Difficulty choosing and switching Substrate for goldfish

[ActiasAmy]

Hello;
I am currently running a 40 gal planted tank housing 5 baby fancies. This weekend 3 fancies will be transferred out to two new tanks that are just finishing cycling today for those 3 fish to grow in until I find suitable homes for the rescues. I will be keeping 2 baby ranchu I'm in love with for pets of my own in this 40gal.

My issue at hand is my best tank, the one all are in currently, is gravel bottomed with various ranges of med - large riverstone as well. This tank is planted but I'd really like to switch to sand and thought this would be a good time.

My questions are:

Which sand is best for Ranchu? Based on forum info ive looked at caribsea is good for fancies, but I want to pick the best possible sand for a planted ranchu tank specifically as it will be permanent.

Which sand grain size works best with a vacuum? I vacuum every second day during WC now and would like to continue to vacuum to remove veggie matter and wriggle waste but I'm worried about the sand being light enough to be sucked out, which would be no fun.

Will I lose a significant amount of good bacteria by removing my current Substrate? I am well under the 40 ppm (usually the 5 -10 ppm range when I test weekly) and will be keeping my river stones. Removing 3 fish should also help lower the bioload, and help balance BB lost right?

Should I drain the tank to add the sand? I am planning to take 30% water out, remove gravel and remove 25% more water to accommodate for the mess the gravel will make. Can I then add the sand? Or should I take it down to the glass for a good clean?

How do you think the substrate change will affect my plants? My amazons have large root systems but seem to be uprooted and replanted easily. I'm hoping sand will anchor them better than the gravel.

My apologies for the long post I just really want to create the best 40 gal possible for these ranchu babies, they've healed so well in the past month and come so far I'm very excited to see what I can do for them. All info about my setup, plants and filter are in my profile, thank you.

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[ActiasAmy]

Here is a good photo to illustrate the variety of the current Substrate.

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[AnthonyDuong]

I seem to be in the same exact situation as you. I'm thinking of switching over from gravel to pool filter sand. I like the look of the more natural sand bed.

I've read pool filter sand is perfectly safe for your aquarium, it's inert so it won't affect your pH, very clean so it's easy to rinse, uniform in grain size, heavy enough to not be sucked up by a vac, and lastly it's very cheap, they sell it by 50lb bags at your local pool supply store.



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[ActiasAmy]

Here are some (Still settling dust and murky water a couple hours after the switch) pictures after the substrate switch. I'm a huge fan, only needed 30% of a 50 lb bag which I purchased at my local pool store for 9.99$. I did a lot of washing and put waaay too much in at first but I'm a fan now.

For anyone else looking to try it out;
1. Drained 50% water
2. Removed fish
3. Gently removed some large riverstones from tank to seed/save some BB in new tank
4. Washed sand A LOT
5. Did a final wash in prime water (for no other reason than it felt like a good idea)
6. Added sand gently to bottom and leveled until thin in front and 2 inch thick on back and right/left sides.
7. Buried driftwood in deep sand on right
8. Added riverstones on left mound
10. Buried air bubbler bar/tubing
11. Replanted/rescaped
12. Cleaned and scrubbed glass for good measure
13. Refilled tank according to normal procedure
14. Re added happy fish

Thanks for looking!

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[AnthonyDuong]

Thanks! Glad you did this first so I can follow your instructions planning on swapping to PFS in a week or two, how long did this whole process take?


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[ActiasAmy]

About 3 hours, I had a lot of plants/decor tinkering to do and I was very very thorough with sand washing.

Tip; I would suggest draining 25%, removing fish, removing gravel and letting all the gross waste junk settle. Once it settles use a gravel vacuum to clean it all up and remove the other 25% water. I would've had I thought of it I made a big mess lol

Also wait an hour after finishing the tank and run your fingers through the sand. I went to rearrange the rocks a few hours after switch, noticed a dark patch of sand, stirred it and cold(er) water came up, it had got trapped somehow. After I mixed it all up everything was fine. They tell me to run fingers through the sand once a week with a reg water change.

Have fun!


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