I want to change substrate

[ChriX]

I currently have quite a thin layer of mixed gravel in my tank, it's all random sizes. I want to change this for sand for the benefit of my plants and corydoras when I get them. For ease of cleaning too!

I was wondering what's the best way to go about this. Shall I just remove most of the gravel and then spread my layer of sand on top, or do I take all the plants/wood/gravel out, lay the sand and then put all the decor back in. I don't particularly want to empty the tank to do this, I know i'll have to wash the sand very well to prevent it clouding up the water as it goes down.

 

[LiQuOrIcE]

also very interested to find this out!

 

[Doggfather]

i'v never done it before...but i'll assume that you'll need to allow the sand to settle for sometime, i'm not exactly sure how long, but somebody should know.

i'll also be intrested in the answer

 

[Dave]

Hi Chrix, Ive done this myself. If you follow this method you should have a full sand substrate within a week.

The trick is not to rush, and you will be able to do the change while maintaining a crystal clear tank.

Ok so here goes, Firstly starting at one end of the tank syphone all the gravel within a 1 third area of you tank. This will clean all the poo from the area you are going to replace with sand.
Once the area is clean you will need a devider (a piece of glass or plastic thats the width of your tank and higher than your substrate). Place your devider between the cleaned gravel and dirty gravel.
Now begin to carefully scoop the clean gravel out of the tank. You could use a dustpan (clean) for this.
Once all the clean gravel is removed, leave the tank for a while. Now is a good time to wash your sand.(Only wash enough for your cleared area!) You will need to wash it really good to prevent your tank going cloudy.
When your done its time to gently add the sand. Dont just drop it in, pour it gently at the bottom of the tank!
Then thats you one section done. I would leave it a few days before repeating the process for the other third. Your fish will be a little stressed now and you should give the water time to settle again. Then wait another few days before doing the final third!
Its all about patience. But the reward is good I personally favour sand and so do my fish (I think). It looks great and I find it cleaner. So Good Luck!

 

[Fiddlesticks]

Dave made a good point there. Go slowly. I just did mine about 3 weeks ago. I should have made longer gaps between sections. I did it over 3 days in 3 small sections, and my pl*c got pretty stressed. Then my tank started cycling, and iv had to postpone getting my new fish. I think im finally in the last stage of the cycle.
I think if I had put a day or 2 in between the sections I dont think that would have happened, because I think I took too much of the good bacteria out at once. And the other thing. wash wash wash the sand and then wash some more.

 

[Dubby]

ChriX,

If you are doing this for the plants then it would be a good idea to put a thin layer of clay or vermiculite before putting the sand. This will help retain the nutrients better.

 

[Nina7777]

hey there,
I just switched this saturday. I did it all at once and it was surprisingly very very easy. I took out about a third of the water (30 gallon tank) and put it into a 20 gallon rubbermaid. Next I filled the tank back up with fresh dechlorinated water. Then I took out the decorations and the fish and moved them all to the bucket.(please note: I had an extra air pump which I also moved the bucket) Then while leaving the filter running, I proceeded to scoop out all the gravel with a large net. Then while the filter was running I took the sand and put it in a clean bucket, brought it outside and washed it really well. Next I shut off the filter.Then I used a plastic cup to gentley place the sand on the bottom of the tank. Then I siphoned out another thrid of water, and replaced it with fresh dechlorinated water. Then I turned back on the air pump and filter and let it sit. It was very cloudy to begin with, but within an hour it was much clearer. After about an hour I replaced the decorations, a half hour later I put the fish back in. I did this all late in the evening and by the time I woke up the next morning my tank was crystal clear. OH YEAH i almost forgot, I filled two nylon stocking with the old gravel and placed them in the tank as well. I also hadn't cleaned my filter in about 4 weeks to make sure it had enough established bacteria on it, to prevent a mini cycle.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

I've always done it like Nina777.

In the end it will be less stressful for the fish to get it all overwith at once.

 

[ChriX]

Thanks for all the advice, I will see about getting some sand and then change it this weekend, need to find some buckets that haven't had poisonous stuff in them, only have the one at the moment.

Dubby: where would I be able to get this clay or vermiculite? Will the LFS carry it along with the sand?

Do all plants root better in sand? Out of the ones that actually root that is...

 

[Dubby]

You can get Vermiculite from any garden centre. For clay you can always look in your back garden. If you are unsure if there are any pesticides in it you can use cat litter! Some of the brands have odour free natural clay (Tesco has one)

And to answer your next question. I dont think so....they probably root as well in gravel. And if you have fish that like to nose around in the sand you will soon find all your plants coming out

PS: If you are planning to use vermiculite soak it in hot water for a couple of days and squeeze it tightly. This will make it sink in the water.

 

[sumer_kay]

well I did something similar once, I changed my substrate from glass marbles to gravel, and I ended up taking the fish out in seperate containers, taking some water out (saving it) and doing it all by hand, (scooping out the old and adding the new) then added the old water, waited for it to clear and re-added my fish, worked fine. I don't really know about sand though I've never used it. It wasn't as easy as I had hoped, but I was happy with the results. good luck