sand in aquarium

[Red_devil_man]

I have a 29 gallon with a juv red devil in it with blue gravel.I really want sand in it instead of gravel.Is there a way i could get the gravel out and have sand bedding poured in there without draining the tank.

 

[rallysman]

I did this in my 29, I just did half of the tank at a time.
best way is to start scooping


what kind of sand do you plan on using?

 

[Canadbis]

Yes but it is a very slow painful process. Basically what I did was pull all ornaments/rocks/plants out. use a very fine net(baby brine size mesh) and slowly scoop out all the gravel, leave the filters running as this will help clean the water that you just made messy. Besure to have your sand cleaned and rinsed very well BEFORE putting into aquarium. How I placed the sand in was by scooping it out of the bucket with an icecream container. Slowly submerse the container into the water and bring it all the way to the bottom before you pour the sand out, that way the sand has the least possible distance to fall before spreading out. try to do this as far from the filter inlet as possible. 29G shouldn't take to long, I did this to a 75G so it took all night.
GOOD LUCK
PS. this works well if the sand is still wet from the cleaning/rinse. you may find that the dry sand floats for a bit

 

[turdburgler]

Rinse the Hell out of the sand. It will still cloud the water for a few days. Make sure your filter doesn't pick it up, or by by filter. And buy the sand at home depot, not the pet store. it's about 1/10th the cost. White potting sand. After a while it's kind of a ***** to clean.

 

[Daniel Machado]

The method is well explained already... I'd use pool sand filter, not play sand or potting sand, but you decide. It's your tank and job.

Best regards.

Daniel.

 

[paOol]

basically, scoop all your gravel out with a net, the bigger the better.
i got my entire 50 gallon done in like 12 big scoops.
after that, rinse the sand real well, and drop it in slowly.

 

[HolyBull]

I took my gravel out with a net.

Sand looks nicer, but you can see al your crap.

 

[water_baby83]

Just make sure your sand is cleaned and ready to go before you start. You can use whatever you want to get the gravel out - your hands, a net, a scooper or whatever, lol, just get it out,lol. When you go to add the sand, the best thing (and the easiest way IMO) is to use a manual siphon to pour the sand down. Just remove the tubing, and use a regular funnel to pour sand into the tube. Use the angled "mouth" of the siphon to your advantage, and use it to postition the sand as it pours out. I do this all the time, and it is clean, fast, and super easy. Have fun! LOL

--EMI