Want to change my pea gravel to pool filter sand?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
T

TeeCeeTx

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 11, 2012
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Dallas Texas
I have a 125 gallon SA cichlid tank with one African convict amongst my SA's. I am wanting to replace the gravel u see with pool filter sand. Suggestions on how to take on this MIGHTY task?? You notice I have lots of rock and caves. BIG heavy stuff and plenty of wildlife. 1 Jag, 2 Honduran blue points, 1 jack Dempsey,1 Texas , 1 Jewel, 3 silver dollars, 1 red tailed shark, 1 convict, 1shovelnose catfish, and 1 pleco. Can I pull this off without removing my fish, or will I have to use a temporary tank to house them and some of my media and accessories? HELP!!TeeCeeTxIMG_1730.JPG

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I removed my gravel with a plastic dust pan and I dumped the gravel in a 5 gallon bucket. I switched to silica sand several years ago. I like it a lot better. It would much easier removing the fish, less stressful for you and your fish.
 
What I did was just use a siphon tube and just suck out a the gravel as you do water changes. I was able to knock out all the gravel in my 55g well under one water change so aslong as your careful not to take too much water out you'll be fine. It's super easy and relatively fast. I think it's a lot easier then a dust pan


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I was checking into this the other day. Most of what i read said to remove the fish. Some other things I learned:

1. There is bio in your gravel so keep as much of it in your system as you can, using nylons, until the sand catches up.

2. Make sure your bio media doesn't dry up during your project (dry bio = dead bio).

3. After you get the sand in there, cover it with plastic while you fill it back up with water so it doesn't stir up.


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I switched my 125 to pool filter sand. I used a large plastic pasta strainer to sift the old gravel when removing. I did not remove the fish. I only did half the tank, then did the other half the next day. I drained about 25% of the water before removing the old gravel. Rinse the sand first to avoid cloudiness. You will not be sorry you made the swap. Easy to clean. Looks natural.

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I made the switch just over a month ago and love it. All the fish "waste" collects in one spot from the current and I simply vacuume it out and stir the sand with my hand every couple weeks to keep the sand oxygenated. Very simple and the fish love it. They are always digging for food and moving it around where when the tank had gravel they never dug. The fish colors really came out too. Good luck!!


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sincebeen said:
I was checking into this the other day. Most of what i read said to remove the fish. Some other things I learned:

1. There is bio in your gravel so keep as much of it in your system as you can, using nylons, until the sand catches up.

2. Make sure your bio media doesn't dry up during your project (dry bio = dead bio).

3. After you get the sand in there, cover it with plastic while you fill it back up with water so it doesn't stir up.


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1. You can hang onto the gravel if you want, or just increase your water changes for a week or two to let the bio catch up.

2.True - keep the bio wet.

3.That will help, but also make sure you wash the sand really well. PFS can really cloud the water if you don't do a good job rinsing. I think the fish you have in there will do a good job of keeping the sand bed stirred, but like other have said stir it up a little w? your hands when your doing maintenance.

I think everything would go smoother if you removed the fish. You can keep them temporarily in a rubbermaid bin w/ heater and aeration.
 
Sounds good. I really am struggling with moving or not moving my fish. Just as stressful IMO to move them as it is to have that activity going on while they are there...Moving half one day and half another day seems pretty good idea. How did this affect them and for how long? Love hearing the positives u have experienced since the change!! Its what I'm looking for as well. I also plan to build my own two canister filters and installing them when I make the change. Right now I have a huge under gravel system using two power heads. Also a HOB Emperor 200.
 
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