gravel to sand.. help!

jlieskovan

jlieskovan

Gambusia
MFK Member
Mar 11, 2012
261
2
18
San Francisco
so i had a problem with my bichir eating a peace of gravel, and getting "blocked up" he seems to have passes the gravel, but i dont want it to happen again, so today i just bought my sand that i will be replacing the gravel with. what is the best way to do this swap? remove the fish? how long do i need to let the sand settle before putting the fish back in? ect and any tips you guys might have would be much appreciated! thanks all, i think im going to do the swap on friday.. so any info you have for me would be great! ohh and any tips on catching the monsters?

10"pbass
11" ornate bichir
 
B

Bllib

Candiru
MFK Member
Dec 7, 2007
709
8
48
In a box of Pop Tarts!
Wash the sand really good!! Once you add the sand it will probably take 24 hrs before the water clears up. I would keep a bowl of the gravel to put back in the tank with the sand to help with the bacteria.

As far as catching the monsters....clear out as many obstacles as you can so that it will be easier to bag them up. Good luck!! Post your picts when you are done
 
jlieskovan

jlieskovan

Gambusia
MFK Member
Mar 11, 2012
261
2
18
San Francisco
thanks man! i was tying to figure out, should i put them each in their own 5g buckets? or do i need to buy something bigger?
 
J

JDcowboy12

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jun 25, 2012
55
0
36
Salinas
When I did the same thing in my 100 gallon, I washed the sand really well. I then used a cup to scoop up the sand out of the 5 gallon buckets and then placed the cup into the aquarium and put the sand softly on the bottom. This helped as to make the sand settle faster and not be dumped or poured in making a big cloud. It took a while but was worth it. I was able to put my fish in immediately after the sand and my filter cleared the water within a couple hours. Hope this helps and good luck. I think sand looks best anyhow. :)


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B

Bllib

Candiru
MFK Member
Dec 7, 2007
709
8
48
In a box of Pop Tarts!
I would go with whatever you have. If you only have 5 gallon buckets then use that. I think it will depend on your approach. If you plan to just dump the sand in like I did then the fish will need to be out of the tank for a while. If you are patient and willing to slowly put the sand in then the fish will not be in the buckets as long. I tend not to be very patient so I would have something that the fish could be in for 24 hours but thats just me:D
 
Naos1984

Naos1984

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Sep 9, 2012
712
17
33
Pasig, Philippines
Usually, I would put the sand in a large plastic bin similar to this and have the hose run water into it for a few minutes. I occassionally stir the sand to remove more of the floating particulates. After the sand clears up, I will then scoop that from the bin and slowly let them sink in my aquarium. It does not take 8hours before it clears up.
 
J

JDcowboy12

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jun 25, 2012
55
0
36
Salinas
jlieskovan said:
what do you mean? what do i do with the gravel?
Click to expand...
Keep a bowl of gravel and put in in after you put your sand in to help get the sand started with the beneficial bacteria from your gravel. Otherwise your sand has no beneficial bacteria in it. The gravel will jump start this process. You can always take the gravel out on the next water change.


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