Switching to sand

[CinderSmoke]

I want to switch from gravel to sand in my 55 gallon (long) aquarium. Can anyone offer suggestions on how to go about this? How much sand (pounds) will I need? Which live plants root best in sand? What is the best sand to use? (I'm thinking of using pool filter sand) Will sand affect the ph or hardness of the aquarium? (I need hard water and a ph of at least 7 for my snails)

Any advice and suggestions are welcome! I'd also love to see pics of aquariums with different types of sand.

 

[Fishlover3578]

Sand won't affect ph ... I used playsand and rinsed 3-4 times before adding to tank and it toon an hour or more to settle make sure to put your fish in different tank or in a good large bucket or tub while changing substrate... I emptied like 75% of my water when I changed mine and waited for sand to settle almost completely before adding fish and I ran my filter but with net over intake to prevent sand in filter

 

[GreenLily]

I just put play sand in my 55 gallon tank. The general rule of thumb is one pound per gallon, so you would need about 55 pounds or 1.5-2" since you are considering live plants. You can use pool filter sand if you would like. I'm not sure about the types of plants that would root well in sand, but I would highly recommend putting down root tabs where you plan on putting the plants, since sand doesn't really have any nutrients to offer and to allow the roots to grow better.

 

[GreenLily]

I forgot to mention, if you decide to use play sand, you will want to rinse it 5-6 times or until the water runs mostly clear. I believe that pool filter sand won't take as much rinsing, but you will want to rinse any sand to get as much dust out of it as possible.

 

[Velksfish]

I switch from gravel to sand last month and it wasn't too bad. I had a large clean cooler that I filled with water from the tank and moved the fish, heater, and air stone into the cool while I made the switch. I bought black sand from PetCo. I rinsed it as I was emptying the tank. (Make sure to rinse it really good). Once I got all the water, fish and everything out of the tank i removed the gravel then wiped the tank down just using a wet towel. Then I added the sand. And then started adding new water. Once I got the tank about half full with nee water, I started adding the water from the cooler (which is from the tank) back into the tank. Adding the fish and everything else back into the tank as i was filling it. It didn't take too long for the sand, that was stirred up from adding water, to settle. Don't clean the filters during this process. That will help the tank set up just like it was. I didn't lose any fish during this process and absolutely love the sand.
Hope this helps.