Here I Go Again.....

[centuryan]

hi all,

i owned a tank about a year ago but had to sell because i moved,

ive just bought a rio 180 second hand,

my question is.........how easy will it be to change the gravel to sand??

thanks

lee

 

[bae1994]

well what do you mean as if you mean getting it out then i also own a rio 180 and also changed gravel to sand and i found the best thing to use is a dust pan (dust pan and brush)just scoop it into a bucket

 

[centuryan]

thanks for the reply......

what i meant was......

whats the best way of putting sand in? what type of sand?

i tried to change my last tank to sand and it went bellie up..........just looked like a major sand storm in the tank for days lol,

i gave up in the end and put gravel back in,

but think sad looks nicer so thats the way i would like to go this time...

thanks again

 

[doresy]

Changing is simple....

Remove water......remove gravel being very careful not to scrape it up the inside of your tank as it WILL scratch it

Go to Argos/Tesco/B&Q and purchase a couple of bags of Playsand (very cheap). Spend a while rinsing it out by placing a couple of handfuls into a clean bucket (preferably a new one, NOT the one you use to wash the car) and either run a hose or outside tap through it for a while to remove dust. When done tip into the tank and repeat until all done.

If you skimp on the rinsing then your tank will be cloudy for weeks....be warned!

 

[centuryan]

thanks for the reply.........

also how easy is it to clean......i had one of those suction pumps for gravel.....would this work or would i lose too much sand

thanks again

 

[chefrossco]

you should be alright with a normal gravel syphon but you can get a sand syphon which just has a larger area so that the 'suck' from the syphon is less , you can also just use a peice of hose and run it along the bottom about 1'2'' above the sand - the suction will pick up most of the crap and leave the sand behind.