need advice changing gravel to sand

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shellyx

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I would like to change my bettas tank from gravel to sand. How would I do this? And which sand is better? Would I need to change my gravel cleaner & how do I clean it. Sorry for all the questions but I haven't used sand before. Any advice would be great. Thanks
 
Sand as a Substrate

Hello shelly...

Unless you keep and breed Corydoras, then sand isn't a good substrate for your tank. There are a number of reasons why: Sand is heavy on plant roots and compacts so tightly, that no water is able to flow through, so toxic substances can build up and hurt the fish.

Sand makes cleaning the tank difficult, because you're not able to use the vacuum effectively.

Small, aquarium gravel would be a better choice.

Just a suggestion.

B
 
That's fine, I,d rather know, I,ll maybe change the gravel to a more natural colour. Thanks
 
Sand is better for the tank! You don't need to use the vacuum, since the sand compacts together the waste can't go into the sand and therefor just sits on top of the tank. Making it easier to clean with the vacuum. You just hold it and inch or so and it all gets sucked up. I have sand in many of my breeding tanks as well as nursery tank. To me, the sand is just like a bare bottom tank and makes cleaning a lot easier. As far as the toxics building up under the sand. Just go buy some Malaysian trumpet snails! The burrow in the sand during the day and come out at night to clean. They don't over populate either. Just make sure you start out with a good number. Another thing you can do is just stir the sand up by hand. I use pool filter sand(pfs) and it is super cheap! A much better deal then sand for an aquarium and gravel! Play sand alters your ph because it has a carbonate base to the sand. Pfs is a silicate base and doesn't alter anything. The sand is also a lot easier for your fish to move around. I know my kribs love it. It's a lot easier for them to nest in the sand then gravel. As far as plants go I have no idea but lots of people have sand in there planted tanks... Go on YouTube and search up pool filter sand in aquariums... Also I would put sand in any tank that has a bottom feeder with barbels. That way you no for sure there isn't and sharp gravel cutting the fish.

The main thing is cleaning the sand. Your water will not become cloudy if you clean the sand enough. So far I have only had one cloudy tank which I just set up a day ago and is already clear... You can use a pillow case to rinse it in or put it into a bucket and rinse the bucket out... If you get pfs do not inhale when you open up the bag. The dust is very bad for your lungs!

Also nothing looks more natural then the sand. Just the way your fish will move it around even gouramis will move the sand
 
My tanks 26litre how many snails would I add if I change it? I wanted to try it first on my bettas tank then I want to change my 55gallon over too at some point. How would I change it?
 
I took everything out of my tank and all the water. Then put some water in and then drained it all again. I wanted to make sure there was no waste under the gravel. I have a 35 gallon with the sand in it and I added 13. You just need to make sure there isn't extra food for them, otherwise they will have some babies...
 
I love my Sand tanks. As long as you have 3" or less you should not have issues with gas pockets. I use MTS (snails) to aerate my sand. My plants and Corys Love It !!!!

See my tanks in my sig.
Here is a vid of one of my sand tanks
 
Definitely going to give it a go how many snails should I put in? Thanks
 
All of my tanks have sand. I have pool filter sand in both of my 5 gallon betta tanks and in my 55 gallon i have pool filter sand mix with tahitian gold aquarium sand. LOVE it. I will never have gravel again.
 
shellyx said:
Definitely going to give it a go how many snails should I put in? Thanks

I would say 5 to start off. I started with one single MTS in my 10G. Now I have hundreds of them in all my tanks, they're very helpful! Make sure you do not over feed though, they can multiply very very fast.
 
Thanks, I,ll make sure I,ve got them for when the sand goes in. You,ve all been really helpful, sorry for all,the questions just want to make sure I do it right for my betta.
 
I would put 5 in the 26 liter and 20 or so in the 55 maybe even more... I put 13 in my 35 gallon and the stayed the same other then the fact something was eating them so I'm sure they will populate soon...
 
I have MTS in all my tanks as well and I constantly scoop tons of them out and throw them away. I started with just a couple in my main tank. If you don't overfeed you won't get as many but I have to put bottom feeding pellets in my tank so of course the snails are always all over them and thus they reproduce. They stay in the sand except for at night and during feeding time so they don't make the tank look bad or anything, I just always remove as many as I can to control the population
 
They'll stay under the substrate during the day if they feel threatened. I dropped 25 of them in my tank last week, and they sort of explored at first and only the small ones went under the sand immediately. Some of my inquisitive guppies nipped at the snails faces a few times and they've been hiding ever since, but come out at night. If you don't have a fish that will nip at the snails or try to eat them, then the snails may get bold enough to hang out during the day, but they're not that bad on the eyes (at least in minimal numbers.. I've seen tanks at the LFS here that has them covered in algae, etc. and they look somewhat unsightly, but mine have nice coloration).

I also switched to sand last week (Panda Cory suffered barbel erosion), and will never use gravel again. I do have to use root tabs for my plants now, but it's a fair trade off in my opinion.
 
BBradbury said:
Hello shelly...

Unless you keep and breed Corydoras, then sand isn't a good substrate for your tank. There are a number of reasons why: Sand is heavy on plant roots and compacts so tightly, that no water is able to flow through, so toxic substances can build up and hurt the fish.

Sand makes cleaning the tank difficult, because you're not able to use the vacuum effectively.

Small, aquarium gravel would be a better choice.

Just a suggestion.

B

Not always true. I am an avid substrate vaccumer. I cannot stand poop on my beautiful sand. Its really easy to vaccum and if you add a catfish or something that burrows they will sift your sand and loosen any trapped gases.
 
Yeah I have sand and it is way better than gravel! But make sure you wash it really good before you put the sand in your tank!! Good luck!
 
BBradbury said:
Hello shelly...

Unless you keep and breed Corydoras, then sand isn't a good substrate for your tank. There are a number of reasons why: Sand is heavy on plant roots and compacts so tightly, that no water is able to flow through, so toxic substances can build up and hurt the fish.

Sand makes cleaning the tank difficult, because you're not able to use the vacuum effectively.

Small, aquarium gravel would be a better choice.

Just a suggestion.

B


I prefer sand. Unless its really fine sand, it isn't a problem. I grow all kinds of plants in my tanks and all have sand. Have never had a problem with it. It's more personal preference.
 
Thanks for all the advice, can't wait to change it over, you,ve all been really helpful thanks again.
 
One more thing, get black sand! It looks better and way cleaner. White sand starts to look dirty after a while!
 
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