. then i took the extra buckets i had and cleaned the sand in it until the water ran clean.. its better and faster to do in smaller batches... when the sand and water ran clean i drained the water out of the sand all that i could have and put in the tank. now the water that was in the buckets i very SLOWLY put back in the tank... i put a bowl in the tank and poured the water onto that and tried not to disturb the sand because i did not want the water to become murky if there was left over stuff from the sand. then when the water was up to the amount where the filter could run i turned on the filter.. and started to set up the tank how i wanted it... before adding in the fish. i let the tank run for about an hour or so then i put the fish in... when i put the fish in the water temp was normal so that there would not be an extreme change and had the lights off for another hour and boom all the fish were fine and acted like nothing happened.

 

[nick1200]

take the fish out put them some were safe then take everything out of the tank leave the water in and then do what this video does.
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta6ZI5Or814

This is the easy way to add sand to your tank with out cleaning it or getting a blurry tank If you just tip the sand in you won;t be able to see anything in your tank for days ... With the method used in the video ull be safe

 

[zain611]

Similar vid i have on my sig also would putting them in a bucket be okay? what about shrimps will they be to petrified being moved that the die i havent netted them before thats why

 

[nick1200]

I would try to net them other wise you would have to add a bit of sand to the one side of the tank then try and move them onto the sand to do the other side of the tank.. And yes putting them in a bucket is fine has long has you wash it out with tap water to make sure its clean. I had gravel in my tank i made the move over to sand and i have never looked back i caught all the fish and shrimp put them into a bucket ( with no heater or anything ) i then emptyed the tank of the gravel etc. I then emptyed my tank half way then filled a 3L bottle up with sand leaving a empty gap at the top so 3/4s fill then put it under the water in the tank waited for the water to fill the end of the bottle up then tipped the bottle up side down and the sand came out with no mess toke me around 20 mins to fill my tank with sand Because there was no sand messing up the tank or anything. Normally if you just tip it in or clean it 100s of times then tip it in the sand participles will mess up your tank and make it cloudy for days. But if you do the trick which is in your sig and the video above when you tip the bottle up side down the water will come into the bottle and has it does it will clean the sand for you. If you watch the video i posted it will explain how it works .

 

[zain611]

Okay thanks, i was just wondering about the shrimp as i read up that you will expect you shrimp to die when you get it from the LFS and put it in your tank. also im just a bit worried that the sand im going to use has been in the garage where cars go in and im just worried that i hope non of the fumes may of toxicated it (if that happens with sand) as its open

 

[seeley82]

I was lucky when I done this, I had 2 80ltr storage units that i kept clothes in. I split the old tank water between these then dumped what would not fit. I then put a heater in one with a filter and in the other I put the tank plants and ornaments. Then came the best part, catching the fish lol. The sand had been in a bin with a hose pipe cleaning the water for the best part of a day so it was nice and clean. once the tank was cleaned up and ready I put the new sand in with the plants and other bits then started to siphon the water out of the container back into the tank, nice and slow so not to disterb the sand to much, next in went the fish and the remainder of water followed by topping up with new water. The tank was cloudy for about an hour but my 2 ex filters managed reakky well in clearing it with a little help from some filter floss. That was about 4 months ago now and I have never seen my fish so happy. I have 6 shrimp and they where fine with the moving about as where all the other fish.

 

[Zikofski]

wow now i am impressed on that video im adding some extra sand into my tank over the next few weeks i shall give this a go see if it actually works haha