How to change from sand to gravel

[navyhill2008]

Hey everyone. I'm new to the fish community and love it. However, I used and to fill the bottom of my tank but with ciclids being so aggressive and having a fat catfish they are making a mess. I have a 100 gallon tank and 8 ciclids and 1 catfish. I have ocd so a dirty tank doesn't work for me. Thanks to

 

[SKB]

Nice fish and tank!

 

[navyhill2008]

Thanks. Its hard work. I didn't know when I took on this hobby. Lol

 

[SKB]

A lot of people don't, I didn't either but I think it makes me love the hobby more.

Your post says how to switch from gravel to sand, so did u just do a change? If so, do u love it? Since I switched to sand I def like it a lot more than gravel

 

[navyhill2008]

No no..I always had sand. I actually want gravel. But you think the and looks better? Any time I move something or add something or fish fight it clouds the water up. Looks awesome when it's clean. Is gravel cleaner? Or can be just as messy

 

[Rango rox]

gravel is usually much cleaner and for that reason i use it generally

 

[Ian086]

gravel is usually much cleaner and for that reason i use it generally

With respect, I disagree. Gravel may look visually cleaner on the surface but as anyone who has stripped out a gravel tank knows, it hides a lot of gunk. Most people who switch to sand, swear never to use gravel again. The reason some people don't like sand, is because they say, it shows all the dirt. This should actually encourage you to maintain a better cleaning schedule.....

 

[Rango rox]

My friend said you can get this sand slash gravel stuff its like bigger granuals of sand but not quite sand at least thats what he said.

 

[Sillyfishies]

With respect, I disagree. Gravel may look visually cleaner on the surface but as anyone who has stripped out a gravel tank knows, it hides a lot of gunk. Most people who switch to sand, swear never to use gravel again. The reason some people don't like sand, is because they say, it shows all the dirt. This should actually encourage you to maintain a better cleaning schedule.....

I can agree to this. I'm never using gravel again. Also, with gravel the poop gets to the bottom of the gravel. So it's extremely hard to get it all out. Sand leaves it all ontop,

 

[Ian086]

No no..I always had sand. I actually want gravel. But you think the and looks better? Any time I move something or add something or fish fight it clouds the water up. Looks awesome when it's clean. Is gravel cleaner? Or can be just as messy

The reason your getting the cloudy water is, you didn't wash the sand enough before you put it in. The clouding is powdered, light, floaty sand. Also when you have this issue, all the bubbler's won't help. I think your tank looks awesome by the way(any full tank shots) and the sand really suits your décor setup. I think it would look completely different with gravel and imo, not as good....
Try some polyfil(floss) in your filter. It should clear up the clouding a lot faster....

 

[PolyptRus]

My gravel gets filthy in my cichlid tanks i find myself struggling with my hose trying to clean it all especially in a large tank like my 100 gal that's alot of gravel to clean and alot of fussing around with it because to clean it good you really got to stir it up the amount of grime that builds up in the gravel really angers me. I will personally be switching to a thicker grained sand. If you are going to go with gravel go with smaller granules the bigger pieces are to say the least a pain in the @?! Personally i wouldn't switch from sand to gravel cichlids love sand too. The only reason i would switch my sand was if it was very fine grains i would switch to thicker grains.

 

[SKB]

You can do what you please my dear, but you might end up switching back. As said above, when I switched there was a ton of crap and it took me hours to clean the rocks, just bc I did want to keep them in case I didn't like sand. It took me forever on my 55 gallon to clean out the rocks bc so much crap would get stuck down in there, n u have to vac underneath it all, ruining ur set up.

Sand has always been quick and easy and IMO it looks way better. And I think it helps make your aquarium look so nice

 

[SKB]

Oh n when I switched to sand I could def tell how much happier my cichlids were also..

 

[Cichlid ism]

These guys know what they are talking about. I had gravel for many years and finally changed over to sand, I don't know why I didn't do it sooner. It's much easier to clean and when I changed over there was so much crap under my ug filter it was disgusting! It's your choice ultimately.

 

[PolyptRus]

If you want to switch it over to something maybe a bit coarser than the sand you currently have you could always go with African cichlid mix this is what i will be getting in my 100 gal. Its about $50 for 50 pounds so if you think about it thats like $1.00 per pound which isn't so bad they have smaller bags too. Check it out

http://www.caribsea.com/itempage_freshwatersubstrate_africancichlidmix.htm

 

[Crawdaddy]

IMO gravel is a nitrate factory. I used it in my first tank. After the change, I put sand in all my other tanks when I set them up.

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

I have to jump on the sand bandwagon. IMO it is much better and looks way better. I use sand from petco (only buy when on clearance) the granule size is perfect. It's small enough to look the same and Have poop and stuff settle on too. But big enough it's not easily vacuumed out. I love it

 

[okapizebra]

I'm not sure what kind of sand you have, but pool filter sand is my favorite. It's a pretty heavy sand that's less fine and is easy to clean and won't cloud when stirred up if you washed it. Plus it's only 5-10 bucks for 50 lbs.

 

[squirrilah fish]

I just switched from gravel to sand in my tank. And If I can insert myself into this conv. here. SAND IS WAY CLEANER!!!! it doesn't always appear cleaner, BUT in actuality it is. Sand definitely puts more on your filters, because nothing gets stuck in the substrate like it does with gravel. But if you have a good trustworthy filter, and clean it regularly your tank will be cleaner than gravel. Gravel hides the gunk, sand doesn't, but just because gravel hides it so it APPEARS cleaner, does not mean that it IS cleaner. I have gravel and sand in my tanks, and I will say that it is way way way easier keeping the sand tanks clean, than the gravel, (both are pretty easy, but sand is def less work.) This is my opinion, like I said I just switched to sand from gravel, but I am absolutely loving it!!!! Everything gets sucked into the filter, and my substrate is completely clean.

Sand is a ***** to initially clean and get set up, to do it right takes hours, and even then your still going to have some cloudiness, but I think it is worth the extra initial work. It used to take me about 75 minutes to do a whole take down cleanout, water change, in my tank with gravel, now with sand it only takes like 45 min. I take everything out, I stir, I clean the glass and filters while I wait for everything to settle, and then you just hover over the sand with a vac, and EVERYTHING comes up.

I use Caribsea's African Cichlid Mix. Keeps the water clear, stable, and fish are happy, I have Lethrinops, and Aulonocara which pretty much HAVE to have sand. But I also like knowing that when my 12" JD freaks out, and gets scared by someone walking by, he is not going to mess his **** up crashing into the sand, He would get so many little nicks and cuts from gravel.

 

[Apistohead]

I use washed play sand in my 90 gallon community tank. Play sand is from home depot. You shpuldent need to rinse the small particles either. There is none. Will never go back to gravel, not fun to clean at all.