Gravel To Sand Substrate

[Miles_hot]

Have a search on this site - there was a rash of people changing from gravel to sand about 2 months ago - as far as i know none of them moved their fish out or maybe they were all in fishless cycles??

 

[cheddargremlin]

i changed from gravel to sand about a yr ago. i put the fish in a couple of buckets, washed the gravel, put it in,topped up the water then ran it fishless for a few hours(dont panic, the fish were perfectly happy and temp etc was maintained) after the water had cycled a few times i put my fishies back and they all lived happily ever after. the end

 

[the.fish.fool]

i changed from gravel to sand about a yr ago. i put the fish in a couple of buckets, washed the gravel, put it in,topped up the water then ran it fishless for a few hours(dont panic, the fish were perfectly happy and temp etc was maintained) after the water had cycled a few times i put my fishies back and they all lived happily ever after. the end

Did you have to change ALL of the water or just a portion of it? How did you wash the sand(assuming its a typo since the topic is gravel to sand ;p)?

 

[fluttermoth]

Thanks for the avatar change, mate; good old Spongebob!

It's not the putting in of the sand that causes the problems, as long as it's well washed (put 'some' in a bucket, so it's half to a third full and run under a tap; outside is best. Pour off all the rubbish and particles of sand that don't sink immediatly and repeat, being ruthless about tipping those loose particles out; even if you lose a bit of 'good' sand along with it. Once you think it's done; do it again two or three times; way better to spend the time doing it in the bucket than putting it in the tank and realisin it could have done with more...) it's the taking out of the gravel; the amount of crud that's stuck down there will be terrifying!

If you can syphon the gravel out with a wide bore pipe, like a hose, that's best as you take the crud out along with it.

I've tried changing substrates with fish in, and IMO it's not worth the hassle; better to do a strip down.

 

[the.fish.fool]

Thanks for the avatar change, mate; good old Spongebob!

It's not the putting in of the sand that causes the problems, as long as it's well washed (put 'some' in a bucket, so it's half to a third full and run under a tap; outside is best. Pour off all the rubbish and particles of sand that don't sink immediatly and repeat, being ruthless about tipping those loose particles out; even if you lose a bit of 'good' sand along with it. Once you think it's done; do it again two or three times; way better to spend the time doing it in the bucket than putting it in the tank and realisin it could have done with more...) it's the taking out of the gravel; the amount of crud that's stuck down there will be terrifying!

If you can syphon the gravel out with a wide bore pipe, like a hose, that's best as you take the crud out along with it.

I've tried changing substrates with fish in, and IMO it's not worth the hassle; better to do a strip down.

Sweet! Never thought of that. Thank you! I have a gravel siphon with a detachable "head thingy"(lol. i have no idea what its called). Gonna try it tomorrow. Cheers! gonna update the thread when I'm done, and maybe post some pics too.

 

[fluttermoth]

Good luck with it; hope it goes smoothly for you (nothing ever does in my world )

 

[the.fish.fool]

Finished it. :]

Is there too much sand? Didn't notice until I was done. lol
Have to add more plants tho, any suggestions/recommendations?

Oh, and sorry bout the bad pic, camera phone.

 

[Aqua Tom]

Finished it. :]

Is there too much sand? Didn't notice until I was done. lol
Have to add more plants tho, any suggestions/recommendations?

Oh, and sorry bout the bad pic, camera phone.

No Pic

 

[the.fish.fool]

Edit...Done...lol

 

[Aqua Tom]

Very nice looking. Maybe a teeny bit too much sand but thats up to you.


Tom

 

[This Old Spouse]

How are you seeing it? The Photobucket link doesn't work.

 

[the.fish.fool]

How are you seeing it? The Photobucket link doesn't work.

I edited it. It should be fine. Well anyway, here it is: