Sand vs. Gravel and Nitrogen Cycle

Hello,
We just purchased 2 JuliI Cory Cats for our 10 gallon tank which currently has standard aquarium gravel from Petco.
We want to change the gravel to sand.

I read a post last night where people have done this w/o removing the existing fish. I posed a response on that post, asking how this affected the nitrogen cycle in their tanks and have received no replies. It was an old post, so I figured I'd start a new one.

My question is:

Will removing the gravel and adding sand affect the nitrogen cycle? This tank is currently cycled - 0/0/0 test results for over a month now.

Thanks!

 

How did you cycle this tank? You shouldn't have 0 nitrates unless a tank is heavily planted.

Also, I don't personally think any cory other than pygmy corys are appropriate for a 10 gallon tank. Corys do best in groups of 5 or more, 3 is absolute minimum.

Changing substrate will not have an affect on the nitrogen cycle. There is minimal beneficial bacteria in substrate, decor and water column. The majority of it is found on your filter media. Hope this helps.

 

is your tank heavily planted because if not you should have some nitrates when cycled.

I have seen people that change all the gravel into sand and have no problems. If you are worried though you can change half the tank, wait a few weeks then change the other half. or take a new panty hose and put a few handfuls of the old gravel into it and hang it in the back for a few weeks after changing all the gravel to sand.

 

HI Lynda & Gemini,
We made the horrible mistake of not cycling the tank before adding fish. When the fish we originally bought started dying off, we began researching and found out about the nitrogen cycle. At that point, we did large, frequent water changes with Prime. 2 of the 4 original fish survived.

I just tested the nitrates and they are between 10ppm and 20ppm. I can't really tell because the orange colors for those two readings are very close.

I appreciate the info about the sand and about not having these corys in my 10 gallon. I will take that into consideration and possibly move them to the 40 gallon and get 2 or 3 more. The 40 gallon has 2 guppies, 4 molly fry, 2 platys and a bristlenose pleco and is also completely cycled. (We did that one right).

Y'all have a great day!
Lena

 

Are you sure they are julii? The cories that my lfs (and many others) sell as juliI are actually 'three line' cories. the three lines only get to about 2 inches. I have 6 in a 15 gallon, and I will probably upgrade them as they seem to use every available inch of space.

I did the switch to sand with fish. Don't touch the filters, rinse the sand really good and add it with a bottle, test and do an extra waterchange. Although I do an extra waterchange whenever I change ANYTHING in a tank with fish, so you could really just test to see if it needs one.

 

HI Semilla,
Here's a picture of the "Julii" Corys we bought yesterday from Petsmart. That's what the label said, but who knows! I'll let you decide

 

Yep, that's "false julii" otherwise known as three-lined cory.

 

They LIE! LOL!

I just checked google for juliI and three-lined and I definitely agree the ones we have are three-lined; and the three-lined, from what I read, don't get larger than 2.2".

Still going to consider getting more and moving them to the 40g.

(btw - the "true juliis" are *GORGEOUS*!!) oglove

 

I know right?!? Lol. I just told the guy at the lfs ALL ABOUT IT, complete with pictures (love technology). He was shocked lol.