Thinking Of Changing To Sand

[ParadiseGuerrero]

Well like the title says- i plan on chaning my gravel to sand. I know I need to wash the sand and make sure the filter doesn't dry out so this is what i was planning on doing-

I have at the moment a betta, 4 black ruby barbs, 2 platies and 2 guppies

I was thinking of taking out all but the betta and putting them into a 5g tub (It's the biggest i have) with the filter running while i change the gravel and put the sand in. Then i was going to put the betta in his own seperate tub thats about 2-3g as he can be a tad bit grumpy sometimes and i figured being in such a small space with them all could cause him to pick on the others or the others to pick on him. I would then split the live plants up between the two tubs to make them more at home.

So my questions are-

1) will my betta be ok with out the filter running while i do the change? I gather he could get all the oxygen he needs from the surface while i do it if there isn't enough in the water?
2) Which one should i put the heater in? or am i better off just leaving them with out the heater while i do it, putting the same temp water in the tank, putting the fish in and then letting it start to raise the temp back up?
3) Is there anything else i need to consider?

..and yes i am going to be upping my black rubies but i didn't want to shock the tank by putting them in all at once

 

[Aqua Tom]

Go to your local hardware store & get a big plastic container for a couple of quid, then you could just put them all in there.

Tom

 

[CezzaXV]

You may as well leave the heater running in at least one of them, though the amount of time it takes for you to replace the gravel with sand shouldn;t be long enough for any significant drop in temperature if you're using tank water.

 

[CrazyAirborne]

I think a bigger tub would be your best bet

 

[ParadiseGuerrero]

okay thanks A bigger tub it is