Gravel to Sand

[subtle]

I saw another thread on this but my situation is slightly different. I want to switch from gravel to sand in my ten gallon tank and add a real plant. My tank is not fully cycled though.

Should I wait until it's fully cycled to make this kind of change?

And for the future, what type of sand and/or plants do you suggest?

I have six platies and a loach. As for the lighting I believe there are two 15 watt bulbs in my hood.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

Personally if I were going to switch to sand, I would take the fish out of the tank, change and let settle, then add the fish back. In the mean time if your temporary housing is large enough then leaving the fish there while completing the cycle fishlessly would be good also.

For cheap sand, people like pool filter sand as most sand is inert anyway.

Whatever you do make sure to rinse it Very, Very well.

 

[Purrbox]

No need to wait until your cycle is complete. You could go ahead and swap out your substrate now if you wanted. I'd recommend Pool Filter Sand since it's inexpensive and a good grain size for plants.

For that amount of light over a 10 gallon you'll want to stick to low light plants. Anubias, Java Ferns, Java Moss, and Crypts will be your best bet.

 

[subtle]

Okay thank you both!