Im sorry but has to be done!

[Braddah]

So could some one post a link on how to change from gravel to sand...I know its been up here like 6 times in the last month but there was a super good one on how to change over and I cant find it.....

Thanx in advance!

 

[flyhockey1037]

i filled a bucket with tank water and temporarily moved all my fish and plants to there, then i drained the rest of the tank and gave it a good scrubbing (a shop vac works great for getting the water out quick, if u cant dump it). Then i dumped in my sand. Then, added water. DO NOT DO ADD THE WATER! First add the water. Don't fill the water up all the way, so that u can reach your arm in to reinsert your plants and decorations. Go to a hardware store and buy a funnel with a tube attached to the bottom, and put that into the aquarium so that the tube is at the bottom where the sand should go and the funnel part is not submerged, then take cupfuls of sand, and dump it into the funnel, the sand should fall into place just fine. If you add the sand first and then the water, you will have massive amounts of sand clinging to air bubbles floating all over your aquarium messing up your filters big time. Believe me, i lost a filter due to this. Luckily it was my old one and not my spiffy new biowheel jobby. then reinsert your fish ASAP, the sand does not need to be completely settled b4 the fish go back in. if you have any airlstones or anything you will need to wait a day for the sand to settle before u can put it in or else sand will cling to your air bubbles and fudge up the works. it really kind of cleans itself, all you need to do is swoosh the water above the sand and the debris stirs up and gets sucked into the filter. i am going to purchase the smallest gravel vac i can find so i can clean it easy. someone should invent an itty bitty underwater vacuum so i can clean this stuff easy. i hear that after a little while, the sand settles in so good that u can use a gravel vac and it will suck up the debris and not any sand, i guess u gotta wait for the "slime" to grow over the sand. i am very pleased with my new setup and im sure you will be too. phew, i think that covered everything.......

 

[Braddah]

Thats exactly what I was looking foe thank you Flyhockey! Just some clarification q's though....whats the rule for sand (i.e.- 1 pound of gravel for gallon of water) Also Do i need to rinse the sand first? And How do I keep my tank from re-cycling? (although Im sure I could just put the gravel in a filter bag for a week or so, right?) And is it the playground sand I can use from the hardware store?

 

[flyhockey1037]

i have a ten gallon tank i got ten pounds of sand. its usually a pound a gallon unless have some particulary long or deep tank. i bought sand made for aquariums so it didnt require a super good rinsing. if you buy playground sand from the hardware store you should put it in a pillowcase and rinse the hell out of it until the water runs completely clear. i kept the same filter pack and put it all the plants and decorations from when the gravel was in and i didnt have a problem with another cycle. i guess it'll depend on how well planted your tank is, how many decorations u have, and whether or not you keep live plants. u can also put some gravel in an old pantyhose and hang it in the tank for a few weeks if u want to be absolutely sure.

 

[juanveldez]

There was a better way posted later that way your tank doesn't have to cycle again. first you get your sand, rinse it really good I used a pillow case for mine. then you are going to remove about 1/4 of the gravel every other week. I know that it is going to take forever but I would think that it is better than subjecting your fish to a whole new cycle. I also went with about 2.5 inches of san thick but tha tis because I have a JD and he loves to dig. but personally I like the sand better because if you go thicker in some spots you get all the great little hills and valleys. and after I get done with the 55 JD tank I am going to be doing it to my 75 malawi tank