Changing Gravel To Sand

[DragonNeko]

I'd like to change the gravel in my 20gal. to sand so my Corydoras will be happier, but I'm not sure how to do it without losing all my good bacteria. Also, what kind of sand do I use? Is there sand specific for freshwater tanks? Or will any sand do? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

[ubr0ke]

silica or pool filter sand works well....

you can add some of the mulm left over from your last substrate...If you plan on adding plants you could also add osmocote plus for a cheap nutrient rich substrate.

[Hippoherder]

Big Al's has some live sand for fresh water. Its Black Tahitian moon Sand. I just wanted the moon sand but the only way to get it is as a bag of live sand. It comes in a bag for 20 gallons and isn't too pricey.

[BettaFishMommy]

you can switch your substrate bit by bit, if you are concerned about losing bacteria. do it in thirds and you should be fine. don't clean your filters for a while if you can.

if you are using play sand (like from home depot), make sure you rinse it really well, multiple times, before adding to the tank. the silt in play sand can get pulled up by your filters and ruin the motor/impeller.

IMO, those 'live sand' bags are a crock of you know what, lol. think about it - beneficial bacteria need oxygen to survive. is there any oxygen in that sealed bag of sand, sitting on the store shelf for who knows how long? nope.

[DragonNeko]

silica or pool filter sand works well....

you can add some of the mulm left over from your last substrate...If you plan on adding plants you could also add osmocote plus for a cheap nutrient rich substrate.

What is mulm? and I'll see if I can find some osmocote and check it out, thanks.

[DragonNeko]

you can switch your substrate bit by bit, if you are concerned about losing bacteria. do it in thirds and you should be fine. don't clean your filters for a while if you can.

if you are using play sand (like from home depot), make sure you rinse it really well, multiple times, before adding to the tank. the silt in play sand can get pulled up by your filters and ruin the motor/impeller.

IMO, those 'live sand' bags are a crock of you know what, lol. think about it - beneficial bacteria need oxygen to survive. is there any oxygen in that sealed bag of sand, sitting on the store shelf for who knows how long? nope.

I can use sand from Home Depot? I didn't think that would be okay. What would a good way of rinsing it be? Just put it in a bucket of water and move it around and drain? I'll try slowly changing it like you said. The gravel is pretty dirty anyway, and changing too much would make the tank pretty messy. Hoping my trumpet snails can clean up the gravel a bit before I switch. Might have to buy a few more to help, since they don't seem to be having babies at all and it's been over a week.

[DragonNeko]

Big Al's has some live sand for fresh water. Its Black Tahitian moon Sand. I just wanted the moon sand but the only way to get it is as a bag of live sand. It comes in a bag for 20 gallons and isn't too pricey.

I'll keep that in mind, though the Big Al's in Edmonton is a bit out of my way. Is it a nice store?

[ubr0ke]

mulm is the remaining crud left after removing all the gravel ....just add that to the tank before adding the sand...

As for the bacteria...as long as you don't clean your filter you should be fine...Just do 50% water changes every 2-3 days for two weeks.

Most sand you can find will be acceptable as long as its not too fine or for saltwater.

[GIJester]

I've been running sand for a while - I always take my 5 Gallon bucket - add about 1/4 - 1/3 sand then just rinse and swirl until the milkyness is gone or near gone. normally I just use my arm and a hose outside, but it helps. never perfect, but your water clears up in a day or two (maybe a few hours with a smaller tank).

I used to use play sand - I found Silica SIL sand in Calgary - but its sold in 45 lbs bags

either way both are good - I just use a little extra filter floss (polyester padding) and change it every few days early on - seems to catch most of the fine or loose stuff

Edited April 5, 2011 by GIJester

[Hippoherder]

Big Al's has some live sand for fresh water. Its Black Tahitian moon Sand. I just wanted the moon sand but the only way to get it is as a bag of live sand. It comes in a bag for 20 gallons and isn't too pricey.

I'll keep that in mind, though the Big Al's in Edmonton is a bit out of my way. Is it a nice store?

You can order it from their online store. Worth looking at if only for the moon sand. Another thing you can do is if you have another established tank, just toss some extra filter sponges in their and let the bacteria colonize them for 2-3 week. Toss them in the new setup in addition to the other suggestions until you feel the tank is established.

[Jayba]

I swapped out my gravel for sand and put the old gravel in my wifes old nylons and just left it in the tank for a while and no ammonia spike. I went with the one big mess plan as opposed to making a few little messes over the course of days. It clears pretty quick. Play sand (Target brand) from home depot works well. Just rinse rinse rinse. Squeeze the ol filter floss everyday and it will clear up in a couple of days. If you dont have nylons around, put the gravel in mixing bowls and leave them in there. Just pull some of the gravel out, keep it wet just in case you need to throw it back in if you get an ammonia spike. If all is good keep reducing the old gravel in the tank, until it's gone. Good luck.

[jcgd]

If you get pool filter sand instead of play sand it is very clean from the get go. I poured mine in my tank and filled er up. Crystal clear water with no rinsing.

Be careful with sand and cories. Sand is deceivingly sharp and can wear the barbells off. Just saying, read up before switching.

[BettaFishMommy]

Be careful with sand and cories. Sand is deceivingly sharp and can wear the barbells off. Just saying, read up before switching.

sand is actually the substrate that cories prefer, and most sands won't hurt their barbels. what can potentially erode barbels is a high amount of the wrong kinds of bacteria in/on the sand in a tank that doesn't receive the required maintenance.

when choosing sand for your tank, take a handful of it in the palm of your hand and feel it with your other hand, putting a good amount of pressure on the sand. this way you will be able to tell if the particles are sharp or jagged.

play sand and pool filter sand are both perfectly safe for cories.

[CopeXX]

Hi, I am new here, but for this I have a nice solution....maybe 2.

Depending where you are, you could get your hands on Frac Sand from one of the oilfield service companies. Just go into there field office, and ask the Field service manager for fracturing, or stimulation if they would let you have some of their swept out sand. Ensure that you don't take the curable resin coat. They would likely give you new sand if you are only looking for a pale or 2. The pales that you take will be worth more than the sand is. This works well if you live in Red Deer, GP, Medicine Hat, or Hinton, or if you are passing through. Frac Sand is very spherical, and is sieved. 20/40 is a good size, and if you can get 12/20 is even better in my opinion....its a little bigger.

Frac Sand is brown, or natural color.

The other option that I found is white quartz silica sand. It is the kind of sand that you find in the bunkers at golf courses that is very white. If any of you ever drive through Golden, just west of town you see the nice white piles of sand. I did a road trip to Golden to pick some up. I got 6 5 gal pales for $20 ea. It is dirty, has crushed up leaves, and lots of dust. It does clean up very easy though. I split one pale into 2, and stuck a garden hose in it to the bottom on high, and circulated out all of the crud. I stirred and stirred, and in about 10 min the water was cleared up very nice.

I used 2 pails for my 180, and it is likely enough, but I think I am going to add 1 or 2 more.

This is the web site http://www.heemskirkcanada.com/products.aspx?ProductID=16

You will need to call the lady in Moberly and ask nice.

I don't know how much a super sack cost ( i think 1 tonne) but if enough of you got together, it may be easier and cheaper to call the main office in Calgary and buy one of those. Saves a trip.

Anyway, I may have a pale or 2 that I would part with.

Cheers.

Edited April 7, 2011 by CopeXX

[DragonNeko]

I've been running sand for a while - I always take my 5 Gallon bucket - add about 1/4 - 1/3 sand then just rinse and swirl until the milkyness is gone or near gone. normally I just use my arm and a hose outside, but it helps. never perfect, but your water clears up in a day or two (maybe a few hours with a smaller tank).

I used to use play sand - I found Silica SIL sand in Calgary - but its sold in 45 lbs bags

either way both are good - I just use a little extra filter floss (polyester padding) and change it every few days early on - seems to catch most of the fine or loose stuff

Thank you, I'll have to try that. Though my hose in still buried in snow and the water would be ice cold. I'll have to set something up in my bathtub instead. Might even just leave the sand in a bucket with a spare filter attached to it to get out all the loose sand. The filter on my 20 gal. is a bit of a pain to get to. When you say filter floss, do you just mean the foam filter media?