Gravel To Sand

[emmuscat]

Hello

Can someone tell me how one clean the sand in an aquarium since i am thinking of changing from gravel to sand at the moment i have gravel and i use vacum to clean the base of the aquarium.


Thanks

 

[Marcos]

I'm planning on doing this as well in a couple of weeks. From what I have been told you just run a net through the top layer of sand, the sand will fall through and the rest will get picked up in the net.

 

[Marshall]

You can all always siphon about an inch or 2 above the sand and the detritus still gets drawn up whilst sand does not. Make sure your filter system is sound and established as removing the gravel will take away a vast supply of nitrifying bacteria.

 

[emmuscat]

You can all always siphon about an inch or 2 above the sand and the detritus still gets drawn up whilst sand does not. Make sure your filter system is sound and established as removing the gravel will take away a vast supply of nitrifying bacteria.

What do you mean when you told ---- Make sure your filter system is sound and established


Sorry but i did not understand Make sure your filter system is sound

 

[Marcos]

Has it been running for over a month and is it easily capable of handling the capacity of the tank.

 

[emmuscat]

Has it been running for over a month and is it easily capable of handling the capacity of the tank.

Today i decided to go to our best fish shop to buy a bag of white sand to replace the gravel, the man at the fish shop asked me what i am going to do and i told him that i am going to replace the gravel to sand ,he told me if i do not want to kill all my fish i have to do only about 6mm of sand and not more because after a few months the sand start to Stinky and Smelly.


Is this true any help

 

[SamUK]

no thats not true.


max depth is about 1.5" - 2" .


and u dont want to go over that because gases can build up in it otherwise.

 

[mamafish68]

I have a sand bed of 3+ inches in all of my tanks, theres no gas build up IF your doing water changes properly and using the siphon tube right. Use it to stir the sand slightly and theres never any problems.

 

[IceH2O]

To prevent anerobic gas build up you can go 2 routes but its better to do both.

1. Reach your hand into the sand and stir it up,making sure you hit bottom while doing it. You could also use one of those plastic back scratchers that look like a claw.

2. Get Malaysian Trumpet Snails, they naturally burrow through the sand airate it.

If you have plants you don't need to worry about moving them, the roots will use the waste as food before it can turn gaseous.

You should stir your sand every week or 2. Don't forget to do under ornaments and caves also.

You can have a depth of any level if you follow these rules.

But if you don't feel like doing this I'd keep it under a half inch, but forget plants with a low level like that.

 

[Shelly_Otterkin]

I just switched over from gravel to sand. I had a short 24 hour minicycle, I lost no fish and the bottom feeders love it! I am having no trouble useing my python to clean the tank. I have noticed that dirt shows up much faster on my black sand. ) I have been doing a mini vac half way through the week to keep it clean looking. The only troble I have had is that I stired up the sand and my HOB was still running, I spent the next 1/2 hour cleaning the sand out of the propelers.