Sand questions :/

[micaiah12]

Hey,
I am thinking of switching over my substrate to sand. I have my sand picked out and where i am going to get it and all that. What I really need to know is how to put it in a fully established 30 gallon tank. Like how to seed it and all.
Any other tips would be great as well

 

[New]

most of the beneficial bacteria lives in the filter media

 

[micaiah12]

alright I was wondering about that. I knew it might not harm anything, but that is why this website is here for. To ask questions. Anyways so I just remove my gravel and put in the new clean sand. (removing the fish of course lol)

 

[New]

yeah, make sure you wash the sand really well first though

 

[micaiah12]

Yep I got that thanks everyone

 

[Wy Renegade]

Hey,
I am thinking of switching over my substrate to sand. I have my sand picked out and where i am going to get it and all that. What I really need to know is how to put it in a fully established 30 gallon tank. Like how to seed it and all.
Any other tips would be great as well

The easiest way by far is to shut down the filter, move the fish in some water into a bucket. Remove the existing substrate, wash your new sand really well and place it into the tank, then replace water and fish. Be prepared however, because if you don't get the sand clean enough to start with, your tank may be a murky brown for the first 24 hours or so.

 

[Matteyecus]

I have recently swapped both my tanks over to sand the past two weekends, for one tank i removed all plants etc and put them in a bucket with tank water and fish. Drained the water got rid of all the old substrate. Washed the sand put plants back in, and used a mix of old and new water. I experienced no problems at all with that tank.

Now with my second tank I rushed it, massive mistake. I didn't wash the sand too well so I spent this past week doing as many as three 50% water changes a week to get my water clear. So learn from my mistake and clean that sand extremely well. An old pillow case seems to work best

 

[micaiah12]

alright any good tips on how to wash sand real good? I heard to put some in a bucket. Rinse it and wait till the water is coming off is clear. Also here is my plan.

Wash my sand. Then get it ready to go into my tank. Then take my fish, decor, plants, and equipment and move them to a secondary empty aquarium. Empty my water out of my tank. Remove my gravel substrate. Then set my aquarium back on it's stand. Refill it with water. Then carefully place my sand into the tank. Making sure I don't disturb the water and make a mess. Once I am done with that I will let it settle and possibly do a pwc. Once my sand is settled I will move over my filter, heater, and equipment to the new sand aquarium. Allowing my water to heat up and everything get clean and ready. Wait maybe an hour and then put my fish back in. -
Am I missing anything?