Sand or gravel? Help me out please

[da_squid]

No...

Just as there's helpful bacteria in your filter, it's in your substrate as well. If you remove all of your substrate at once, you risk an ammonia spike. The main reason I did half my tank, then waited a week, was so that this wouldn't happen - also, I ran out of sand.

You can buy sand online from aquarium stores, though it will usually be pricier than the hardware store stuff. If you buy it online, it will probably have specific properties that you may not want - i.e. raising the PH level - so you will need to research it.

With white sand, I'm told that some fish can fade in color, as they adapt to match the substrate for camoflage purposes. I've noticed a change in some of my fish, such as my red jewel cichlid who was dark and is now showing better colours as he's lightened to match the yellowy sand.

ok ok what if i leave some gravel at the bottom of the sand and throw the sand over it? will that have some what effect on the ammonia spike??
and ok is it like that with any substrate ie; black gravel blue gravel ect. as well as didfferent color sands

 

[pcfriedrich]

at home depot they carry 'quickrete' brand pool filter sand. that is what i used, its close to white, and only like $5 for a 50 lb bag. I didn't rinse as well as I should have, the dust in water settled within 12 hours or so. I put the fish back in as soon as I put the sand in and refilled the water. I figure its not any worse than a storm stirring up mud in the wild.

rinse, rinse, and rinse some more.

 

[pcfriedrich]

ok ok what if i leave some gravel at the bottom of the sand and throw the sand over it? will that have some what effect on the ammonia spike??
and ok is it like that with any substrate ie; black gravel blue gravel ect. as well as didfferent color sands

When I changed mine over to sand, I left maybe 5 lbs of old gravel in there. I Didn't measure for ammonia spikes, but none of my fish (in an overstocked 55) died.

 

[Richies^Ghost]

Actually I think that's worse - you won't be able to clean the gravel properly and anything in it will turn seriously nasty, as the sand will cut off its oxygen supply. Then when the sand is moved around, it will sink between the gravel until its at the bottom, as nasty looking gravel is at the top.

It's not like you're going to have a huge ammonia spike if you remove the gravel all at once - chances are your filter will be able to handle it, depending on how large your fish are and how large your filter is. It's just that the new sand won't have any beneficial bacteria in it (especially if you wash it) and it will take a week or so to develop properly in your established thank.

The way I did it was remove the gravel from the left half of my tank, put in the sand, then wait that week for the bacteria to develop. That way, I could then do the right hand side. In doing it like this, I think I reduced some of the strain on my tank by spreading it out over time.

 

[da_squid]

When I changed mine over to sand, I left maybe 5 lbs of old gravel in there. I Didn't measure for ammonia spikes, but none of my fish (in an overstocked 55) died.

cool i think my tank is over stocked im not too sure. but im cycling about 150gph and my water is pretty clear. ill leave some of the gravel as well as the cartirges in the tank and filter. is there a specific grain i need so they wont destroy my filters/pumps or make dust as soon as the fish swim by and stuff

 

[Richies^Ghost]

I put rock caves beneath my filter inlets so that fish wouldn't stir the sand up nearby, sucking it into the inlet - the most i've seen the sand thrown so far has been four inches by a catfish who was burrowing, but that's across the tank and not up it.

 

[da_squid]

Actually I think that's worse - you won't be able to clean the gravel properly and anything in it will turn seriously nasty, as the sand will cut off its oxygen supply. Then when the sand is moved around, it will sink between the gravel until its at the bottom, as nasty looking gravel is at the top.

It's not like you're going to have a huge ammonia spike if you remove the gravel all at once - chances are your filter will be able to handle it, depending on how large your fish are and how large your filter is. It's just that the new sand won't have any beneficial bacteria in it (especially if you wash it) and it will take a week or so to develop properly in your established thank.

The way I did it was remove the gravel from the left half of my tank, put in the sand, then wait that week for the bacteria to develop. That way, I could then do the right hand side. In doing it like this, I think I reduced some of the strain on my tank by spreading it out over time.

ok well i have a filter for a 100g and another for a 50g both on different sides on the tank. but i do see what your saying in the bacteria part.
my fish are still small well some of them that i have in a grow out tank for now. the rest in the 60g are about 5"

 

[pcfriedrich]

the pool filter sand is pretty heavy. it doesn't get stirred up (the dust does, though. rinse, rinse rinse). my fish dig in it, but when they do, you can see the individual grains of sand quickly fall straight down. its the dust you need to worry about.

You said you have HOB filters. I took mine apart and cleaned the impeller after it filtered all that dust. water changes stirred up dust for a while, too. no permanent damage to my filter, just a little extra maintenance (that needed to be done anyway).

When you think you have rinsed your sand enough, rinse it some more. When you think you have rinsed it too much, rinse it one more time.

you probably have plenty of filtration, shouldn't have to worry about a bb shortage in your tank. one thing you could do, though (I've heard this here on MFK) is put some of your old gravel in a nylon stocking and using that in your tank to seed your sand with bacteria. probably not necessary, but wouldn't hurt.

 

[da_squid]

the pool filter sand is pretty heavy. it doesn't get stirred up (the dust does, though. rinse, rinse rinse). my fish dig in it, but when they do, you can see the individual grains of sand quickly fall straight down. its the dust you need to worry about.

You said you have HOB filters. I took mine apart and cleaned the impeller after it filtered all that dust. water changes stirred up dust for a while, too. no permanent damage to my filter, just a little extra maintenance (that needed to be done anyway).

When you think you have rinsed your sand enough, rinse it some more. When you think you have rinsed it too much, rinse it one more time.

you probably have plenty of filtration, shouldn't have to worry about a bb shortage in your tank. one thing you could do, though (I've heard this here on MFK) is put some of your old gravel in a nylon stocking and using that in your tank to seed your sand with bacteria. probably not necessary, but wouldn't hurt.

ok so as long as i wash out the imperller chamber and stuff right? and when i do a water change do i treat the sand like gravel and throw the syphon (sp) there and clean it as i would clean the gravel or what?

 

[pcfriedrich]

ok so as long as i wash out the imperller chamber and stuff right? and when i do a water change do i treat the sand like gravel and throw the syphon (sp) there and clean it as i would clean the gravel or what?

that's what I do. I've heard of people (I used to do it, too) just spot cleaning the poo and uneaten crumbs.

I have cichlids, though. they dig and move the sand. stuff gets burried. I let the siphon just start to puck up some sand, then shake the vacuum to let the heavy particles fall. dust, food and poop go up the tube. you gotta be careful, though. if you let it, the sand will clog your hose, which is a p.i.t.a. you will lose negligible amounts of sand to the vacuum, also.