Gravel To Sand

[bikerfish]

Thinking of changing from gravel to sand ? what is the easiest way to do this without upsetting my fish to much any ideas gratefully recieved
cheers cathy

 

[KrystaK]

Get a plastic tote, pump as much tank water into it as possible, put decorations and fish into tote, change gravel to sand and then add some tap water (treated and remember you need to add tote water still so only add maybe 1/3 of the water needed to fill the tank) and wait for the sand to settle, then add the decorations, some water from the tote (Enough to fill it to 1/2 to 3/4 full, add the fish and then the rest of the water from the tote. That way you keep as much of the old water as possible so the conditions from before and after sand will be as similar as possible.
(At least that's how I did it and I didn't loose a single fish, not even fry )

 

[paulyoung666]

cant see there being any easy way , your just going to have to scoop the gravel up or transfer the fish to a bucket so you can make as much of a racket as you like in the tank then add the sand and put the fish back .....

 

[bikerfish]

will I have to cycle my tank? would it better to leave a small bit of the yuk at bottom and put sand over top so have some healthy bacteria at bottom ? being slightly dense here what is a tote is it a big plastic bin?
cheers cathy

 

[fluttermoth]

Nearly all your good bacteria lives in the filter; there will be a negligible amount in the substrate or anywhere else.

As with anything you do in your tank that involves removing everything, you should feed sparingly and test often, just in case of 'mini-cycles', where some of the bacteria dies back due to being disturbed, but it's unlikely, and if it does happen, a few extra water changes for a couple of days and everything should be back to normal.

You definitely don't want to leave any 'gunk' under the sand; sand is so dense that it would just rot under there and turn anaerobic, which you don't want!

 

[Joshwainwright]

The easiest and least stressful way would be to remove your fish for a little while. You could even put them in a storage box like the one below (obviously if it's clean) with your heater (and filter, if it's going to take a while)

 

[big_sw2000]

Did my 190liter tank last year. Fish and decorations in to a bucket. Scoope out the gravel, a messy job lol. Amazing how much gunk and cr4p is under it all. Just add the sand, rember to wash it 1st. Once the tank settles, re add the fish, all was fine with me.

Steve

 

[bikerfish]

love the look of your tank will be making change over in a couple of week time thinking will get fish and wood out in a container with heater and filter running then not having to clock watch to much while swaping over to sand thinking my loaches will love this after
cheers cathy

 

[Joshwainwright]

love the look of your tank will be making change over in a couple of week time thinking will get fish and wood out in a container with heater and filter running then not having to clock watch to much while swaping over to sand thinking my loaches will love this after
cheers cathy

Sounds good
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