Converting to Sand

[Guest FLIP]

How do I convert my 22gallon tank with gravel to sand? Can I do it with fish in the tank? Will it wreck the filter?

[Sam Chicklets]

Yes you can convert it to sand, and you can do it with the fish in it. I use a kitty litter scoop to take out the old gravel. Unplug your filter and remove it from the tasnk while doing this. Use a large cup to pour the new sand into the tank. Put the cup 1/2 full of sand into the tank down to the bottom of the tank and gently shake it out. Once you have the right amount of sand in the tank wait for an hour for it to settle before putting the filter back on. Also make sure the intake strainer is up 4 to 6 inches from the sand.

[Stacey]

Is there no one left in all of Alberta with gravel still in their tank? This sand thing is really catching on. :smokey:

[Guest FLIP]

It looks nicer and more natural doesn't it?

[Vallisneria]

I still have gravel. I prefer it to sand :thumbs:

I tried sand a few times but always changed it back to gravel, except in my shellie tank. Its funner to watch them with sand

[webmoose]

every one of my tanks is sand...

[Stacey]

One thing I would recommend is that you clean your filters very well 2 weeks to a amonth before doing the switch over. Remember you will be losing all of your bacteria in the gravel, so having your filters preforming at peak efficiency would be a good thing! :thumbs:

[skinless]

Is there no one left in all of Alberta with gravel still in their tank? This sand thing is really catching on. :smokey:

i've switched out any sand over the last year back to gravel.

with my fish, the substrate digging and spitting just didn't have the same gusto with sand. it does look great though.

[Sam Chicklets]

I have 2 amphibian tanks with gravel and 1 fish tank with gravel, the rest are either sand or bare bottom.

[snaggle]

I am going with sand in most of my tanks since I can get the target play sand 25 lbs for $6 and I need allot of sand for all my empty tanks.

[fairdeal]

Last time I was at Burnco the sand was $6.25 for a 40kg bag. If you use aquaclear filters only use 1 intake tube and even then some sand will still get in as the fish will blow it out their mouths and gills well above the bottom of the tank. Bigger fish will get it in the intakes just by moving quickly under them. Even with the wear and extra tear on the impellers I still like the sand and the fish really love it - last time I looked there was no gravel in Lake Malawi or Tanganyika just sand and big rocks.

You could maybe try a foam insert over the intakes like I use for fry tanks to keep them from getting sucked up. Might not stop all the sand, but would sure get a lot of it if it was getting to be a problem.

Also with sand I would recommend not putting in more than 1 to 1/2" spread out along the bottom evenly. The fish will tend to move it around a lot more than gravel and they can pile it up under the intakes and what is worse there can be methane gas buildup which if not released every once in a while will become deadly to the fish. Look for black streaks in the sand - sure sign of these gas pockets.

Sand is a lot easier to clean than gravel - just run the hose over the sand and it is done. The debris sits on top and usually gathers in several low spots, so is easy to see and get rid of. It would take me no longer than 2 minutes to remove all the "stuff" from a 200+g. tank - rest is just a regular water change.

I have found Malasyian trumpet snails to be a big help with sand as well. They tend to come out at night and pretty much eat everything in sight and then burrow back in before the lights go on in the morning.

I guess you will never know if you prefer sand over gravel until you have tried them both and then decide.

[jvision]

For planted tanks, I prefer gravel, but my Geos prefer sand.

[CORVETTE]

Go with sand you will love it i use the black sand in all my tanks.

[super fish]

Sand sucks for cleaning but there is geosystem (I think its geosystem) gravel/sand the does not get sucked up as many crushed coral you could buy.

I have sand for 2 tanks and gravel for one

[Pier Pressure]

We converted all our tanks from gravel (black with neon colours mixed) to the Target Play Sand and I wish we had not bothered. I like the look of the sand better as long as it is completely clean - but the fish poo seems to jump right out at you as soon as it starts to get dirty. I still have all the gravel to switch it back, but my fish seem to like the sand better so I guess I will have to get used to looking at a bit of fish poo every time I check out the tank.

Black sand is a great idea because it would camo any debris a lot better than the light brown sand does.