can you put sand on top of gravel???

[marinefishys]

Hi i have a gravell bedding in my tank but wanted to change it to live coral sand, can i just put the sand on top or would i have to take the gravell out first thanks )

 

[willbratz]

Hi i have a gravell bedding in my tank but wanted to change it to live coral sand, can i just put the sand on top or would i have to take the gravell out first thanks )

Gravel out. Eventually, they will mix together.

 

[mr_X]

Yep...big pieces always make their way to the top...

 

[marinefishys]

Gravel out. Eventually, they will mix together.

Ok thnx mate

 

[willbratz]

Ok thnx mate

No problem. I asked the same question a couple months ago. To be honest I thought it would make for better filtration, but after so many said "no", or " I did it and it didn't work". I said why even bother trying. Now that I've completed my 55 gallon substrate change over, I'm actually quite happy I took everyone's advice and pulled it out first.

 

[Marinebeginner]

Am about to start removing my crushed coral substrate and replace with live sand- how long did you leave your power heads off for? Am I at risk of causing a nitrate spike? (Have been gradually reducing depth of crushed coral in preparation so its only 1cm deep max.

 

[IslandHopper]

...(Have been gradually reducing depth of crushed coral in preparation so its only 1cm deep max.

That was a good plan!...
Another thing you can do if you're worried about bumping the nitrates, is to remove a portion of the old stuff each day... replacing it with new.
Find something you can use as a barrier between the two... an old piece of plastic or acrylic, or whatever you can find... start at one end of the tank and remove some of the CC, then put in the sand with that barrier between ... repeat each day and take several days or a week to make the transition. You'll limit how much bacteria you remove, and give the new stuff a chance to seed a little before you remove more.

Then again... you could probably even skip the "barrier"... having a little crushed coral mixed in with your sand at the end of the process really isn't going to hurt anything.

 

[jeffaquarius]

Is there a better way to put the sand replacing the cc with minimum cloudiness in water?

 

[IslandHopper]

Is there a better way to put the sand replacing the cc with minimum cloudiness in water?

Rinse it good first... In clean water (fresh is ok if it then goes in the tank right away.) you'll still get some cloudiness, but rinsing will help.

 

[jeffaquarius]

Yes rinsing the sand would sure help but would it not remove the good bacteria if I use live sand? I am planning to replace my cc with live sand and the suggestion of IslandHopper to use a divider to do gradual change is great. I am thinking of using a funnel together with a long plastic tubing to lay the sand. Just wondering if there is another way.

 

[IslandHopper]

... but would it not remove the good bacteria if I use live sand? ...

No... that stuff is "bonded" to the surface of the sand grains... and a brief rinse in freshwater won't kill it off if you put it back in saltwater then. (Don't use chlorinated water for the rinse though!)

 

[Marinebeginner]

I am in the process of doing the change over. Pretty much all of my cc is out. Just putting small amount of sand in every day as it is producing a sand storm, even when I try and pour it down plastic tubing. Clears within a few hours though - will get there eventually !