Switching to a sand substrate.

[Ballyhoo]

I was going to add more stone to help weigh down my driftwood. I have been wanting to switch to sand and was considering forgoing getting more stone and switching completely to sand. I have done some reading, but I don't feel knowledgable to do this yet. I've heard you can use play sand or pool sand. Any links to good resources would be appreciated, as well as any input on the topic. Thank you :)

[Rbishop]

I use Quik-Crete Playsand from Lowes Hardware...don't even wash/rinse it, though most folks will recommend it. If you use pool sand, make sure it doesn't have any additives.

[FishVixen]

I use the same Quik-Crete playsand in my tanks. I do rinse it though through habit.

[Ballyhoo]

If I were to switch substrates would I need to cycle the tank at all before I reintroduced the fish? I don't have a second tank, I had planned to keep them in rubbermaid totes and to keep as much of the original water as I could. The filter bags have been running for a week or so now so they should be bacteria laden, I had also intended to put some gravel in a mesh bag, or an old pair of pantyhoes, and leave that in the tank for a week or 2 to help colonize bacteria in the sand.

[jpappy789]

No need to keep the old water, most bacteria are attached to surfaces, which includes the substrate. However, if you keep all the same filtration and decor I think you should be fine. You may see a mini cycle so I would keep an eye on the parameters for a week or so afterwards and do water changes if you need to, but you wont have to completely re-cycle the tank.

[FishVixen]

You may have a mini-cycle but that would be it. I agree you do not need to use the same water.

[Rbishop]

Unless you are just running UGF or RUGF you shouldn't have any issues. Watch the parameters and do water changes as necessary.

[BEANC0UNTER]

I just did this. I used pool filter sand and rinsed it well in buckets. I then used a big cup to scoop sand, covered it with a container lid and lowered it to the bottom. I left my fish in with no cloudiness. I did have a week cycle but I put all new decorations in. I have a thread in the rift lake forum. I would look but I am on my phone.

[jpappy789]

This is the method I use for cleaning sand:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cleaning_sand.php