Question On Converting Gravel To Sand.

[Adam86]

Hey, I am not new to keeping fish but this is the only place it would let me post due to that I havent posted anything yet. I am thinking about converting my gravel tank into sand tomorrow. The tank is well maintaind and you can stir the rocks without dirtying up the water. The main reason I am thinking about changing to sand is because I have read where it is easier to clean and it looks better.

My dad has around 200 LBS of sand out in his building (He uses it for Sand Blasting) so I am going to get the sand and put it in a bucket and rinse it well. After I do that I am going to boil the sand and poor the extra dirt that may be in out. I am going to take the rocks out!! After the rocks are out I am going to put the sand into a cup and lower the cup into the fish tank with the top of the cup facing upwards. Well after that I am going to poor the sand into the spot it needs to go into. Tell me if I am planning on doing any of this wrong. The tank size is 75 Gallons. The fish are.

1: 9 inch Green Severum.
2: 6 inch Parrot.
3: 4 Silver Dollars.
4: Two Kissing Fish.
5: I have one Dug Joe (spelling)
6: 1 Snake Skin Gourami.

I have done research and I know all about the gas pockets in the sand. I would buy some snails and make sure to stir the sand once every two weeks. I also use bubble bars.. can you use them with the sand. Like if I burry them would they stay under the sand??? I was also thinking about using some of the rocks I have out side for some decorations. My dad has a rock garden with some pretty good size rocks in it and I was wondering if they would be safe for the fish if I was to boil them out. Thanks for your help.

 

[sylvia]

Kissing gouramies and silver dollars both love to eat plants and need veggies in their diet so I'm assuming you don't have many plants in the tank (ecept sturdy inedible ones) so you don't need to worry about that when changing the gravel over to sand.

My only concern is that the sand may not be suitable for aquarium use. I appreciate that you'll clean and boil it etc but you need to also see whether its going to alter your pH and hardness. The usual test for this is to put some vinegar on a sample of sand and see if you get ay effavescence. If you do, the sand may be limestone based and will deffinately alter your water parameters. Also, if it's used for building, it could contain toxic substances as it need not be pure. Just be very careful.

Other than that, your plan sounds fine though I'd keep an eye on your ammonia and nitrite levels after the chnge as a lot of the good bacteria in your gravel will have, obviously, been removed. Alternatively, put some gravel in a glass or ceramic bowl and leave that in the tank for a week after you've changed over to sand. That way the gravel is still in there while the sand matures but you don't have to worry about the gravel mixing with the sand.

 

[BigIan]

welcome to the forum....

If i`m right then the sand used for sand blasting is silica sand and ideal for tanks...

HOWEVER make sure its free from contaminants such as diesel.

other than that you should be fine...

And sand is in NOW WAY AT ALL easyer to clean than gravel you have to hover the gravel vac just over the sand and slowly suck up all the crud off the surface

 

[fish-r-fancy]

What I used in my 55 gallon is pool filter sand. I think it's pretty easy to clean though. Good luck

 

[kimmers318]

I wouldn't try burying the bubblewand in the sand....I did that and it constantly kicked up smaller particles, which actually made sense when I thought about it....duh. I used the suction cups to stick it horizontally on the back wall a couple of inches off the bottom so it wouldn't constantly stir up the sand. Other than that the whole plan sounds good, which is how I changed my 20 gal over to sand. It takes forever to scoop the sand in gently in a cup, but my sand settled right down and the fish were fine.

 

[Spinal]

Hey, I am not new to keeping fish but this is the only place it would let me post due to that I havent posted anything yet. I am thinking about converting my gravel tank into sand tomorrow. The tank is well maintaind and you can stir the rocks without dirtying up the water. The main reason I am thinking about changing to sand is because I have read where it is easier to clean and it looks better.

My dad has around 200 LBS of sand out in his building (He uses it for Sand Blasting) so I am going to get the sand and put it in a bucket and rinse it well. After I do that I am going to boil the sand and poor the extra dirt that may be in out. I am going to take the rocks out!! After the rocks are out I am going to put the sand into a cup and lower the cup into the fish tank with the top of the cup facing upwards. Well after that I am going to poor the sand into the spot it needs to go into. Tell me if I am planning on doing any of this wrong. The tank size is 75 Gallons. The fish are.

1: 9 inch Green Severum.
2: 6 inch Parrot.
3: 4 Silver Dollars.
4: Two Kissing Fish.
5: I have one Dug Joe (spelling)
6: 1 Snake Skin Gourami.

I have done research and I know all about the gas pockets in the sand. I would buy some snails and make sure to stir the sand once every two weeks. I also use bubble bars.. can you use them with the sand. Like if I burry them would they stay under the sand??? I was also thinking about using some of the rocks I have out side for some decorations. My dad has a rock garden with some pretty good size rocks in it and I was wondering if they would be safe for the fish if I was to boil them out. Thanks for your help.

1- Gravel is easier to clean than sand. Way easier. Also, gravel hides anything dirty, while with most mono-tone sand, you will notice anything dirty lying on the bottom. Gravel vacs become alot harder to use as they will suck the sand up if you go too close.

2- Bubble bars & sand wont mix too well. Keep the bars about half an inch off the sand. Burying them will make them spit out the sand at an alarming rate, until they "dig themselves" out... and then proceed to spit sand all over your water

3- Rocks should be safe. Make sure they dont modify the PH of your tank. A safe idea is to put them in a tub of water for a few days, testing the water before and after. If you see the ph changing after a couple of days, the stone/rock is leeching something into the water. This can be both acidic or alkali. (Vinegar will only check one way). As always, boil the rocks to be sure.

4- When you remove the gravel, you will remove quite a bit of the bacteria that consumes ammonia. You might notice a ammonia/nitrate spike after you change the gravel. A good idea is to cut a piece of plexiglass, put it about 1/3rd of the way of your tank, so it creates a partition. Remove 1/3 of the tanks gravel and pour in the sand. Wait a week and repeat with the other side. Wait another week and repeat with the middle. Alternatively, you can mix the gravel into the sand; which some people prefer.

5- I would take the fish out. The whole operation will be VERY stressing for them, and they might not take well to it.

6- Good luck, and post some pics of the tank when youre done

Michele

 

[Adam86]

Thanks everyone. I am going to start this after I watch the Alabama VS Florida game. I will take before and after photos when I am done. I am planning on takeing the fish out of the tank during the process because somthing could go wrong and it would be horrible trying to get them out if I spill sand. I am going to drain some water from the tank into a bucket so they want get stressed as bad. After I put the sand in I may do a 25% water change and add stress coat and salt. I use a gravel vac and a hose pipe that is ran from my shower. Like I run the water into the tank at the same temperature as the water that is already in it. But thanks for your help and I will post pictures of the whole process so you can see how the whole thing turns out.

Thanks everyone. I am going to start this after I watch the Alabama VS Florida game. I will take before and after photos when I am done. I am planning on takeing the fish out of the tank during the process because somthing could go wrong and it would be horrible trying to get them out if I spill sand. I am going to drain some water from the tank into a bucket so they want get stressed as bad. After I put the sand in I may do a 25% water change and add stress coat and salt. I use a gravel vac and a hose pipe that is ran from my shower. Like I run the water into the tank at the same temperature as the water that is already in it. But thanks for your help and I will post pictures of the whole process so you can see how the whole thing turns out.