16 gal bow front journal, converting to sand

[mandygvns]

So on my last thread I mentioned how I was converting to sand.....today was the big day for my tank and I thought Id share it with everyone! Pics are to come soon!

First I bought a ten gallon tank at walmart to keep them in during the process (now I just might have to set up another tank )...

Went to homedepot and bought some pool filter sand, washed it out in three seperate buckets until the water was clear

I transfered 3/4 of the water from my main tank into my holding tank, with plants and decoriations. i then set up the heater and filter in the holding tank.

Getting the gravel out of the main tank and cleaning all the debris was a challenge but i got as much out as I could. I kept leaving it alone for a while to let the water settle and then I vaccumed all the junk on the bottom again.

I added all the sand and am very suprised at how easy it was, I also though it would be very cloudy and its not bad at all I did another water change before moving everything back in.

Which is where I am now, so Im going to start moving the decorations back in and the heater and filter as well...bbs

One pic is after adding gravel and the other is of the holding tank

 

[mandygvns]

Alright all the decorations are back in, I added water from the holding tank(established water) back into the main tank, letting the water get back up to temp and letting the filter run for a little while and then will be adding fish back in. The water isnt completely clear yet but I think over night it will get better!

Heres a pic with the decorations back in

 

[mandygvns]

Alright well incase anyone has been following all fish are back in and really enjoying the sand, the corries keep playing in it and digging holes!
Next step is to add real plants but I want to make sure I have proper lighting before doing that!

 

[Smitty]

Looks good! I love the sand look.

 

[HN1]

Great start!

 

[DragonFish71]

Just remember that you will most likely have another cycle, even a mini one. Check your water parameters daily. Even though some of the good bacteria live on the decor, not many of them live in the water column.

Tank looks good BTW.

 

[mandygvns]

Thanks everyone!! I really love the look of the sand, makes the tank look bigger too!!
It was cloudy when I added the fish but this morning everything was completely clear!
I checked all the levels today and everything is good but Im going to continue checking them for the next couple of days just to make sure!
Thanks for all your help, I couldnt have doen it with out you guys and Im so glad I converted!!!

 

[yenner]

Looks great.

What substrate did you ahve before? Any pics of the before for comparison?

I may want to switch to sand in the future. Hmmmm....

 

[mandygvns]

You really should consider it, my fish love it and its much easier to take care of! Plus it was really simple to change, I had no problems!!!


Heres a pic of the previous tank to now....

 

[yenner]

Looks great. I know my Fiddler would prefer it.

 

[HeathB]

You don't have any problems with the gravel vac sucking up sand along with the debris? That'd probably be my main concern, but of course I don't know anything about using sand.

 

[sniper]

thats kool i think im goin to chang my gravel to sand now aha

 

[DragonFish71]

You don't have any problems with the gravel vac sucking up sand along with the debris? That'd probably be my main concern, but of course I don't know anything about using sand.

Nope, no problems at all. I use pool filter sand in our 120 and regular black sand in our 10. The debris sits right on top and you just skim over it. With the PFS, I can even sink the gravel vac into it so the sand gets shifted (something you want to do with sand as anerobic spots can form) and no problems at all.

 

[katej4]

what a difference! i dig it.

 

[mandygvns]

Okay I have a question, how do you know if your tank is doing a mini cycle....i had gotten a different test so I dont know what it was before I changed my gravel out, but the test I got is a liquid test and its not yellow but not completely green...looks like .25 pushing .5 is that bad?? Should I do a water change