CichlidKid55

Hay Guys,
i was thinking of maybe changing my gravel to sand and have a few qestions on what to do :
1 ) How can i keep my bacteria in the tank when i change them over ?
2 ) What colour makes the tank and fish look cleaner Black/White ?
3 ) Can i have just 1 Inch of sand Or do you need more ?
4 ) how do you clean it ?
5 ) Is Internal Filteration Ok With Sand
Here Is what i think i should do ( Correct If Wrong Please )
1: Take out ornaments and fish and put in buckets.
2: leave heaters and filters going.
3: Take out gravel and bag.
4: do a 20 % water change.
5: Wash and add sand to tank
6: add ornaments and leave for ten minutes
7: acclimate fish back into the tank and test water daily till i know theres no ammonia Or Nitrites
Thanks For Any Help Guys

aquarist48

Good morning CichlidKid. I'm sure some members that have sand in their tanks will answer you before long.
Have a good weekend and keep us posted!
Ken

Charlene

I have recently changed from gravel to sand.

What we did was take all the fish out (I'm lucky to have seperate tanks to put them in). I don't know if you have spare tanks? Then we took everything out, kept some water from the tank and put the filter, heater and pump in a polly box with tank water.
Then added sand, rinsed and rinsed it, approx 4-5 times, filled it back up with the old tank water that we had, then filled with fresh water and then added the wood, slate and shells. We let this run for a day to let it clear up as it was slightly cloudy but we did add some wading to the filter to clear quicker. Now it would be easier to fill the tank with sand and rinse it while it is in the tank. Before filling it up with water put your ornaments back in and then fill it with water. We done ours the hard way.

Your fish will love the sand!! I know mine do and they dig alot. Hope this helps.

alicem

Hi CichlidKid. I'll try to answer some of your questions.
Maybe you'll get different responses from others here, which is good too, (gives you more options and opinions).
Bacteria grows on all surfaces in your tank, which includes the decor, tank walls, in the filter, etc.
If your tank has been running with a full load of fish for 6 months or more, you probably won't notice a thing.

Some folks choose to remove quadrants of the gravel at a time to preserve as much bacteria as possible.
The top surface of the substrate is where the good bacteria lives.
If you could skim off the top 1/2" and put it in a net (non washed) and store it behind some decorations for a week or so, that may help.
I think alot has to do with the color spectrum of your light bulbs and how they refect off the substrate.

White sand seems to show poo and other debris worse than black, imo.
That's a tough one to answer for me...
1"-1.5" is plenty. If you are putting in plants (live or artificial) you may want more in those areas.
Sand isn't too hard to clean once it's in the tank, but I'm not sure if you mean that or prior to putting it in the tank...
I've not used one of these, but if it's like a sponge filter it should be fine.
If it is like a HOB or canister and has an intake tube, just be sure it's 6" above the substrate. Or you can use a "prefilter" on the intake end.
Cut a sponge and slip it on over the intake end to prevent potential for impellor damage.
In the fish bucket put your live/artificial plants for the fish to hide in.
Use some sort of loose cover for the fish to darken the bucket interior so they more feel secure.
I have used a towel over the top or loose fitting lid. This also helps keep the fish from jumping out.

Add a few drops of Prime or other water conditioner that helps with ammonia buildup.

Keep the ornaments wet. Remember they have good bacteria on them too and you don't want it drying out.
Be sure the heaters do not get above the water line. This can damage them, even if they are supposed to shut off automatically.
It's easy to unlug them to prevent this.
This will be messy and wet gravel is heavy. Have plenty of buckets/tubs ready, just incase.
When you remove the gravel it will really put alot of crud and nitrAtes into the water collum.
You may need to do a 50% water change. Be prepared.
Wash the sand before you remove anything from the tank and have it sitting somewhere ready.
Washing sand will take more time than you realize.
I'm not sure what you mean by "leave for ten minutes".
By this time you may want to run screaming from your home... never to return.
Naw, I'm just kidding you.
Take your time with this. You can do some testing (GH, KH, pH, ammonia, nitrate, temp.) during this time to get them close.
Good plan. Keep a close eye on things and be ready to do some partial water changes to off set any ammonia spikes.
You may want to leave the lights off for a few hours and let things settle down.
Also, don't feed for a day or two and then feed sparingly for the first week.
Best of luck,
alicem

joy1125

great advice by Alice !

I just want to add a few things. Before putting the sand in, unplug your filters. Once you add the sand, it's gonna kick up a ton of sand dust, even though you've rinsed it thoroughly. The tank is going to be super cloudy for a half hour or so. Don't worry, it will settle. But wait till it does before restarting the filters and adding your fish.

I have white sand in my tank, and love it. I use pool filter sand that I bought at a pool supply company, a 50 pound bag cost me just $12.00. Yes, you will see fish poo on the surface of the sand, I net it up, and it's gone. Cleaning with vacuum is easy, you just hold it slightly above the sand, and it sucks up any debris. But the sand will need to be agitated, so when I vacuum, I swirl the vac real quick to stir it up a bit, and very little sand goes up the tube. You'll get used to it very quickly.

Also, make sure to put heavy decorations (like rock or heavy decor) directly on the bottom glass, not on top of the sand. that prevents debris and pockets of gas from forming underneath them.

alicem

I just thought of something after reading joy1125's post, that might help.
When you add the sand, try adding it slowly by scooping it into a large cup and lowering the cup full into the tank.
When the cup of sand is within inches of the bottom, slowly pour it in.
This won't solve the problem but may help a little bit with the "clouding" issue.
hth,
alicem

CichlidKid55

Thank You So Much Guys :
Will I Be Ok Having 3 Red Forest Hybrid Jewels, 2 Firemouths, 1 Red Tailed Shark, 1 Featherfin Catfish, 1 Krib, 1 3 Spot Gourami In a 5 Gallon Heated And Filterd Tank For 1/2 - 3/4 Of An Hour Cause My Twelve Gallon Has a Pair Of Convicts At The Moment. The Fish Are All Between 1 - 4 Inches

suemvb

You have some great advice here so far. I rinsed my sand outside with a bucket and a hose until the water ran clear. You’re going to need a much larger water change than 10% and you'll need to leave the filter off more than ten minutes to let the sand settle. Probably more than 50% and several hours to let it sit before turning your filter back on. Don't turn the filter on till the water is clear. I would take the heater out so it doesn't break.

It will probably be a bigger project then 1/2 to 3/4 of an hour.

I had all the fish in my 75 gallon (see my info) sitting in a bucket for about 2 hours when I moved my tank recently. They were not happy I'm sure but they were fine.

CichlidKid55

Thank You: I Just Bought A 20 Kilo Bag Of Play Sand And Im Going To Do It Tommorow.
Im Scared To Put My Fish In Buckets As Im Scared My 1.5 Inche Featherfin Catfish I Bought For $40 Might Get Sick But It Looks Like Thats The Only Option
O Well I Will Take Some Photos After Its Done And Its Not Cloudy
Night All

joy1125

I found the pool filter sand settled rather quick, but I only put a lyarer of maybe an inch. But yes, be prepared for more time possibly !

Looking forward to seeing the pics when you're done !

CichlidKid55

HELP !!!
I Took the fish out and they have been sitting in a 4 gallon tank for 2 hours And are not happy.
All i have to do is put in the ornaments and acclimate the fish but the tank is VERY cloudy and i can only see like 2 inches in the tank. the sand has been in for like half hour and the filtes and heaters have been goin for bout 15 mins. I did a 80 % waterchange. why is it so cloudy i feel sorry
for my fishys

suemvb

Do you have an air pump with an air stone? That may help the fish while they're in the bucket. Put a thick blanket or something over the bucket to make it dark. It will probably take a few hours for the dust from the sand to settle. I would turn off the filter till things settle a lot more. The filter is probably prolonging the process by keeping things stirred up and if you suck up sand in the filter it will break it. Did you rinse the sand really really well? The 80% water change should be fine as long as you added tap water conditioner.

Did you use the play sand? I have it in two tanks and it's been fine but most people say pool sand is a way better choice. With play sand you have to rinse it forever.

Don't worry too much. It will settle down in a little while.

griffin

i use play sand as well, but i think it would be ok to turn on the filters after some settling but not completely clear water. i know i always turn my filters on before completely clear water. i just put some batting in the filter and it clears up way quicker than no filter at all. just be sure you have a prefilter on so you don't mess up the filter. i've never had issues with breaking filters doing it this way and you can get your fish back in the tank faster. hth

CichlidKid55

Thank You So Much Guys,
Its All Settled Down Now And The Fish Are In There
Its Still A Bit Cloudy Tho, i Turned The Light Of Early An Havenot Fed Them.
Thanks Again Guys.
Night.