Washing Sand For Corries!

[maisy12345]

Thanks for that Minnnt,but don`t live near to,was going to change from coloured gravel to half sand as i`ve got 3 corries ,and wanted them to be happier,have bought some premium sand from pets at home ,feel disgusted at price ,though hope it doesn`t need much cleaning.was £4.25 for 2kg.
Don`t know whether to wait until tank is cycled,as already lost one fish?

 

[fluttermoth]

Wow, that is pricey; it'd better be clean for that kind of money!

Changing substrate shouldn't do anything at to your cycle, either good or bad, and your corys will certainly be happier.

 

[StandbySetting]

I'd be inclined to wait, your fish are going to be vulnerable due to the stresses of the fish-in cycle, changing the substrate will stress them further which will leave them more susceptible to disease.

 

[fluttermoth]

Oh, can't we all just agree for once?!

Sorry, maisy; fishkeeping as an art as well as a science and sometimes we have differing views on things. It's one of those situations where you're going to have to use you judgement on what you feel is the best option.

Maybe you could put in a patch of sand for the corys and leave doing the whole tank until your cycle is finished?

 

[minnnt]

I'd be inclined to wait, your fish are going to be vulnerable due to the stresses of the fish-in cycle, changing the substrate will stress them further which will leave them more susceptible to disease.

+1!!! Definately!!!

As for half and half, i think the sand will work its way to the bottom and you will still end up with gravel on top. When i first started i bought two tank from p@h, one had the fine rounded gravel (my Fluval Vicenza 180) and the other (my Fluval Roma 125) had the sand you have. I didn't really know anything about washing it etc so i just plonked the water in. WOW!!! it was cloudy for about a week. I removed it and went to gravel. Back to sand now though. lol. So i would definately think it won't be washed very well despite the price. (Which is totally outrageous!!) If you still have it bagged up i would return it and go to argos to get some play sand! lol.

 

[fluttermoth]

I've got a mix of sand and gravel in two of my tanks and have no problem keeping them separate...

 

[maisy12345]

Aaargh!!! Thanks for all your replies ,don`t know what to do now,think i will change but will get some filter wool as suggested
And i will start off with half and half,just see how it goes ,then when i pour the water in ,i`ll just pour it on the gravel.

 

[StandbySetting]

The gravel will come through the sand eventually, if you're going to do it, you may as well do it in one go.

 

[fluttermoth]

It's not too difficult to have gravel on one side of the tank and sand on the other; they mix a bit where they meet, but it's easy enough to scoop the gravel back onto its own side.

 

[maisy12345]

Thanks Fluttermoth and Standby setting,you`ve been really helpful

 

[fluttermoth]

You're very welcome; best of luck with whatever you decide to do