"re"cycle Question: Gravel To Sand

[soritan]

my tank is pretty close to being fully cycled, my ammonia eating bacteria can gobble up the ammonia i add in just a few hours, i'm just waiting for my nitrifying bacteria to catch up now.

however, this close to the end, i'm actually debating making a change in my tank. i'm debating switching to a sand substrate.

if i do this now, i imagine it'll set me back on my cycle. so i was thinking of doing it after my tank is fully cycled. if i carefully remove all my decor, all my plants (fake and real), all my bogwood, and all my substrate, and then add the sand as described so well in the FAQ, how long do you figure it would be before my tank, erm, re-cycles itself?

i'd need to get a new filter, if i do that, as i currently have an internal power filter, and it's not intended for use in a sandy bottom tank. so i'd have to remove the sponge and add it to my new filter, to seed it that way.

would i have to start the entire cycle over again, adding another 2/3 weeks to my wait? or would all this seed material speed up my cycle enough that i could add fish rather quickly?

 

[TF Keeper UK]

When you take out the decor, place in a bucket of tank water. Removing the gravel will remove all the bacteria and yes, your tank will go into another cycle!

I've recently changed mine from gravel to sand. I did a fishless cycle and the tank was ready in 6 days!

Oh one more thing, don't have too thick a layer of sand! I made that mistake and had pockets of black sand!

Del

 

[Luke_e]

When you take out the decor, place in a bucket of tank water. Removing the gravel will remove all the bacteria and yes, your tank will go into another cycle!

Nope, not necessarly. There is a small amount of bacteria in the gravel, but not enought o make the tank go into a recycle after its been removed. The majority of bacteria is on the decor and in the sponges (of course).
But what some people do is, get a clean sock/cloth/other, and put the gravel into it, and leave it in the tank for a week or so so the bacteria can get back into the water/sand.

 

[SkiFletch]

But what some people do is, get a clean sock/cloth/other, and put the gravel into it, and leave it in the tank for a week or so so the bacteria can get back into the water/sand.

yeah, give that option a go. in newly cycled tanks a VAST majority of the bacteria grow in the filter sponges as opposed to gravel (unless your filter is an undergravel filter of course ). what exact brand/model filter do you have? are you sure you cant use it with sand?

 

[soritan]

it's a Whisper Tetra 10i, an internal filter. I read the directions when I first got it (shocking, I know), and while i can't seem to locate it for an accurate quote, i think their exact phrase was, "not intended for use with sand."

i was also debating this DIY, using my old aquarium gravel, to make myself a sponge filter. but i don't know much about sponge filters, as i haven't had time to research them yet.

this internal filter is only the second filter i've ever owned in my life.

 

[soritan]

Relocated the manual, and it says, "it is not recommended for use with sand."

X|

OK, soooo, I wonder if I could get away with using it on a sandy substrate? I think using pool filter sand might make many things easier for me, than my current mishmash. I'm having difficulty keeping my stem plants (anacharis) in place, and all the fish I'm really interested in require a sand substrate. Dwarf puffers, pygmy/panda/pepper corydoras, kuhli loaches.

Sand vaguely appealed to me, before I set up the tank (I sat next to an empty tank for months and months before I started to make actual decisions about it), so I really regret not going with sand. My 10gal currently has an ugly mix of old marbles, river rock, green and black aquarium gravel, and red and black gravel. Since I'm fishless cycling, each substrate has their own little section, and it's totally unmixed. *laugh* The poor make do with what they have. I almost like the way it looks now -- tacky tacky tacky. However, it's the fish that are making me want to pull the switch.

If my betta decides that the 10gal isn't as nice as the bowl he's left behind and shows stress, I'll need to put someone else in there, and every fish I am really into requires a sand substrate.

It was a real bummer. "Ooooh, dwarf puffers, cool, I like! Ah, man, sand." "Ooooh, cory cats, I like! Ah, man, sand." "Ooooh, kuhli loaches. ... .... sand." My alternate alternate alternate is the standard ADF (I was thinking around 5). But if my betta doesn't like the 10gal, he'll not like it because of the current my filter kicks out, and if he doesn't like the current on the 10gal, than I bet you dollars to donuts neither will the ADF.

 

[SkiFletch]

yeah, thats an overhang filter it looks like which while not intended for use with sand usually can get away with being used with it. especially if you get larger heavier grain sand you should be fine. the problem with that filter and sand is the powerhead in it can sometimes suck too much sand into it which can damage the impeller. but if you keep calm fish with heavy sand that doesnt really get kicked up much you should be ok

 

[soritan]

Hn, since the fish I'm selecting as a secondary actually enjoy nudging about in sand, I imagine none of them would qualify as "calm".

I had an idea, what if I purchased some polished river stones (like the sort they sell for vases and whatnot), put them in the tank for a few days/weeks? They'd carry some of the beneficial bacteria, right? If purchased in a large enough quantity, that'd be a pretty neat kick in the pants for my cycle, wouldn't they?

Since my substrate is rather low at the moment, adding river stones would actually raise me up to a more proper level (at some points in the tank, I'm down to a single marble deep )

I already have river stones in the house (2 bags, 4lbs each [907g each]), so it'd be a cinch to add it.