Gravel To Sand?

[Meggie :)]

So i have had a 10 gallon tank for over 3 years now and I will be giving it to my little sister because I am getting a much larger one; about 75 gallons or so...I want to switch out the gravel for sand or another color of gravel because I think that she will like that a lot more...

I was just wondering how to switch it out. I currently have 2 balloon mollies and 4 ghost shrimp. How do I remove the gravel and add the sand or other gravel? And I do not have another tank to place my fish and shrimp in while I'm doing this.

Also, will changing the gravel for the sand or for another color of gravel cause me to cycle the whole tank over again? Because I would hate for my fish to die of bad chemicals...I had enough of that the first time I cycled it

Thanks!

 

[fluttermoth]

No, you don't have to re-cycle the tank; all the good bacteria live in your filter, not in the substrate so you don't have to worry about that

There are two ways you can go about it; you can syphon all the old gravel (and all the gunk that'll be trapped in there!) out with a wide bore pipe, like a hose pipe

Or you can pop the fish, with their heater, and the filter if it'll fit, into your water change bucket (cover it with a towel to keep the fish in the dark, it'll be less stressful for them and stop them jumping out) and then take the gravel out.

Personally, I'd take the fish out; I change substrate last summer in one of my tanks and it was terrible the amount of gunk in the gravel, even though I'm quite concientious about hoovering it. It was obviously stressful for the fish too, as they'd all come out in whitespot the next day.

Your fish will be fine in a bucket for a couple of hours; more than enough time for you to do the change and get everything back up an running

 

[Meggie :)]

so once i put them back in the tank they won't die of stress or anything? because i think i will be putting live plants in there too...

Also, how much water should i take out of my tank and save? Because I will buy a bucket big enough to hold what i need to save...I am needing to do a water change sometime soon so maybe i can only save some water and add new water and chemicals and that will be my water change? How much should i get rid of and how much water should i keep?

Thank you!

 

[fluttermoth]

If your doing enough regular water changes, there won't be all that much difference between the tank water and the tap water, so you really don't need to keep much; half is plenty; it's just like a big water change then.

No, they won't die of stress! Just go slowly, do things gently and keep the fish warm and in the dark as much as possible and they'll be fine

 

[Meggie :)]

Thank you!

And a few more things...I have 4 ghost shrimp...which are EXTREMELYY hard to move...do I put them in the bucket as well? or should i put them in a mason jar? I've had to do that before while treating my tank

I tried a live plant before... about a year ago. My tank was fully cycled then because it was over 2 years old...The plant died within a week. Do they live better in sand then gravel? and how do i make sure they live? Can i add all the plants at once before i add the fish back in?

 

[Proxo]

I left the fish in when i switched to sand, did it over a few days though.

#1 Day: Removed about 50% water, scooped out the gravel (half tank at a time leaving decor in op side for them to hide), refilled with clean water.
#2 Day: Cleaned Sand, Removed about 50% water, epicly boring slow pouring of the sand into the tank, refilled.

 

[fluttermoth]

A mason jar would be perfect for the shrimps; again, keep them wrapped up to keep them warm

Plants live equally well in gravel or sand, although new sand might be lacking in nutrients; you might want to save a bit of the 'gunk from your old tank to put around the roots, but you don't have to. It's more to do with choosing the right plants.

I don't use any special fertilizers, or CO2 and all these plants grow well for me; Java fern, anubias; both of those grow attached to rocks or bogwood; you just tie or elastic band them on (I superglue mine on as it's neater!), straight and giant vallis (I find the twisted one more difficult) cryptocorynes, Amazon sword and pygmy chain sword.

I'm no plant expert, but I find it easiest (and cheapest) to buy one of those 'plant collections' online. Some of the plants will die off, but some will do well and spread.

Yes, you can add them all at once, no problem about that at all

 

[Meggie :)]

Haha i live where it is 125 degrees outside everyday, about 90 degrees or so at night...so i think that it will be easy keeping them warm..i have to add ice cubes to my tank as it is pretty pathetic huh? haha

I am also thinking about adding in some kind of wood...i think that it looks really pretty in sand bottom tanks with live plants. What kind would I get and is it difficult? Does it harm my fish in any way?

 

[fluttermoth]

Oh my lord! I'm in the UK; it never gets that hot here!

And putting ice cubes in your tank is not pathetic; you're a nice person who wants to care for their fish, that's all

Most fish shops will sell bogwood or mopani wood; there are woods you can pick up from parks and stuff, but you know you're safe with the stuff from the shop.

Just pick a piece you like the shape of and pop it in; there's really no need to boil it or anything like that. Some wood will leak 'tannins' into the water; it makes the water go a sort of yellowy-brown, but it does not harm your fish (in fact tetras love tannin stained water).

If you don't like the look of the brown water much, you can either take the wood out and soak it for longer in a bucket, or you can put some carbon in your filter and that will absorb the tannins

 

[Meggie :)]

haha yea i live in the desert in the US haha and it's the middle of summer the first year we moved into this state when i was 5 it got up to 135 degrees...that was crazyyy haha

Thank you for all of your help! and this doesn't have to do with changing to sand but i was wondering if you can maybe answer it

I have 2 female balloon mollies right now and i thought one was pretty close to having babies...i thought...she had what i thought was a gravid spot and seemed pretty large, but i couldn't tell if she was squared off or not ...Anyway i went to Florida for almost two weeks (the 90 degree temp was amazing! haha) and i just got back a few days ago...she still looks equally as big, but i don't see that dark spot anymore...i also don't see any babies swimming around...what do you think happened?

 

[Meggie :)]

Oh one more question about the sand, how do I "wash" it before I put it into the tank?

 

[fluttermoth]

I'm afraid the molly may well have had her fry and then her and the other fish will have eaten them

Livebearers are pretty stupid; I don't think they have the brains to relise that those little swimming things are babies; they just go,"oh, food"

To wash sand, put 'some' (not to much; it's easier to lots of small amounts than try to do a huge lot) sand in a bucket, fill the bucket up with water (turn the tap on nice and hard) and you'll find a load of dust and bits of twig and stuff float up; pour all that away; it's better to lose a bit of the sand down the drain than risk some of the dusty stuff staying in the bucket, as that is what will cloud up your tank.

Then just do it again and again, stirring the sand really well, until you're left with only the sand that sinks immediatley. It's better to spend a bit of extra time wahing it in the bucket than risk putting it in the tank when it's not truly clean.

 

[Meggie :)]

okay...so could it have just maybe been her first batch of fry because her size didn't change? and it looks like she has a little bit of a gravid spot, but it is much, much smaller and very light; before it was huge and black.