Need some substrate swap opinions

[Ian14]

So I have a 120 gallon mbuna tank with gravel, and Im wishing I would have put in pool filter sand.

I have a 125 gallon cichlid tank and then a 46 gallon heavily planted tank so I have no clue what I would do with the fish while I was doing the swap. And even taking everything out of the tank would be a huge pain, even the gravel. Any suggestions, has anyone done this before?

This is what it looks like now

 

[FishBoy185]

I just did this yesterday on my 75 gallon. What I did was I layed out a towel on the floor and put all decor, plants and lids on that. And then I got a strainer (small enough to fit in your tank) and scooped out the gravel with that so the water would fall out of the strainer and not on my floor. I then rinsed the sand and layed it out in the tank, only took me about an hour and a half. It may seem like alot of work but trust me its worth it when its done.
if you have any more questions just ask!

 

[Ian14]

What did you do with all the fish?

 

[FishBoy185]

I kept them in the tank during the process and they were just fine. Or you could get a 5 gallon bucket and fill it with tank water and put the fish in there.

 

[Ian14]

What about all the dust kicked up from everything and from the sand? How low did you bring the water level down

 

[FishBoy185]

I took out 30 percent of the water because when you take out the gravel the water level will get even more low and then when you put the sand back in it will rise again.

 

[Tbox]

Make your PWCs more frequent for at least the next few weeks after the substrate change.

 

[Crawdaddy]

I did a substrate change a while ago, and left the fish in. Be aware tough, no matter how much you vacuum the gravel, you won't get it clean. I removed the decor, and 3/4 of the water, and used a small dust pan to scoop out the gravel. Once the gravel was out, the water in the tank looked like mud. I filled the tank with water, and drained it until it was clearer. After washing your new substrate, I used a cup, and slowly added the new sand. Leave your filter off. There is going to be a lot of particles floating, and it will destroy your impeller. Once you have finished adding your sand, you will have to change the water again. Once things have settled, you can turn your filters back on.