Thinking Of Going To Sand...

[Timmy_Bee]

Hi,

I have got gravel in my Rio 240, and am thinking of converting to sand...
The issue is that i have already stocked the tank, so my plan would be to put them all in a bucket, get rid of all the gravel, re-scape with sand and call it a day. But - i have no idea how long this is going to take. How long does the sand take to settle? should i keep the fish in a bucket (could always hook up a filter, but its going to be crowded) or put the fish back whilst the sand is still settling?

It it beneficial to leave some gravel in the bottom (im assuming not) or should i just bin it all?

So many questions! in short - has anyone converted to sand on a fully stocked tank before? how did it go? any hints and tips?

 

[Jamepsss]

Hi,

I have got gravel in my Rio 240, and am thinking of converting to sand...
The issue is that i have already stocked the tank, so my plan would be to put them all in a bucket, get rid of all the gravel, re-scape with sand and call it a day. But - i have no idea how long this is going to take. How long does the sand take to settle? should i keep the fish in a bucket (could always hook up a filter, but its going to be crowded) or put the fish back whilst the sand is still settling?

It it beneficial to leave some gravel in the bottom (im assuming not) or should i just bin it all?

So many questions! in short - has anyone converted to sand on a fully stocked tank before? how did it go? any hints and tips?

I did it on a much smaller tank last year.

If I were you I would remove the fish to somewhere they could safely live for a few days as it's not something you want to rush. Removing the gravel is going to make a lot of mess and the sand usually takes a couple of days to clear even if washed really well. If the fish are out of the way then you have more time to scape and don't need to worry about stressing them.

When I upgraded a tank last year I used a big plastic storage container to hold the fish for about a week. They were fine in there with the filter, heater and decor from the tank and no stress or deaths.

Worth doing though, sand is much better than gravel (in my opinion).

 

[weezawoo]

I have just transferred to a new tank, not quite the same but basically I put th sand in the new tank then filled with water, as long as you clean it throughly before hand it shouldn't be too cloudy. As soon as I had filled up the tank I added the fish, Water very slightly cloudy but was generally fine. Maybe put a heater in the bucket to keep them warm though!
But the gravel will make a lot of mess I expect so it depends on that!

 

[KittyKat]

On a tank that size, it generally takes me about 2-4 hours to change substrate and re-scape. I advise washing the sand extra well before even starting, really to the point where the water runs clear, or it will take 1-3 days to settle (if you use extra fine filter wool to help it). The sand "dust" could irritate the fish.

 

[Timmy_Bee]

So you think emptying the gravel will make just as much mess as adding sand?

Maybe i will gradually get rid of gravel - see if i can get it to a bare bottom tank doing usual water changes, and then dump in the sand (obviously i would take the fish out at this point...)

 

[SimoUK]

Hey, check out the topic i made a while back, it goes through step-by-step how i went about doing the change:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/337690-gravel-to-sand-change-how-i-did-it/page__p__2805609&#entry2805609

You'll find it useful

 

[KittyKat]

So you think emptying the gravel will make just as much mess as adding sand?

If you never clean the gravel, I would expect this.

Maybe i will gradually get rid of gravel - see if i can get it to a bare bottom tank doing usual water changes, and then dump in the sand (obviously i would take the fish out at this point...)

(I have never taken out fish when changing substrate... but I am very careful when I do it!)

 

[Timmy_Bee]

I give my gravel a good vac every water change, so i double its that filthy. Im sure there is some muck i cant get to right at the bottom, butb thats not a problem...

SimoUK - thanks for the thread

 

[Rogue4Fish]

Does sand have much impact on filtration? IE - does it get a build up of sand particles in it?

 

[weezawoo]

I have a small amount of gravel under my filters but when I didn't I noticed a small amount of sand in there but not a huge amount!

 

[Timmy_Bee]

well im running an external, so maybe i'l just move the inlet higher up the tank a bit?

 

[weezawoo]

Yeah I reckon that would be fine!