Gravel to Sand...suggestion

[zennzzo]

Instead of finding ways to live with a crappy wash job, doesn't it make sense to just take the time to do it right?


Your reward for not having the patients to get it perfectly clean is a lifetime of silt in your impeller housing...and a noisy impeller.

Now that is sound advice...

An ounce of prevention is worth a ton and a half of looking at a silty tank and worn out pump parts...

That cloudyness from any sand is still abrasive.
Just rinse with a hose till it's clear, stirring frequently. You want all the light particles washed out...IMO

 

[JayK1320]

Instead of finding ways to live with a crappy wash job, doesn't it make sense to just take the time to do it right?


Your reward for not having the patients to get it perfectly clean is a lifetime of silt in your impeller housing...and a noisy impeller.

I have plenty of time, so I want to do it right. I do plan on rinsing it out as best as I can, then I will turn the filter off until its gets mostly settled.

I am going to go with the "pastry bag" idea as well when I get to putting the actual sand in.

So is there a particular type of filter floss that works best? What is the best way to attach it to the intake?

I plan to cut the intake pipe up to about 5-6" above the sand. I am hoping to be able to actually hide the intake mouth opening behind a rock so I will keep it covered with the filter floss and check each day until it remains clean and then I will remove the filter floss and run the pump like normal.

Again, thanks for all the help. Lots of things I wouldn't have thought of or realized until I was doing/done with this.

 

[Dreamsofpeace54]

when i redid mine, i took gravel and put it in the filter media bags u can get a petco or wherever. i layed those right on top of the sand and never experienced a cycle of any sort.

id be careful and leave the intake 5 inches from the sand, i have 1 peacock and he is a terror.

U could also add Malaysian trumpet snails, these guys burrow out of th sand at night and clean up the substrate and then in the morning the hide under the sand. they do a great job of turning the sand and will provide food for your peacocks also.

 

[JayK1320]

when i redid mine, i took gravel and put it in the filter media bags u can get a petco or wherever. i layed those right on top of the sand and never experienced a cycle of any sort.

id be careful and leave the intake 5 inches from the sand, i have 1 peacock and he is a terror.

U could also add Malaysian trumpet snails, these guys burrow out of th sand at night and clean up the substrate and then in the morning the hide under the sand. they do a great job of turning the sand and will provide food for your peacocks also.

Thats a damn good idea. I just happen to have two of those bags in the tank already, currently just floating around. Maybe I will pick up a few more when I grab some filter floss tonight to.

Any suggestions on how to cut the intake tube up? Looks like just plastic, I was thinking a real fine saw or razor blade...

 

[Dreamsofpeace54]

uhh, i would think a saw would be tough rough and might break the plastic try a razor blade and be careful, u dont want it to crack.

 

[dsrowold]

When I changed mine over I just rinsed it out in a bucket, scooped some into a plastic cup and put it in the water. The sand is heavy enough that it stays in the cup all the way to the bottom of the tank then just pour it out. As for a cycle, just add bacteria as if it were a new setup and you'll be fine. Too much BB is not bad. 5-6" is good for height. This stuf settles very fast. Even when my fish "spook" the sand just goes straight down. I have a HOB and there is not a grain of sand in it yet. To clean it I tried using a hose above the surface but I was getting way too much sand in the bucket. I tried my gravel vac and vacuumed it like it was gravel. The sand circulates in the tube and goes right back out. No sand in the bucket. Very low fuss and it stirs up the sand and gets all the poo out. Don't think too hard when you go to do this. It's just that easy.

 

[JayK1320]

Well its done, worked great. I cleaned the sand in a tote, rinsed it twice basically. I was impressed with how clean it is. After that I used a cup (couldn't find a large enough bag), sank the cup slowly to the bottom and poured out the sand. Worked great, hardly any clouding, I would say after an hour it was almost perfectly clear.

I used filter floss to cover the intake, changed it twice while I was putting the sand in and cleaning out the old gravel. Then I put a fresh one on when I was all done, tonight I think I will take it off and it will be all set.

I also had a good idea (I think anyway) when I was putting the sand in. The filter floss I bought came in a long strip about 8' long x 14" wide, so I cut a piece to be 4' long and 14" wide and laid it on the bottom before I put any sand in. So now below the sand is a layer of filter floss. I figured this would provide a great place for roots to attach to as I plan to eventually plant the tank. I also thought though would help to add a little cushion for the rocks and such that I put in after. It worked great, now I just hope it works for the plants too...any reason this would be a bad idea?

I took some pics I will post them right after this...they are on my cell phone so they are kinda crappy, but I think it came out great...

Let me know what you think...

 

[JayK1320]

Here are the pics!

 

[Tommydeal]

Looks like you completed the mission successfully! Good job. What kind of pleco is that? The only drawback I can think of with the filter floss on the bottom is that it may create anaerobic zones but it looks pretty thin so I don't think it will be a problem.

 

[JayK1320]

Looks like you completed the mission successfully! Good job. What kind of pleco is that? The only drawback I can think of with the filter floss on the bottom is that it may create anaerobic zones but it looks pretty thin so I don't think it will be a problem.

It is an L-83 Sailfin, or so I was told...cool little guy, grows pretty slow. Only Pleco I have ever seen that will try and get pellets, he gets on and starts sucking and ends up floating upside down all over the tank trying to hold onto the pellet, hilarious!

I was worried about the anaerobic zone as well, thats still my concern. I have heard of people using egg crate under sand for effectively the same reason I used the filter floss. It is maybe 1/2" thick when it was in the bag, so I am sure with all the weight of the sand on top it is squished a little more and I tried to keep the sand pretty thin as well. I don't think its more than 1" or 1.5" anywhere. Maybe if it gets built up in some spots, but overall it is pretty thin. I check a calculator online and it said to get 2" I would need 58lbs, I bought 50 lbs and of course you lose some to washing and what comes out when you carry the damn bag around haha. So it is under 2" for sure.

Anyone else have input on this?? It would be pretty easy to remove that is why I just went ahead and did it, but I want to be pretty rest assured that it wont create a problem...