i want to switch from gravel to sand

[RiskEE]

whats the easy way to do this was thinking of doing this while i do a water change remove 50% water then the gravel then add sand then the water would that be ok thank you

 

[Wulfonce]

Take the gravel out first, then put in the sand, then do the water change. It'll be so cloudy once you start scooping gravel and adding the sand will make it 10x worse. Might as well do the water change at the end to help with the cloudiness.

 

[ShroomMastap]

agreed... it not even wait a day before you add the sand to let some of the debris clear before adding the sand... just make the judgement after the gravel is out....

 

[RiskEE]

thank you guys that makes sence any harm to the fish?

 

[Wulfonce]

thank you guys that makes sence any harm to the fish?

Now that I can't tell you. If you could relocate the fish to another tank for a few days that would be best. Also I have to add, don't run your filters while the water is cloudy. I made this mistake thinking it would help clear up the cloudiness... well it did, I also had to replace all the moving parts inside the filter because the sand dust acted like sand paper.

 

[RiskEE]

Now that I can't tell you. If you could relocate the fish to another tank for a few days that would be best. Also I have to add, don't run your filters while the water is cloudy. I made this mistake thinking it would help clear up the cloudiness... well it did, I also had to replace all the moving parts inside the filter because the sand dust acted like sand paper.

thanks for the tip

 

[fishmamma]

To scoop out the gravel, I've used on of my bigger nets.. or go buy a large pooper scooper and that would probably work well... you could syphon, I suppose, if you have a large enough hose... not really sure if syphoning will work, seems that the rock might be too heavy.

 

[EastBay]

You can also cut down on some of cloudiness when putting the sand in by getting a wide diameter PVC pipe as long as the tank is deep and then pour the sand down the pipe. The sand goes straight to the bottom. There is some cloudiness but not nearly as bad.

 

[brich999]

make sure you wash the sand well, depending on the type, you dont want it to get super cloudy and your fish to stress

 

[RiskEE]

To scoop out the gravel, I've used on of my bigger nets.. or go buy a large pooper scooper and that would probably work well... you could syphon, I suppose, if you have a large enough hose... not really sure if syphoning will work, seems that the rock might be too heavy.

ill give it a try