Switched To Sand *pic*

[Rick]

Went smoother than I was expecting. I switched from large gravel. The sand is play sand from Lowe's and it was very clean and only required a couple rinses. I like it.

 

[timmystood]

Looks very good in there I like it!! Are those real plants?

 

[jayjay]

Yeah looks good, got a before sand pic?

 

[Rick]

Thanks! Plants are fake. I may go with real if they can do well in sand. I thought I had a before pic but can't find it.

 

[diburning]

Thanks! Plants are fake. I may go with real if they can do well in sand. I thought I had a before pic but can't find it.

plants have a harder time growing in sand than in gravel. I don't know why... Maybe because the sand in compacted, and anything that is uneaten stays on top instead of falling through cracks like in gravel.

 

[Tommy Gunnz]

Rick,

I love it! I have been putting serious thought into doing the same, however, I have heard some real horror stories about switching to sand. Could you let us know some of the step and hints you might have for doing this? I would appreciate it.

What type of sand did you use? did you purchase it from a LFS or somewhere else? Was the water cloudy for long? I noticed that you dont have fish in there and my problem would be what to do with the fish I have if I decided to change to sand. Could I leave the fish in there right away or would I have to move them?

 

[highfire]

I switched from sand to gravel about 6 months ago when I upgraded to a larger tank. My weather loach loves it now - it's really comical to see him with just his head and tail sticking out! But he does like to dig around and uproots some of the plants now and again. I have one plant that has really got good roots going in the sand now, and it feels really secure in there. Others aren't so secure, but they are all still healthy.
I do find with sand that it's hard to vac it without some going up the syphon, but luckily so far I have been able to keep that to a minimum.

 

[wishiwasafish]

I love the look of a sand bottem tank it allways changes verry natural nice looking set up i hade a 55 gal tank with black and green sand in it it looked great i had to give it up cause i lost my last house ( pleas don't ask) but it's at my friends work i'll have her send me some pictures of it soon sand rocks

 

[AndThenWeKiss]

hey very nice pic. I recently bought sand from lowes as well and i wash it in a bucket but it turn like brown sand from the beach. Did you buy a particular kind of sand it looks like we bought the same sand but yet your sand is wet and looks white and mine is brown? Please if anyone has any answers thax so much!!!

 

[catfish_mad]

Nice tank i switched mine the other week, it looks brighter and better for the fish to root around in.

 

[Rick]

Rick,

I love it! I have been putting serious thought into doing the same, however, I have heard some real horror stories about switching to sand. Could you let us know some of the step and hints you might have for doing this? I would appreciate it.

What type of sand did you use? did you purchase it from a LFS or somewhere else? Was the water cloudy for long? I noticed that you dont have fish in there and my problem would be what to do with the fish I have if I decided to change to sand. Could I leave the fish in there right away or would I have to move them?

Did you read my post? It is play sand from Lowe's. The stuff settled very quick and within a few hours the water was crystal clear. There are several fish in there, look more closely at the pic. I just took about half the water out. Took everything out and removed all the gravel, washed the sand and poured it in there one cup at a time. Filled the tank back up and let it settle for about an hour before turning filters back on.

 

[Chri$]

That looks great!

 

[Bullrock74]

hey very nice pic. I recently bought sand from lowes as well and i wash it in a bucket but it turn like brown sand from the beach. Did you buy a particular kind of sand it looks like we bought the same sand but yet your sand is wet and looks white and mine is brown? Please if anyone has any answers thax so much!!!

Different lighting causes sand to look very different. My sand looked brown also while I was rinsing it, but once in the aquarium it looked very bright almost white. I also bought my sand from Lowe's.