daveg6529 said:
I was thinking of changing from my current gravel base to sand as I have read that dorys prefer it.
Would this be a good idea? - Yes
How do I go about it? - See below
What are the pitfalls? - See below
I currently have 40 fish (all small tetras with 8 peppered dorys) and no second tank.
I assume you mean "c"orys.
First, pitfalls - There's really only one: Depending on how long your gravel has been used, there is more than likely going to be a good amount of "gunk" buried and any disturbance to that can release ammonia and other nasties into the water.
Method:
OPTION 1: (Disclaimer: I've never done it, but that's because I start with sand.
If I had to do it, this is what I would do.)
I'd get a large diameter solid hose - an 8-10 foot long pipe would probably be best - and do the following.
Get a large bucket - 5 gallons is best - available at most hardware stores.
Create a suction and
slowly suck up the gravel AND whatever gunk that's there up at the same time.
This will take a bit of time, and a bit of time to do it again and again. You'll need to empty the bucket a few times. I'd keep going until you are down to 50% of the original tank water. Then refill, with temp matched water. Then continue and continue and continue.
Now, for the sand - if you get aquarium sand (pricey) it will be fairly easy. A quick rinse (in a forementioned 5 gallon bucket) and a placement in the tank is actually fairly easy (this part I've done, but not with fish in the tank. I'd expect that they would give you a wide berth at this point after all the breakdown). If money is tight - play sand can work just fine - just needs A LOT of washing! The goal is to clean it as well as possible.
I just put the sand into a plastic pitcher (bought special for the job - but a half-gallon juice bottle with the top cut off will also work) and fill the pitcher up with water. Then submerge the pitcher in the tank and slowly pour the sand (yup, wet sand in water will flow as easily as dry sand out of water) to wherever you want it. The better you've washed it the less clouding there will be. (Leaving the filter off for about 2 hours after you've put the sand in will allow the majority to sink - and place some floss OVER the intake to keep the sand dust from getting into the impeller. Check it regularly after that, as it can clog up - so you just pull it off - rinse and replace.)
Then replace your decor and let your fish calm down!
OPTION 2:
If you don't like the idea of doing it with the fish in the tank - buying a BIG tupperware container and putting some water into the container from the tank - and place the fish in there. You can put a heater, airstone, and filter on the container too. So, there isn't much concern about the time it takes.
Then you can just scoop the gravel out any old way you want - and suck all the water out too before refilling. This method also allows you to rescape the tank easily while the fish are out of the way. Then refill and add the fish back in.
Either way - the cleaning of the sand needs to be a TOP priority - and its probably a good idea to do it BEFORE you start removing the gravel, at least if you are using the play sand. The aquarium stuff usually needs far less rinsing (but still needs some) and so time would be less of a concern.
