Gravel To Sand

[amoch]

I recently got some cories for my tank and am loving them! I have a mix of pygmy, julii and peppered. They are getting along splendidly and swim all over the place with each other. I have a gravel substrate right now and have read about how it might damage their barbels. Been thinking about switching to a sand substrate to make them more at home. How tedious of a task is this going to be? Any advice would be wonderful! Thanks.

 

[Noahs ark6]

How bigs the tank? as you can imagine the bigger the tank the harder and longer it is. I recently changed one of my tanks from gravel to sand and i havent looked back. It took me about 2 hours with alot of cleaning of the sand (80 litre tank) It's quite simple to do. Get all gravel out with a spoon, Clean sand in a bucket until the water runs clear. Add to tank, repeat until you've got enough sand in. Slowly pour water in (pour onto a plate so that the sand isn't disturbed and clouds the water.)

 

[mattyeatsmatts]

I like how sand is more compact, clean it thoroughly though

 

[amoch]

It's a twenty gallon tank. How much sand do you think would be needed? I used one of the large bags of gravel for the tank (I think it was maybe a 25 pound bag, I can't remember exactly), I don't know if that's the same amount of sand that would be needed. Also, How long does it take to clean the sand?

 

[Noahs ark6]

I Bought 30 Kgs for my 25 gallon but i had some left over, i would say about 23kgs. For me it took about 20 mins per bucket (but im not very athletic)
Argos sell playsand very cheaply, its a lovely colour Here. You would only need two bags of this, so thats only £6!!!

 

[amoch]

ok, thanks for the help. This doesn't sound like it's going to be as bad as I had imagined it would.

 

[amoch]

another question to add to this: any preferences on white or black sand? I like the look of the black, but am worried about how much filth and stuff it will show between cleanings as opposed to the white.

 

[Noahs ark6]

another question to add to this: any preferences on white or black sand? I like the look of the black, but am worried about how much filth and stuff it will show between cleanings as opposed to the white.

I've never had experience with black sand but i would have thought it would show less filth than white (poo would be alot harder to see in black). Poo shows up quite prominently against white sand that i use. It's realy which ever colour you prefer, and if your OK with being able to see a bit more filth on white sand

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

The poop shows either way lol - My fish poop a brown/reddy colour and it shows against the black. I don't think there's any escaping the poo unfortunately

i personally think it just helps to make cleaning easier because you can vacuum only the areas that need it

 

[amoch]

thanks for the input, I think i'm leaning towards the black. I think the fish will look great against it.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

I'm a little biased towards the black myself

 

[Noahs ark6]

The poop shows either way lol - My fish poop a brown/reddy colour and it shows against the black. I don't think there's any escaping the poo unfortunately

i personally think it just helps to make cleaning easier because you can vacuum only the areas that need it

I didnt say the poop would not show on black sand, i said it would be more obviouse on white sand, and it is.