Changing Substrate

[CamG369]

I currently have a stone substrate in my tank but I am looking to change it to a sand or something softer so I can have more variety in the tank

How would I go about doing this? I was thinking it would be best to buy something that's "pre washed" so I can do it as quick as possible

Any tips or advice would be appreciated. I dont plan on doing it until pay day of course hahaha

 

[seangee]

I did this several months ago. Its best if you get a sand that is already washed as that requires less rinsing - in my case I used black limpopo sand. I took a few evenings to remove most of the existing sand. While I was doing this I just moved the furniture around as well as the plants. On the final day I just left the plants floating. Then on the big day:

1. Removed plants and placed in a bucket of tank water
2. Removed ornaments and wood and put them into a tub
3. Removed the last of my substrate. Since I had sand I siphoned this out as part of a large water change.
4. I used a clean plastic milk bottle (but you can use a soda bottle) and cut the base off
5. Turn off filter
6. Put the lid on the bottle and filled it with sand. Lowered bottle into tank upside down and when the lid was almost on the bottom removed the lid. This allowed me to "pour" the sand out without making too much mess
7. Repeat step #6 as many times as needed
8. Replace tank furniture and replant
9. Top up the tank. Leave the filter turned off until most of the large particles have settled - shouldn't need more than 15-30 minutes if you rinsed the sand and poured slowly
10. Turn the filter back on

Before and after pics in this thread.
Just been back through the thread and realised I did not even turn the filter or heater off.

 

[CamG369]

I did this several months ago. Its best if you get a sand that is already washed as that requires less rinsing - in my case I used black limpopo sand. I took a few evenings to remove most of the existing sand. While I was doing this I just moved the furniture around as well as the plants. On the final day I just left the plants floating. Then on the big day:

1. Removed plants and placed in a bucket of tank water
2. Removed ornaments and wood and put them into a tub
3. Removed the last of my substrate. Since I had sand I siphoned this out as part of a large water change.
4. I used a clean plastic milk bottle (but you can use a soda bottle) and cut the base off
5. Turn off filter
6. Put the lid on the bottle and filled it with sand. Lowered bottle into tank upside down and when the lid was almost on the bottom removed the lid. This allowed me to "pour" the sand out without making too much mess
7. Repeat step #6 as many times as needed
8. Replace tank furniture and replant
9. Top up the tank. Leave the filter turned off until most of the large particles have settled - shouldn't need more than 15-30 minutes if you rinsed the sand and poured slowly
10. Turn the filter back on

Before and after pics in this thread.
Just been back through the thread and realised I did not even turn the filter or heater off.

Great thanks

What did you do with the fush while you did this? My tank is stocked, albeit with not a lot

 

[seangee]

They stayed in the tank

 

[Byron]

I would suggest removing the fish to a temporary "tank" so you do not have the added stress on the fish. I have changed substrate many times, and it is always better I think to not feel rushed. There is less stress on the fish netting them into a temporary tank (filter and heater can be placed in this tank) where they can stay for the day, two or more days with no trouble, and then back again. Removing the substrate is a significant stress issue for fish.

Edit. Forgot to mention that sand is your best substrate material, provided it is not rough (this can harm substrate level fish). Aquarium river sands and play sand is safe. Avoid all industrial sands.

 

[Retired Viking]

I plan on changing my 55 gallon tank from gravel to sand this summer. Maybe the forum should consider adding this to the useful links list

 

[Essjay]

Several years ago I changed from gravel to sand, but I had small gravel so I used the tubing from a siphon to hoover it out. I put the fish in a container with tank water, but I also removed everything else from the tank as I was also moving the tank across the room.

Just to warn you, there was a lot of muck in the gravel despite siphoning it at every water change

 

[utahfish]

I just put my plants and fish in a bucket with the hang on back filter in it and the heater as well. I like to keep the filter running because when the media dries out it can kill beneficial bacteria and replacing the substrate is gonna remove a bunch if beneficial bacteria so one wants to keep as much in the filter as possible. Same with ornaments, if they dry out the beneficial bacteria on them can die as well.As for substrate the debate continues on here and other boards Byron will warn you against it but i use black diamond blasting sand its inexpensive, requires minimal rinsing, is inert and perfectly size and density to anchor plants and despite belief from some those who use it in the hobby which are many, have reported their substrate dwelling fish are safe and healthy on it. Play sand is equally inexpensive requires more rinsing and is technically also an industrial sand. Really cant go wrong with either IMO, the black sands in LFS are either silica based or crushed lava rock, lava is more natural, both will cost alot more, black sand in LFS is about 20$ for 20 lbs, where as play sand and blasting sand will be around $10 for 50lbs. For me its an easy choice but hey to each their own, good luck!

 

[Retired Viking]

Thanks @utahfish and @essjay I will keep this in mind

 

[JuiceBox52]

Play sand is a good inexpensive choice

 

[CamG369]

Thanks everyone! I'll do it and let you know of the result. Think this is a useful thread for people who are wondering the same thing?

 

[Linda N]

I first washed my sand a day or two ahead of the switch. I left it wet in a bucket. I had gravel and switched to black sand for my dwarf cory catfish. I siphoned out a few gallons of tank water into a bucket and put all of the décor and plants in there. I siphoned the remaining tank water into another bucket so there was maybe 2 inches of water left in the tank. At that point with no décor or plants and very little water it was a lot easier to catch all of the fish. I put them in the second bucket along with the HOB filter because given some mobility issues I did not know how long removing the gravel and cleaning the tank would take. I had an undergravel filter too and was really shocked at the amount of muck under the filter even though I siphoned water through the tubes a couple of times a week. I removed all of the gravel and muck, used a little clean dechlorinated water to clean the tank up a bit; added the still wet sand and kind of spread it around. I had already filled up all of my gallon jugs with water and dechlorinated it so I filled the tank about halfway and added all of the décor and plants back in after rinsing them in the tank water in the bucket. Even though I was pretty careful pouring the water in and using something to break the stream it still moved a lot of sand around. I filled it up the rest of the way and put the filter back and let things settle for a few hours before adding the fish back in. I'm sure they didn't really enjoy the experience but nobody died and the cory cats are much more active with the sand substrate than they ever were in the gravel. Now I have Endlers in there with them, along with oto's from a tank I don't have any more, a variety of snails, some red cherry shrimp and some dwarf or pygmy rasboras. They all seem pretty happy and are busy all of the time.