Wiggles24
Aquarium Advice Addict
I switched from gravel to silica sand a couple of weeks ago, and am glad I did.
I paid a fortune and bought it from my LFS, with all the Xmas shopping and parties I didn't have time to shop around. $50 for 55lbs... ouch!
I washed the sand the evening before the switch, using two 5gallon buckets. It might have taken an hour to wash it all properly.
I vacuumed 10 gallons of current tank water into 2.5gal buckets, and put the plants and fish into them. No bubblers or heaters required, it was only for a couple of hours.
I vacuumed the rest of the current tank water into other buckets, then swapped the aquariums and poured in the sand. It would have been no different if i'd just scooped out the gravel and replaced it with sand.
Then filled it up with the old tank water, put in the plants, put in the fish, then added the new water that I'd treated beforehand to fill it up.
It was maybe a 2-hour experience for the fish, and doubt it traumatized them much. The sand is nicer to look at, but the dirt and poop are more visible. And I'm finding that I vacuum sand up each time I clean it. I might have to add 1lb or so every few months to keep it at a good level, no big deal.
I hope your switch is as good as mine.
Lol I am glad you said something about the poop, that's the one bad thing about sand it doesn't hide anything!