Easist substrate change

I had to move my tank due to some water issue. I removed the gravel to help reduce the weight of the tank.

I've been wanting to change out to sand anyway, so now seems the best time.

I have a 55 gallon normal dimensions. I have a canister filter. When I get the sand in, do I need to let the filter be off for a bit so the sand settles? Or can I just move the intake from near the bottom to the top of the tank and continue to let the filter run?

Thanks for any advice!
Nathan

 

Depends on the sand. I used petco black sand and rinsing went really quickly. I added the sand to the tank slightly wet. When I slowly added water I baffled a gal at a time with my hand. I had zero clouding. If the sand is very silty or fine it may need to settle for a bit. If you are leaving the fish and water in the tank you're going to have a lot more fun than I did trying to keep it from clouding. You could also do the water bottle trick to keep the cloudiness down. It looks highly effective.

 

If you lay the sand gently, you don't need to change anything. You could do this with a tube and a funnel. You pour sand in the funnel and the sand makes its way down the tube to the bottom

 

Thanks guys! I think I'm going to try using a funnel and tubing.

I will have to leave the fish in the tank. It was rough moving the tank out of my office. Now that the carpet is back in, hopefully it will move back in easier.

 

If your going to move the tank your going to have to drain all the water anyway. After cleaning it, add the sand and put a bowl or plate on top then add your water to the bowl. Once there's a half inch of water over the sand stir the sand to get the air pockets out. Then let it settle for an hour, and keep filling gently over the bowl. When it's full and decor is added let the sand settle for at least another hour. Then turn the filter on. Wait 24 hours then turn on your air pumps. Good luck. This project is not easy.

 

I lowered my sand in, very slowly, using a large sized net.

 

How did it work out? Pictures?

 

How did it work out? Pictures?

It worked well. I was able to turn my pump back on after a few minutes. However, the cloudy water went though a sump before it had to go through the pump so I didn't worry about sand in the pump. The fish didn't seemed to be stressed by the cloudy water.

The tube and funnel idea that someone mentioned is a better technique though.

I really like the natural look of it and also like the way the waste is so much easier to see. I never disturb the substrate when cleaning the tank and the tank has been healthier than ever.

 

I want to change mine over but I got 30 some odd fish in there. It would be a nightmare to net them all out.

 

I want to change mine over but I got 30 some odd fish in there. It would be a nightmare to net them all out.

I didn't net fish out. I, very slowly, netted out the gravel and slowly added the sand. You can vacuum the gravel, net it out on one day, and put the sand in hours later or the next day.