sand?

[GSD]

i cant decide weather to change from my white gravel to sand.Im scared incase the water is cloudy from the coris etc messing it up.Do the plants and fish like sand better.my gravel vac is broke so how will i clean it??Any suggestions welcome
and how much does it cost to buy per bag and can you use kids playsand

 

[SirMinion]

If the sand is washed before it's placed in the tank then it will not cloud your water once it's settled

Fish activity will not cause the sand to cloud the water.

Plants do fine in sand (in my experiance) and fish, especially Cories love it.

To clean the sand, simple give it a regular stir then use a hose or gravel vacc (when you get one) to gently suck the crud from the surface by holding it just above the surface of the sand.

Playsand is fine.

 

[glolite]

Depends what fish you have. If they're ok with gravel I'd leave it. If you have catfish or plecs they're better on sand. Yes you can use playsand but wash it well first. Only change half at a time (per week). It needs same cleaning as gravel but you play the vac just above the sand and if some gets picked up, doesn't matter, just empty the dirty water from the bucket, then put sand back in tank.

 

[GSD]

thanks.how do i do it without my tank going into a mini cycle

 

[cheesemaker]

thanks.how do i do it without my tank going into a mini cycle

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carefully.....


just kidding. I heard you could put the gravel from your tank in a net-bag, stocking etc etc and leave it in the bottom of the tank. The good guys from the gravel will eventually migrate to the sand.

 

[SirMinion]

unless you're using an undergravel filter, then gravel doesn't actually hold much of the bio filtration and sand holds almost none.

The majority of your bio filtration is in your filter media, so unless you're doing away with an undergravel filter when you change to sand, your tank shouldn't go into a mini cycle.

 

[GSD]

i have a normal filter.a jewel so could i just turn the filter on ater afew hours and everything should be ok

 

[SirMinion]

i have a normal filter.a jewel so could i just turn the filter on ater afew hours and everything should be ok

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Should be fine.

 

[Angry_Platy]

I converted my 30gal from gravel to sand a few weeks ago now and there was no change to the water parameters. The cories and catfish are happier and the fish love nosing through the sand.

I used play sand and washed really well. I got no cloudiness at all and it was ready for fish an hour later (except as I had turned the heater off the water was too cold)....

I am still getting used to cleaning but its becoming easier. Now I get worried thinking that all that stuff I suck up from the sand, that I didn't see on the gravel that was just sitting there

I have no regreats since switching to sand.

 

[GSD]

so is everyone sure that ordinary playsand is fine and wil not harm the fish.the stuff for kids sand pits etc

 

[redtailblackshark]

I have a question about this also. I was wondering where could I buy sand for my aquarium, and how hard is it to replace gravel with sand? and would it be costly? what items would I need to do it?

 

[GSD]

i think im gonna do it.im just owrried i got some sand which will harm my fish without knowing it]

 

[clunkster]

as long as you use aquarium sand or play pit sand then there is no need to worry as it is perfectly safe to use. playpit sand works out cheeper & can be bought at places like toys r us & early learning center your corries will love it & less likely to have any degeneration of barbles

 

[fatguppy]

I got our play sand from Tesco - huge bag for £2. I'm telling you this because you are just up the road from me so guess that your Tesco will sell similar stuff to ours.

We washed the sand in a bucket about 3 times and it became totally clear. The corries started nosing through the sand before we had finished pouring it in. They loved it.

When you clean it - you sometimes do suck up some of the sand with the vac, but then you simply pour it back out from the bucket into your tank.

 

[GSD]

ok thanks everyone.im going to do it.In the next few weeks when i get some sand,thanks for yyour help