Switching From Gravel To Sand ...

[darrel69]

hi .. brit newbie here ...

Im thinking of changing my gravel to sand but never had it before so i got a thew questions ...

1)what would be the easiest way to change it ?
2)what type of sand ? - im wanting dark coloured sand for malawi cichlids.
3)how do you take care / clean it ?
4)will the fine particales of the sand do any damage to my filter or anything ?
5)will it make my water cloudy ? if so, how long for it to settle/clear ?
6)i can imagine the sand needing just a slight disturbance for it to cloud, is that true you think ?
7)also, i read somewere that you would have to, somehow, try and get the bacteria from the gravel onto the sand ??? if so, how ?
8)reguarding question 7, made me think.. is there a chance of doing some damage to my water by doing this change ???

I dont want to jump into this and make a huge mess of it, so any advice/info even experiences would be great, also any links to webpages containing info would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[Rooster]

hi .. brit newbie here ...

Im thinking of changing my gravel to sand but never had it before so i got a thew questions ...

1)what would be the easiest way to change it ?
You can remove the gravel with a syphon, or net - dont forget to give it a good clean first, or you will end up with a messy tank !
2)what type of sand ? - im wanting dark coloured sand for malawi cichlids.
Only used "sand" coloured sand ! Sorry
3)how do you take care / clean it ?
Most of the muck sits on the surface, you just syphon it off - takes a bit of a nack to get the right distance, so you are not picking up sand - but its easier than it sounds !
4)will the fine particales of the sand do any damage to my filter or anything ?
Its heavier than you think... unless you stir it up, when doing maintenance or putting it into the tank, turn off the filter to prevent it being sucked up.
5)will it make my water cloudy ? if so, how long for it to settle/clear ?
Clean the sand before putting it in the tank, half fill a bucket with it then run a hose pipe into it outside... swish it about until the water runs clear, it will NEVER cloud the water ! When you add it to the tank, just scoop it in with your hand, or a cup... it drops to the bottom within a couple of seconds.
6)i can imagine the sand needing just a slight disturbance for it to cloud, is that true you think ?
Nope ! Try a little in a glass.... as I said, it heavier than you'd think !
7)also, i read somewere that you would have to, somehow, try and get the bacteria from the gravel onto the sand ??? if so, how ?
Old wives tale... theres not a lot of usefull stuff on the substrate, unless you use undergravel filtration... you can happily dump it.
8)reguarding question 7, made me think.. is there a chance of doing some damage to my water by doing this change ???
Again, NO.... its your filter than does the job, NOT water or substrate.

I dont want to jump into this and make a huge mess of it, so any advice/info even experiences would be great, also any links to webpages containing info would be helpful. Thanks.

Go for it ! I think it looks waaaay more natural that gravel... only drawback is it tends to look "dirtier" than gravel, as all the fish waste just sits on the surface.
Let us know how you get on... good luck.

 

[alessasavoca]

everything that Rooster said...except you can buy black sand from most LFS(local fish store). Personally I use Argos play sand, £2.49 a bag and it's as good as anything else!

Go fo it

 

[joecoral]

everything that Rooster said...except you can buy black sand from most LFS(local fish store). Personally I use Argos play sand, £2.49 a bag and it's as good as anything else!

Go fo it

I second that. Far cheaper than any LFS and just as good

 

[Rooster]

Argos is MY LFS too !!!! LOL good stuff, great price - only in "sand" colour though !
Tesco are flogging their playsand off if anyone wants any £1.50 a bag IIRC...

 

[Rob.S]

2)what type of sand ? - im wanting dark coloured sand for malawi cichlids.

How about Tahitian moon sand? Must admit, I've never seen any close up, so not sure how coarse it is (possibly a fine gravel, rather than a true sand). Can anyone enlighten me on this? It's not cheap either, aquatics online sell it for around £15 for a 20lb bag.



I've never seen black gravel at any of my LFS

 

[skiltrip]

I used to use Quickrete playsand, and that worked well for a while. But recently I moved my tank and decided it would be easier to just clean new sand rather than cart a bucket of wet sand around. I used pool filter sand this time, and my goodness it is soooooo much cleaner. When they say it's cleaner than play sand, it really is. When I was cleaning my playsand, it was like mud/black at first and took washing after washing after washing to finally get the water to run clean. With the pool filter sand under 10 rinses and it the water was crystal clear. And it looks much whiter and clean too. Really nice look.

I'd never go back to gravel after seeing what sand looks like.

 

[NismoSkyZ]

I purchased "super reef sand," and it has been working out well. it was about a dollar a pound.

Cleaning is quite simple. Just take off the fat end of your gravel vac, so it is just a siphon hose. Then siphon all of the waste on top of the gravel. When you are finished clearing all the waste, run your hand through the sand to circulate it. Thats it!

When you install the sand just make sure you clean, clean, clean! To avoid foggy water, this must be done. If it is foggy, leave your filter off for a few hours until it clears. Also, I reccomend that you put a sponge over the intake of your filter to prohibit any sand from entering.

Other than that, sand is great, the fish love it and it is much easier to plant live plants. I, myself have black sand and it really sets the tank off.

good luck!

 

[joecoral]

i would be wary of something sold as "reef sand" as it will possibly raise your pH, which is fine for marines and african cichlids, but not for anything else