Changing from gravel to sand

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Blackin

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May 28, 2015
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Location
Dallas, TX
I'm wanting to change from the smaller gravel in my 40g breeder to fine sand. We have it in the frog tank and I love the look. This tank has only been running for a few weeks and is perfectly cycled and running great. I've got good lighting, good filtration, separate BB filtration(x2), LARGE chunks of real wood, tons of live plants.
Has about 15 guppies, 3 cory cats, a few small neon tetras.

Water tests are fantastic at this point, so I'm hesitant to change much.

So I'm wondering, if I do this... I'm obviously going to have to pull the fish, plants, decorations, wood, rock, etc. I've got a spare 5gal tank I can siphon some of the existing water into for the fish to hang out in. I've got a few 5 gallon buckets I could siphon all the rest of the existing water into. But, is that necessary as long as I retain all the bio media and such?

What would the step-by-step process need to be for changing out the gravel to sand while doing the least amount of damage to my existing eco-system?

rDhcW3X.jpg
 
Move the fish
Remove decor and plants
Remove water(put it into buckets if you want to use the same water)
Dump gravile into a heavy trash bag to hold or dispose of
Add sand
Add plants and decor
Wait for water to clear up
Add fish



Keep calm and drum on
 
Is keeping and re-using the existing water necessary and/or beneficial? Will it make any difference over new, dechlorinated and salted water? I guess that's my biggest concern.

And how much bio am I going to be losing in the gravel? Enough to matter?

Just don't want the tank to crash and have to re-cycle.
 
Is keeping and re-using the existing water necessary and/or beneficial? Will it make any difference over new, dechlorinated and salted water? I guess that's my biggest concern.

And how much bio am I going to be losing in the gravel? Enough to matter?

Just don't want the tank to crash and have to re-cycle.


There is not a whole lot of Bb in the water column most is in the substrate and filter. Make sure you keep the filter material submerged while you change over to maintain what is present there.

And confused on salted water?

This is a freshwater tank yes?

Only difference I would see with using new water(as long as dechlorinated) and the old water would be not having any acclimation period but since your tank has only been up for 4 weeks the ph should pretty much match your tap unless you have used additives.

There will be a chance with a substrate change you will experience a "mini cycle" as the decreased number of bb try to deal with the same bio load. If you have a good amount of filtration this maybe minimal, People do run bare bottom tanks.

Would advise against aquarium salt in fresh water imo. Have only used once after an outbreak from anchor worm and a salt bath for koi that arrived heavily infested and pet store was closed to buy proper meds.


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By "salted", I merely meant the typical tablespoon per 10 gallons of aquarium salt.
 
I add aquarium salt. Not all the time. But when I started up my tank I did and when I notice nipped fins on my fish I add it as well. Good luck with your tank. It should be fine.

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Just put all your fish and filter/heater on a 5g bucket.

All plants decor in another bucket.

Change substrate out.

Fill tank up with new treated water. There's no reason to keep old water unless you want to clean your filter with it.

Add fish back

If you clean up the tank while it's down and are gentle filling back up(pre-rinse the sand) then it shouldn't cloud much.


Caleb
 
When you use new water it's like a WC. Save what water you can in buckets. For when I changed substrate the water was no big deal I had no mini cycle.

If your into plants have you thought of having dirt with a sand cap?


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Glad I saw this post. I am about to do a substrate change myself and was wondering about all my bacteria build as well. Good to see it wont have to much of an impact.

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If your into plants have you thought of having dirt with a sand cap?
Didn't even know you could do that! You happen to have a linky to a good thread with more details about it?
I'm definitely done with fake plants and decorations. It'll be real plants from here on in with all my tanks. Aside from the obvious benefits for the ecosystem, they just look better. :)
 
I don't have a link, But this is what I did. I drained half the water in the tank, left some in buckets then puled the plants and put those in the buckets. Then I took out the hardscape I put those on a towel. I wat then left with fish and gravel in the tank. I scooped out the fish and put those in another bucket and let the filter run in that bucket. Then I drained the rest of the water and took out the substrate. I then put in organic potting soil but you could put in the soil you can get from the pet store too, or even a mix of both. I puled the dirt away from the edges so once the sand is in you can't see it(you don't have to do this). I then put the sand on top, hardscape, a bit of water, plants, fish then the rest of the water.

Make sense? Any questions?


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Didn't even know you could do that! You happen to have a linky to a good thread with more details about it?
I'm definitely done with fake plants and decorations. It'll be real plants from here on in with all my tanks. Aside from the obvious benefits for the ecosystem, they just look better. :)


It sounds like you are really interested in a balanced Eco system as am I. If you want to use plants and have a more natural Eco system you should look in to the walstad method by Diana walstad. This involves the dirt cap method and the plants as the filtration. It is extremely low tech, minimal effort and less expensive to run and if done correctly you can still have a jungle of a tank. Co2 is the nutrient that plants need most and co2 is limited using this approach so you may not be able to have the higher demanding plants.

Google Diana walstad or even better, read the book.

Any more info I can gladly assist.


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@Caliban07 - I took your advice and googled her and ended up spending about an hour reading through articles and literature about the process. Ultimately, I jumped on Amazon and ordered her book. :)
This sounds like EXACTLY what I'm looking for! Healthy, happy and "almost" totally self-sufficient aquariums running their own mini eco-systems.



Can't thank you enough for this info!


P.S.
You too Cold Canadian. Thanks a bunch for letting me know about being able to use soil under the sand. NEVER would have even considered such a thing.
 
Last edited:
My process was :

Purchase large Rubbermaid
Remove decor, place some in Rubbermaid
Siphon halfish water into Rubbermaid
Remove fish, place in Rubbermaid
Remove gravel, place in 5 gallon buckets ($2 at Lowe's and easier to lift than trash bags)
Add rinsed sand
Place dinner plate on top of sand
Gently pour water onto plate to avoid stirring up sand
Reverse decor/fish removal process

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@Caliban07 - I took your advice and googled her and ended up spending about an hour reading through articles and literature about the process. Ultimately, I jumped on Amazon and ordered her book. :)
This sounds like EXACTLY what I'm looking for! Healthy, happy and "almost" totally self-sufficient aquariums running their own mini eco-systems.



Can't thank you enough for this info!


P.S.
You too Cold Canadian. Thanks a bunch for letting me know about being able to use soil under the sand. NEVER would have even considered such a thing.


You may be better starting a new thread about this method as more people may be able to chime In. Although I am yet to try this method myself I know the book like the back of my hand.

According to Diana, you would probably be better capping with a small sized gravel as sand can 'suffocate' the soil more and cause more problematic anaerobic spots under the soil.


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I almost forgot to mention: although I don't find the book particularly difficult to read myself, it is known for being a more 'in depth' scientific approach which may not be in some readers best interest. Happy walstading


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