Gravel To Sand

[steve_jones83]

I am sure there are thousands of posts on this so apologies in advance.

My tank is fully cycled but as this is my first tank, I put in the gravel that came with my Fluval rio 125l when I bought it. It is something I have always regretted as it looks quite cheap and since browsing the various pics on here, I wish I had researched first.

I have been seriously considering changing the gravel to sand and was wondering if you could help please:

1.) Is this ok to do in a established tank?

2.) What type of sand do I need to buy (heard that play sand is fine but unsure about the silica in it)

3.) How do you go about changing it? (any tips)

4.) Is it the same to clean etc as the gravel?

I really appreciate your advice.

 

[Caprichoso]

Yes, you can change it out. It's going to be messy though. If your gravel vac is strong enough, you can suck bits of it out at a time while you're doing your weekly water change. I wouldn't suggest scooping it out while the fish are in the tank because there is going to be a lot of gunk in the gravel that you don't want your fish to come into contact with. Recommended: remove the fish, put them in a bucket with an airstone. Turn off your filter and put the media into another bucket with an airstone and make the switch.

Make sure you really rinse the sand well initially as it's doing to be very dusty. Feel free to do a big water change after you add it to the tank if the water is cloudy. As soon as you add it back to your tank and it settles a bit, turn the filter on. Once it clears up, rinse the filter media in some previously set aside tank water. Make sure you acclimate your fish if the temperature has changed, then, put the fish back in.

When you clean sand, you have to swirl the vac above the sand and only suck up the debris on top. It takes some practice.

Good luck

 

[ripil]

yeah all good advice above. just to add to that washing the sand is a must. the more you wash it the less time it'll take to settle. i changed from gravel to coral sand and it took about an hour to do the bag a bought. really thought that was enough but it wasn't at all. the tank was still very cloudy for a few hours. i ended up doing 80% water changes to get it to clear up. alot of people use argos play sand but i prefered coral sand but then that depends on the fish your going to keep/or are already keeping. sand does look so much better and once i got the hang of not clogging up the cleaner also is a bit easier to maintain. gravel seems to hide dirt better whereas with sand it settles on the top. looks unsightly but at least you know its time to clean it and once cleaned looks alot better which cant be bad for the fishes. good luck and welcome to the forum

 

[chokko]

I did this about 3 months ago for my Corys (couple of Platys in there too)...cause i wanted to see them dig around instead of just floating above the gravel.

Bought normal kiddy playground sand from hardware store, a small 9L bucket and 2x large rectangle plastic containers.

Turned heater off in aquarium (to give it time to cool down before removing)

Rinsed sand in small bucket about 5 times (i.e. water is clear), then put it in one of the larger containers.
Repeat until have enough to cover the bottom of aquarium.

Siphoned about 60% of water from aquarium into 2nd large plastic container. Placed filter, plant and decorations into 2nd plastic container with old water, then the heater and turned heater on.

Transferred fish to 2nd plastic container (easy to catch with nothing in aquarium and 40% water left)
Put lid on this container so they dont try and jump out

Drained most of the rest of water from aquarium

Scooped gravel out with plastic scoop, being careful not to scratch glass

Scooped sand into aquarium

Filled aquarium to say 50% at similar temperature to what the fish are used to...remember dechlorinater.

Put plants and decorations etc into aquarium

Allowed 30mins for fine sand dust to settle.

Drain some of old water from large plastic container, back into aquarium

Put filter and heater back into aquarium and turn on

Transfer fish to aquarium

Was all crystal clear within an hour, and more impoartnantly...no ammonia/nitrite spikes

As mentioned already, you can now see the areas that need cleaning the most - also gives you a good indication if you are feeding the fish too much, when their poop is in plain sight.

Very little or no sand gets sucked up during vaccuming if you hold the vacuum 5mm above the sand.

Also, ensure the filter intake is well above the sand. Initially i had it resting on top of the sand, and the overhead filter seized up due to the sand it was sucking up. So i got a different sized tube so the intake is about an inch above the sand...no problems now.

 

[Aqua Tom]

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Turn off your filter and put the media into another bucket with an airstone and make the switch.

Why remove the media before the substrate change? The filter is turned off so nothing will be going through the media.

 

[chokko]

<>

Turn off your filter and put the media into another bucket with an airstone and make the switch.

Why remove the media before the substrate change? The filter is turned off so nothing will be going through the media.

exactly, as nothing is going through the filter...keep the material in a bucket of old/dechlorintated water to keep the bacteria from drying out

 

[cynic]

All i can say is clean the sand lots. As far as i was concerned the more cleaning i did in the garden with a hosepipe the less i needed to do in the confines of the tank.

I used one of those big yellow DIY tubs, 3 bags of sand and set up shop on the lawn, the sand/water mix would do it no harm at all. 3hours later the sand was spotless. I could actually see the layers of heavier granuals forming as i was pouring the dirty water away.

Don't worry about waste, you will lose quite a bit. From my point of view if it was still bouyant after a count of 10 it went out with the water.

See for yourself

I can take a big handfull from the bottom of the tank drop it in at the waterline and just watch it all fall back to the floor of the tank.

 

[Aqua Tom]

<>

Turn off your filter and put the media into another bucket with an airstone and make the switch.

Why remove the media before the substrate change? The filter is turned off so nothing will be going through the media.

exactly, as nothing is going through the filter...keep the material in a bucket of old/dechlorintated water to keep the bacteria from drying out

aha.you are talking about an internal filter, sorry I was talking about an external one which wouldnt dry out.

Tom

 

[This Old Spouse]

This is all great advice! I made the switch several months ago and don't regret it a bit (especially after rehoming my poo factory, the common pleco).

One thing I found helpful ... after you've put the sand in the tank, place a dinner plate on the sand and pour the water on top of it to displace it so the sand doesn't fly all over the place.

 

[steve_jones83]

Wow, fantastic advice all, thanks very much. Just waiting for my new and shniy Mastercard arrive and then away we go, sand and new external filter. Happy days!!

Thanks again everyone, your advice is much appreciated

 

[Caprichoso]

<>

Turn off your filter and put the media into another bucket with an airstone and make the switch.

Why remove the media before the substrate change? The filter is turned off so nothing will be going through the media.

exactly, as nothing is going through the filter...keep the material in a bucket of old/dechlorintated water to keep the bacteria from drying out

aha.you are talking about an internal filter, sorry I was talking about an external one which wouldnt dry out.

Tom

Just in case it took awhile to make the switch...wouldn't want bacteria to die off if the media became dry.