Gravel to Sand substrate

[meili.harrison]

I'm thinking of switching my gravel over to a sandy substrate. I really like a planted aquarium and I think it looks nicer and easier to maintain with a sand substrate. I also have a bunch of bottom feeders and they would probably like it better :)

How do I do this? I heard pool filter sand is better. What do I do after I purchase the sand, does it need to be soaked? For how long? I have an emperor filter, will a sand bottom cause any problems? My tank is already cycled and I have fish in it, how do I make this transition comfortable and stress free for my fish?

[littlecich]

I can't answer all of your questions, but I can give you some info.

I use pool filter sand and like it very much. Mine only needed a quick rinse and wasn't really dirty at all. I have a HOB filter and have had no problems with the sand getting into it. I did, however, let the sand settle before starting the filter. If you are concerned about sand getting into your filer, you can use a sponge over the end of your filter intake.

Since I started my tank with pool filter sand, I can't answer your questions concerning switching from gravel to sand.

[smyke]

you will have to rinse it very well. I used buckets when I did mine. I filled it half way with sand, added water and then just kept stirring it up, dumped the water and filled it again. I did that probably 4 times per bucket.
some people used garden hose and just stuck it in the bucket and let the dirty water overflow, but I couldnt do it in the condo.

as far as making the switch with all the fish in there I am not sure. I would probably move the fish out of there as scooping up old gravel and then adding sand will make your water pretty dirty.

definitely shut off your filter when adding sand. my sand settles very quickly so it shouldnt be long before it clears up. I read different stories on here though.

another thing to consider is that the gravel will have a lot of bacteria on it so when you remove it you may run into a mini cycle, but then again depending on how heavily planted your tank is it may not be an issue at all.

[AquariumNoob13]

depending on what look u want from your sand should decide what kind u get. i personally use silica sand. its a 20 grade and is wonderful. its clean, it looks clean, and i can vacume it without picking up any sand particles! =D i don't know how bottom feeders will like it or not, but my mbuna cichlids and snails absolutely LOVE it! and i did the same thing with the bucket and water. plus, if you want, you can put red lava into the tank with the sand substrate. it looks really nice and lava collects a lot of beneficial bacteria for water cycling and so forth. =] but when u change substrates, the cycle can be messed up so u want to watch your tank carefully when u make the switch.

[meili.harrison]

I made the change this afternoon. I picked up a 50 lb bag of pool filter sand for $5.99 this morning. Washed in bucket 4 - 5 times, let it sit and soak. Took my fishies out and put in a 5 gal tank and made the switch. I'm keeping a hose full of old gravel to hopefully not get too big of a mini cycle. It looks good. This is just for my 10 gal tank. I would love to do it for my 46 gal, but it would be a lot of work and I don't think I'm up for the challenge right now... :)

[AquariumNoob13]

thats twice as much as what silica sand costs, except silica sand is sold in 100lb bags for the same price. and i like it much more. (but then again i have NO idea what pool filter sand even is because when i was looking for a sand substrate, i could not find it and silica sand was heavier and is able to be vacumed) imo it is cleaner too. you don't have to wash it as much. =]

[theotheragentm]

Pool filter sand looks just like sandbox sand generally. It can look quite white in color under the proper lighting. Silica sand is often too light and gets kicked up by fish and sucked into the filter

[Rbishop]

waiting for the pics on the change out...

[sting ray]

i am considering doing the same switch in my twenty gallon. i already have about an inch of gravel in there and was wondering if i could just layer the sand on top of it?

[meili.harrison]

I'll post some pics later this weekend. Still don't have many plants or decoration yet. I was just gonna use some nice river rocks, will be a little empty for a while.

[AquariumNoob13]

i am considering doing the same switch in my twenty gallon. i already have about an inch of gravel in there and was wondering if i could just layer the sand on top of it?

it doesn't matter. i did that for a while, but then my fish (mbuna cichlids) started digging (OOPS!!!!) and the gravel got mixed in with the sand and i ended up having to spend many a long time getting out all of the gravel, but if ur fish don't dig, it doesn't matter.....

[AquariumNoob13]

Pool filter sand looks just like sandbox sand generally. It can look quite white in color under the proper lighting. Silica sand is often too light and gets kicked up by fish and sucked into the filter

so is it or is it not the same as play sand? cuz play sand is DIRTY!!! and as for silica sand, it all depends on what u like and wut grade u get, because with me i think that it looks like a natural ocean floor in my fish tank, and with my 20 grade silica sand, it has not once been sucked into any of my filters. as long as u wash it out and do a water change right after putting it in to get out all the small sand particles it stays on the bottom. i am even able to vacume it and it doesn't get sucked up! :headbang2:

[meili.harrison]

I took all my old gravel out and put sand in. I think it looks better that way. I did save a big bunch of my old gravel and left it in a hose in tank so I wouldn't have to deal with cycling again. It seems to work. I still intend to do small water changes every other day to make sure everything stays good.

[AquariumNoob13]

every other day is a lot....try every 3 or 4 days.....

[Rbishop]

Go with your plan of daily, it never hurts. If in doubt check your ammonia and nitrate levels. More bacteria reside in the substrate than most fish keepers will acknowledge. The bacteria do not "know" to live in the filter.

[meili.harrison]

Ok, took a little longer than I thought to get the picture, but here is how my 10 gal looks now. Sorry, I didn't take a before picture! Everything is going well, water param are still good with my regular water changes. No casualties. Used pool filter sand and it is awesome, I only had cloudiness for 2-3 hours. I need to add more plants! I did eventually start a makeover with my 29 gal tank too. Pics in next post.

[meili.harrison]

29 gal

Here's the 29 gal when I started working on it.

[meili.harrison]

Here is how my 29 gal looks after 12 hours! Everyone is happy and swimming around. Still working on adding more plants. Once again, no casualties!~ :perv:

Water is crystal clear!

[wackydan]

silica sand is blasting sand isn't it?

[sting ray]

the tank looks nice!

where does one buy pool filter sand?

[pre98zetec]

You can buy it at home depot or pool stores.

I made the switch on all my tanks last week. It was alot easier then I thought. I just kept a handful of extra gravel and I never had any spikes. And it looks a million times better!

[meili.harrison]

I just went to a pool supply store i.e. The Great Escape, and got it for $5.99/50 lb bag. I really like the look much better than colorful gravel. I still have a 46 gal tank with blue gravel, but I'm too afraid to change it as I have some nice fish in there!

[littlecich]

Here is how my 29 gal looks after 12 hours! Everyone is happy and swimming around. Still working on adding more plants. Once again, no casualties!~ :perv:

Water is crystal clear!

Your tanks look great. :) Glad your change to pool filter sand worked out okay. I really like it better than gravel and it's easier to keep clean, too.

I added some MTS to keep the sand stirred a bit.