Corycat5

I was thinking about changing my fish tanks bottom from gravel to sand but I dont know how to clean it. Can someone please tell me how to clean sand and everything else I will need to know to have it my fish tank!

agabr123

sand is REALLY easy to clean once you get the hang of it. all you have to do is hover the gravel vacuum directly over the sand, since all of the waste and any leftover food will just sit right on top. i'd get pool filter sand, it's a lot smoother for your fish than play sand, is much cleaner and easier to clean, and won't get clogged in your impeller as easily. something you may want to consider is getting a few malaysian trumpet snails, or just using the other end of an algae scrubber and dragging it around in the sand in circles (after the vacuum so the waste doesn't get buried) to prevent air pockets from forming and to keep the sand aerated.

also, if your tank is already established then you'll want to keep some of the gravel in a nylon stocking in the tank for a few weeks so your cycle doesn't crash.

Corycat5

thanks

griffin

regarding the play sand, it actually doesn't get into the filter once it's settled unless you really go crazy in your tank or something like that. i'm using it now, and even when doing light digging (searching for MTS and such) in the tank, it settles pretty quickly.

if you're really concerned about getting sand into your filters, you could also put a sponge over the intake to prevent sand from getting in. decreases the frequency that you have to clean your filters, but you have an additional sponge to clean occasionally. also an additional place for bacteria to grow

Corycat5

Okay, thanks for the info

griffin

np - hope it was helpful