How Do I Switch Gravel To Sand?

[Piti]

Okay, the logistics of this project seem to upset me more than anything. Upstairs I have a 10gallon tank with neon blue gravel that I want to change to sand... I've already got the sand, and I plain and simple don't k now how to change gravel to sand without.

A. Removing all the fish (and shrinp) (+ problems assosiated with that)
B. Disturbing the cycles (that's a lot of surface area I'm losing instantly)
C. Let the sand settle (it took 2-3 days in my larger tank)

...Would going and buying a bag of livesand be better for this solution?
...Would tetras or shrimp be unhappy with the dissision. Moving them to my other tank would be ill advised, as they are perfect food sized.

Well, where should I go from here.

 

[Jamepsss]

Should be relatively straightforward in a 10 gallon. Most of your nitrifying bacteria live in your filter media so I wouldn't worry too much about losing what you have in your gravel.

I would remove all of the livestock and the water before you start. Put them in a plastic storage container with your tank water, filter and heater in too.

Scoop out all of the gravel and clean up any gunk. Add the sand, after it's been washed thoroughly and top up with fresh dechlorinated water. Use a plate or something so as not to disturb the sand when adding new water.

I swapped gravel for sand in a 15 gallon last year but left all the fish in there but the water got so murky I couldn't see what I was doing.

 

[fluttermoth]

I changed my substrate earlier this year without removing the fish and really regretted it half way through when it was too late! I'd go get yourself a big storage box and put all your fish, shrimp, plants, heater and filter in there while you sort out the tank.

The sand shouldn't take that long to clear if you've washed it properly before you add it; it's well worth spending the extra time making sure you've really got it as clean as possible even if it is mind-numbing dull and hard on the old arms

Unless you're running an undergravel filter, there will be no bacteria to speak of in your gravel; good idea to test carefully for a few days after just in case, but I can't see you having any problems.

Live sand is used only in marine tanks; don't try using it in yours!

I swapped gravel for sand in a 15 gallon last year but left all the fish in there but the water got so murky I couldn't see what I was doing.

That's exactly what happened to me; unbelievable the amount of gunk that was lurking in there I thought I was pretty thorough with my gravel cleaning too. My poor fishies came out in whitespot afterwards as well, so it's obviously very stressful to do it 'fish in'.

 

[Jamepsss]

That's exactly what happened to me; unbelievable the amount of gunk that was lurking in there I thought I was pretty thorough with my gravel cleaning too. My poor fishies came out in whitespot afterwards as well, so it's obviously very stressful to do it 'fish in'.

Yeah, my fish came through it ok but it must have been a bit stressful for them. The part that worried me was not being able to see where the sand was going and having two dwarf frogs and my cories sat at the bottom.

 

[Piti]

Ahh cool, this all sounds to easy. Off to hd tommowow (family day today)

Should be intresting seeing those fish in a pond like enviorment

How do liverocks and sand work to filter an aquarium then? Do they have constant flow inside the rocks and whatnot? Or is it just something that only works in a saltwater aquarium (The type of bacteria) I was under the impression that my sand had a bigger part in the filtration stystem... Liverocks are just poerous rocks that bacteria grows on right???

 

[fluttermoth]

How do liverocks and sand work to filter an aquarium then? Do they have constant flow inside the rocks and whatnot? Or is it just something that only works in a saltwater aquarium (The type of bacteria) I was under the impression that my sand had a bigger part in the filtration stystem... Liverocks are just poerous rocks that bacteria grows on right???

The live rock system only works for salt water aquaria, as far as I'm aware. I'm sure if it worked in fresh, we'd all be trying it by now! The salty people use strong powerheads to 'push' the water through the rock. I think the type of rock they use would dissolve and cause freshwater to become far too hard for most of our fishes (though I'm no marine expert; I've just read up a bit 'cos my son would like a reef tank at some point in the future) and I don't think it just has bacteria on and in it; I think it comes with all sorts of coral and algae and sometimes other things like crabs and shrimp as well that would just die and pollute a freshwater tank.

The substrate in a normal freshwater tank doesn't hold any significant amount of bacteria; there will be some, but not enough to cause problems if you remove it.

Hope the change goes well

 

[JoshuaA]

I went the opposite way not so long ago, sand to gravel.

Basically...

1. Changing substrate
2. Wash Sand
3. Warm sand up to tank temperature
4. remove most water from tank
5. catch fish
6. remove fish into container
7. siphon up substrate if you can if not scoop it
8. give it a good wipe
9. replace with sand
10. use bowl to refill with either fresh or the tank water you just removed
11. enjoy

The warming sand up is vital in my eyes otherwise you will suffer from major temperature issues considering it takes a lot of energy to warm up. It can cause a large temperature shock if you just plonked it cold in.

Your cycle really won't be effected unless you aren't using a filter, the substrate holds little in comparison to the filter unless of course you're in a planted tank where bacteria is all over the roots of the plants etc but that's going off a bit.

Of course acclimatise your fish if you replace all the tank water and of course temperature match it, give them a nice long break between putting them in the tank with the new substrate and turning the light on though.

Good luck

Few more things I missed.


A good container can simply be one of those laundry baskets they sell at tesco, they hold around 45 litres and are a perfect sized container and because of their brightness much easier to catch fish thank a dark bucket.

If you put a bowl on the sand when you are filling the tank back up the sand will not move at all, or almost not at all anyway.

 

[JoshuaA]

Interesting double post!

 

[Piti]

It appears I will not be doing this till I convince my wife that it will look better But thanks anways.

(My probible next project is going to be probibly making a planted betta housing unit (5 gallons total, each co2 + Filter + Plants) Uugh... that will cost like $100cnd