Changing From Gravel To Sand..... :)

[MrsM]

evening all
just bought a 15Kg bag of argos play sand, ive washed it pretty good but gonna rewash just to be sure...and im sure there are threads already on here but i cant find any that answer the questions i have....so...
questions..
1) do i take the fish out of the tank while i do the change?, im assuming i should..so how long do i have before they get too stressed being in a different tank, i have intentions of putting them in a heated smaller tank...have no filter though...ammonia lock?
2) once the gravel is out and the sand is in im then going to refill the tank with temp appropriate water (24-25) obviously using dechlorinated water, how soon should i put the filter back in the tank? let the sand settle first?
3) will it break my filter if there is too much "floating" sand? should i add filter wool to the filter to clear any floating sand(if there is any)if not how do i remove the floating sand? just by water changing? will it harm the fish i have too?
4) any set depth? or is it personal preference?

also making the move from fake to real plants, only want 2-3 plants....any advice on those, i was given one the other day from a friend, not sure what it is, he called it a weed, said it grew fast and was easy to keep alive so no ferts etc needed....?? just wondering if thats true, ill post a pic when ive charged camera... thanks

 

[zain611]

Nice to see you doing the change and why dont you try the bottle method where you put the sand in a empty bottle, fill it with sand, put it in the tank with water in it, wait for the air bubbles meaning the water is filling up inside and tip it over and see the dirt inside the bottle come out from the sand

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-XB0bwtZh8

 

[MrsM]

ive gotta get the sand in the tank first haha, but yeah, thanks for the video looks like a good idea

 

[zain611]

I used that method, the tank water was still a bit cloudy after but it cleard up after a few hours and when i did my change i put the fish and shrimps in a cleaning bucket with all the small ornaments in and did the change but after i got an ammonia and nitrite spike which was resolved in 3 days with WC

 

[comocrayfish5]

i have play sand in my 5 gal.

1. yes take the fish out because no matter how much you rinsed the play sand it will always be dusty when you first put it in. if you dont have a filter, at least put an air stone in the smaller tank and if your fish can go a day with out food that that is just less nitrates and ammonia you have to worry about

2. when i first put sand in my tank it was still VERY cloudy even after rinsing it for a long time. i put the filter in to get the dust out (i leave in the cartridge and then when the tank is clear, i put in a new one) let the big pieces settle.

3. the floating sand will not break your filter. i have bigger sand for the pet store in my new crayfish tank and there was alot of floating sand and bubble covered in sand on the bottom. my play sand did not have this problem though. if yours does, then i used my hand to stir up the bubbles on the bottom to try and break them free. stirring up the sand on the top of the water helps it fall. if there are still bubbles on the bottom, just let them sit and they WILL disappear in a few days. i have a different filter in each tank. one, with the big sand. will 'shut off' if it gets sand in it. the other one, with the play sand, will just be very noisy if it gets sand in it. all you need to do is clean out the filter

4. i love my sand to be about 1 1/2-2 inches deep but its really your opinion that matters!

hope i helped!!

my 5 gal with play sand:

http/s1153.photobucket.com/albums/p517/thepetbarn/My%205%20Gallon/

my 20 gal with bigger black sand:

 

[MrsM]

thats great info, thanks im getting another new bucket for holding deco etc tomorrow so will pick up an airstone, i have a pump so ill stick that in the small holding tank...going to re wash the sand tomorrow morning (again), got visitors at lunch time so cant really do the change over until later in the day...im hoping to do it tomorrow evening, hubby is out and kids will be in bed by 7pm...

im excited, a bit nervous incase i have a spike though, im going to put some of the old gravel in a pair of tights and put in the newly sanded tank...hope it will help, ive read i may not suffer a spike if i do that...

fingers crossed the kids get to bed early or it will be my hubbys next day off that i can do the change....

 

[JenJ]

This is based on my experience with silica sand - which I think is a little coarser than the play sand.

I took out about a third of the water, removed all plants and bogwood, then used a net to scoop up all gravel - still with the fish in the tank. They just avoided me at first, then some of them decided they wanted to play with the net /

I then filled the net with the cleaned sand and laid it on the bottom, minimising the distance it had to settle.

Then put all plants and wood back in and refilled as per any water change, dosing with Prime as usual. By the time I'd refilled the tank, the fish were loving the sand!

I much preferred leaving the fish in, as to me, the stress of being netted and moved into a new home outweighs a net going in the tank a few times filled with gravel and sand.

It was a bit cloudy for a few hours, but not overly so, I'll see if I've got a pic...

This is how it looked about 2 hours after.

 

[zain611]

You really need to try the bottle method out i didnt need to clean the sand in a bucket and put it into the bottle, i just scooped it into the bottle without washing it, put it in the tank with the waterfrom the tank filling it up and tip it up-side-down untill all the sand comes out at that point you quickly turn the bottle around and lift it out the tank and in the morning the tank was crystal clear this is the best way to clean and introduce sand into your aquarium MrsM if you have time on your hands

 

[garyspence84]

I literally just done this last night. I got 2 bags of argos play sand, put it in a massive bucket, ran a hose into the bottom of it and let it run for a couple of hours. Every now and then, stir it up and drain as much excess water from it and repeat.

I then emptied tank of all water, fish, decor and then gravel.
Cleaned the tank and all decor.
Put sand in.
filled back up with water (adding water treatment and adjusting water to correct temp) and put the fish back in.

I also kept some of my existing tank water to help my water parameters along a bit.

Excluding the 3 hours of sand cleaning, the switch took me 2 hours all in. Probably could have done it quicker, but it WAS new years eve, so I had to stop for the odd we dram.

 

[bmonki]

i did the change with fish left in the tank also. did it right before bed, it was slightly cloudy, next morning crystal clear

 

[MrsM]

I literally just done this last night. I got 2 bags of argos play sand, put it in a massive bucket, ran a hose into the bottom of it and let it run for a couple of hours. Every now and then, stir it up and drain as much excess water from it and repeat.

I then emptied tank of all water, fish, decor and then gravel.
Cleaned the tank and all decor.
Put sand in.
filled back up with water (adding water treatment and adjusting water to correct temp) and put the fish back in.

I also kept some of my existing tank water to help my water parameters along a bit.

Excluding the 3 hours of sand cleaning, the switch took me 2 hours all in. Probably could have done it quicker, but it WAS new years eve, so I had to stop for the odd we dram.

how much "old" tank water did you keep? and have you had an ammonia spike, ive really gone through the mill with this tank since i got it and i dont wanna mess it all up now, all fish are health and well, no signs of illness 2 guppy pregnant but, HEY when are they not ...right haha

i did the change with fish left in the tank also. did it right before bed, it was slightly cloudy, next morning crystal clear

cloudy when finished i dont mind, its if it wont clear after a few hours...will it harm my filter and fish?

 

[garyspence84]

Not that much to be honest, roughly 40ltr, and my tank is a 240ltr tank too. Had no amonia spikes at all. In saying that, I'm in work now and have been since midday yesterday so haven't done a water test. Will do 1 when I finish in a couple of hours and post the results.

But I would say just go for it! The difference in my tank is night and day it really is.

Edit. Oh and the clouds of sand won't harm your fish or filter. If your worried about your filter, just put in some extra will pads for a couple of days to catch as much as possible. That's what I did

 

[MrsM]

ok youve settled it for me...ill do it haha and yes please test and post results for me, ill be waiting until this evening to do the change, no hubby n kids around then

 

[DrSlackBladder]

I made the change a couple of weeks ago with in my 100 litre; I used P@H gravel sand, didn't pre-wash but used the bottle method to wash and introduce the sand into the tank in one go, took an hour in total, I left fish, water, plants, ornaments all in place while I did it. The little cloudiness disappeared an hour after putting the filter back on, to which I added a pad of fine filter media. I would certainly recommend the change to sand, and definately use the bottle method again, fast, efficient, no mess, no washing, clear water, no stress for me or fish! Of course the corys prefer it, but the most notable benefit is that I now see my shrimp all the time (with gravel they always hid in plants, no they're scavenging around the sand all day long)! Good luck!

 

[Boromir]

I got some Silica sand from work for FREE, I did what GS did got a big flexi-bucket and put the sand in there with a hose to wash it out. I left most of the water in and all the fish in, all the plants and ornaments was taken out. I got a litre sized jug and put the sand in a bit at a time, as expected the water got very cloudy for a few hours but the next morning the water was clear. I lost no fish and they are happier now the sand is in especially the cories and the clown loaches. No ammonia spike for me but I did clean the filter media a bit more than usual.