How Exactly Would I Go About Changing My Gravel For Sand?

[JArnold]

hi, i now own 5 cory and thought it would benefit them having sand in the tank, my question is how exactly would i go about removing the gravel and adding the sand. would plan on buying some cheap sand from argos or toys r us or something n washing it of course beforehand but i presume all the fish in the tank wud have to b kept sumwhere else meaning i would b on a strict time limit of changing over because i own no other tank, wt would b the best solution buying anova tank and temporarily changing the filter, heater and some of the water over then removing all the gravel and putting sand in? any suggestions?

thanks very much in advance for any help

 

[waterdrop]

You don't have to be all that rushed, especially if the temporary tub you put them in is pretty big. I mean, I wouldn't leave them overnight or anything, but you should have plenty of time to do the obvious work. By the way, stream worn sand/pebbles can be even better than sand esp. for cories, but playsand is really nice too, so either way...

~~waterdrop~~

 

[JArnold]

You don't have to be all that rushed, especially if the temporary tub you put them in is pretty big. I mean, I wouldn't leave them overnight or anything, but you should have plenty of time to do the obvious work. By the way, stream worn sand/pebbles can be even better than sand esp. for cories, but playsand is really nice too, so either way...

~~waterdrop~~

okay thanks very much i'm glad i won't have to rushjust wasnt sure that they wud b ok but i think i'm gonna go and get sum argos play sand today, been a b it concerned about my cories barbels eroding

thanks very much for the help

jus another question my tank if fairly new would this mean it is a bad idea to change the substrate due to the benificial bacteria? or will this b ok

 

[Rooster]

I presume you are running a filter ? If so, theres little "goodness" in the substrate anyway (unless you added plant ferts etc) it mostly in the filter.

You dont need to remove the fish, as long as you are "gentle" with the process, simply remove the gravel with a plastic cup or cut off milk carton etc.
You will need to "vacuum" the stuff first or the tank will turn into chicken soup !

Make sure you rinse and rinse and RINSE the sand before going anywhere near the tank, and it wont cause any problems... turn off the filter (to prevent any sand being sucked up) then add the sand with the plastic tool again.
It would be a good idea to have some refuges for shy fish, such as plants or caves etc.... but other than that, I would say the change over would be a lot less stressful than being netted twice !

 

[JArnold]

I presume you are running a filter ? If so, theres little "goodness" in the substrate anyway (unless you added plant ferts etc) it mostly in the filter.

You dont need to remove the fish, as long as you are "gentle" with the process, simply remove the gravel with a plastic cup or cut off milk carton etc.
You will need to "vacuum" the stuff first or the tank will turn into chicken soup !

Make sure you rinse and rinse and RINSE the sand before going anywhere near the tank, and it wont cause any problems... turn off the filter (to prevent any sand being sucked up) then add the sand with the plastic tool again.
It would be a good idea to have some refuges for shy fish, such as plants or caves etc.... but other than that, I would say the change over would be a lot less stressful than being netted twice !

yes i am dont worry, ok no plants was jus wondering cos i read somewhere that gravel contains a lo of the bacteria

ok thanks for the good advice i ma do this rather than changing fish over several times, thanks very much for your help and advice