Changin to sand.

[Darylb]

Hey guys I have a 20 gal community tank and I want to change my gravel over to sand I already have the sand it's just white beach sand that I have had soaking in a few buckets for a while now and I will rinse really well before adding to the tank my biggest thing would be what should I do while waiting for the sand to settle in my tank will it be okay to add the fish if it hasn't settled yet?

 

[Anthym]

I changed mine over to sand over the weekend. I found this really useful in getting the sand to settle real quick:

Your fish should be ok whilst it still settles but I suggest leaving your filter off for 1hr+ if you can.

When I changed mine I saved about 20+ gallons of my tank water in some containers and kept my fish in there with an air pump running, filter pads, heater, plants and decor. I also saved some of my old substrate and currently have this in a bag hanging in the tank to get the BB back up so I don't go through a mini cycle.

All good for me so far with no losses and my tank was clear after a day.

 

[Darylb]

Yea I was thinking about keeping them in a tub that's 20 gallon and put my filter and heater in there and that way while the tank settles I'm really looking forward to it hopefully my Khuli loaches will like it a lot

 

[NYgiantsRP]

When I added silica sand to my tanks it just immediately fell to the bottom, there was no settling process. Maybe beach sand is different, but I didn't even remove the fish. Just pulled everything out, left the heater and filter and bubbler on. Scoop out all the gravel, and them dumped the sand in with a 1/2 gallon pitcher. Worked great.

 

[FishyKisses]

Hey guys I have a 20 gal community tank and I want to change my gravel over to sand I already have the sand it's just white beach sand that I have had soaking in a few buckets for a while now and I will rinse really well before adding to the tank my biggest thing would be what should I do while waiting for the sand to settle in my tank will it be okay to add the fish if it hasn't settled yet?

I just changed two tanks over to sand yesterday. I did one using the bottle method, and one using a bowl. I, personally, found that the bowl method left absolutely no cloudy water. I just rinsed the sand really really really well, filled a bowl, and slowly put it in my aquarium. When I got to the bottom, I slowly poured it out. I use black 20/40 blasting sand from Tractor supply. Here is a pic. Keep in mind that my tank is not done. I have a ton of plants being delivered this week.

 

[Darylb]

That looks amazing ill try do it that way I was going to convert it to a salt tank but I just bough another 20 gal to make a salt

 

[FishyKisses]

That looks amazing ill try do it that way I was going to convert it to a salt tank but I just bough another 20 gal to make a salt

It's time consuming, but well worth it! I had a lot if fun! I think I am going to add some more sand today. It just doesn't look deep enough for me. I took a crystal lite container, and made a cover for my filter intake. It looks strange, but I didn't want sand ruining my filter. Hey, it works!

Just make sure you rinse A LOT!!!! I actually put a tad bit of vinegar in my bucket to strips the oils off the blasting sand. You won't have to do that, but blasting sand, from what I'm told, is a whole lot different.

Have fun, and good luck!!!!

 

[Darylb]

Thanks I'm sure ill have fun

 

[Mrs.h2012]

When I made the change, I used premium silica play sand, I had to rinse the crap out of my sand, and I still didn't rinse it enough, I didn't have a problem with it settling, I had a problem with cloudiness, but it only took a few hours and it cleared up. I put my fish back in my tank after I filled it back up, I had almost 20 fish in a 10g (with the normal filter from my 55 running) during the switch so I needed to get them out ASAP.

 

[FishyKisses]

When I made the change, I used premium silica play sand, I had to rinse the crap out of my sand, and I still didn't rinse it enough, I didn't have a problem with it settling, I had a problem with cloudiness, but it only took a few hours and it cleared up. I put my fish back in my tank after I filled it back up, I had almost 20 fish in a 10g (with the normal filter from my 55 running) during the switch so I needed to get them out ASAP.

I left my fish in to do the swap. They all seemed to handle the change very well. I want to see pics!!!!