Changing Substrate, a few questions

[Illbuyourcatfish]

Hi, I'm new to this site and just getting back into keeping fish and thought maybe I could get some of you to flex your knowledge on me!

As the title says I'm looking to change my fine gravel substrate to sand. The tank is a 72 gallon planted currently with a fine white gravel thats not so white anymore.

So my questions are, what are the pros/cons of going to sand?( From a noobies perspective it looks better/possibly easier to clean?)

What kind of sand to use? That will work with plants and the fish i have.
Where i could find the sand.(As i haven't come across any at the local stores.)
The process of removing the old gravel and replacing it. Seeing as i only have the one tank I'm not sure what to do with the fish as i imagine they'll have to come out.
What effect will removing the gravel have on biological filtration as it would most likely have to be a 100% water change.
How long after its finished can the fish go back IE, temperature is right, water clears or danger from a possible cycle?
I've read brown algae comes from high silica levels in the water, will adding sand prompt a brown algae growth?

Anything else you guys can think of that I've overlooked would be really appreciated. I haven't owned fish for a very long time and I'm very open to suggestions/criticism, there's nothing I love more than learning something new.

So any help or pointers during this project means a lot to me! Thanks!

 

[vr6fan]

I switched to sand a few years ago and am glad I did...It just looks better..I use only pool filter sand as it is heavier (vacuum wont suck it up), easier to clean then play sand, and only costs about 10 bucks for a 50 pound bag (its a nice white color). You can get it at any pool supply store. Doing a 100 percent water change is fine as long as you cycle the existing media in your filter. When i moved my oscars to a larger tank I put new sand in there, let my filters cycle for a few days, and when temp was good they went in with no troubles. As far as algae I have not notice any on my established sand tank and have not heard of anyone else with that problem...Its kind of a pain but you can get that gravel out of there without taking your fish out...Just scoop it out. Its a slow process but your pretty limited since its your only tank. Cons on the sand I think are pretty minimal. It is a bit tricky to clean but once you get the hang of just hovering the vacuum just over the sand its very easy. Some people also say the sand can mess up your filter, especially hang on back filters. I use a fluval 405 with no problem but my aquaclear 110 hob is a bit noisier since the switch to sand. Nothing a new impeller wont fix but I also have oscars who stir up the sand a lot so.. You'll enjoy it I guarantee it really makes your tank pop...hope that helped

 

[Illbuyourcatfish]

I also use a 405 in conjunction with a 305, that's very encouraging to hear! I was worried about the filters but forgot to mention it. You mention the pool sand being heavier and the vacuum wont suck it up...the vacuum can almost suck up my fine gravel. Perhaps i should look into if its actually fine gravel or coarse sand... And my only other concern was the color, white looked awesome for the first couple of days but now every bit of junk is visible. Also i wonder if it doesn't reflect too much light making the tank brighter than it needs to be? Black is the other popular option but i was thinking something more of a rust color? Maybe that's just wishful thinking though

 

[throttle]

I removed pea sized gravel from the wife's tank by using a larger ID hose to siphon the gravel out into a 30 gallon garbage can with each water change. Then either siphon the water out of the garbage can into a floor drain or use a small pump to pump the water into a sink. It took a few times but it wasn't such a large hit on the bio and I didn't really disturb the fish.

 

[vr6fan]

Well If you want low maintenance dont go with sand..As I said I have Oscars and they are messy..the waste does sit on the top of the sand so you will be cleaning it more than gravel. If you hold the vacuum at an angle the sand will fall back to the bottom, easy to master. With weekly water changes and vacuuming the white sand will stay pretty white. black sand is very nice too but hard to come by and expensive. Tahitian moon sand can be found at your LFS but is pricy but worth it if you like black.