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Hello everyone. I am in the process of changing my substrate from small gravel to sand. I have done a little bit already, but have much more to go. I was successful with 2lbs so far. I was wondering if anyone had any personal experiances with changing from gravel to sand. Thanks much.

I do I do!

Racso and I changed his 46g cichlid tank to sand a couple months ago. We took out the fish and decorations, siphoned the water, removed the gravel and added the sand. The water was cloudy for a few days and we attached his canister filter to work along with the filter always on the tank. I don't remember for sure, but I think he added a chemical made for declouding aquarium water (don't remember the name). We also put some of the gravel in nylon pantyhose in the tank so as not to lose the bacteria.

It was quite a chore but well worth it. Hope that helped and good luck

Thanks for the response. That is a good idea about the pantyhose. I've been told that changing all of it at one time would hurt the fish and the quality of the tank, so I only did about 1/4. That way the bacteria can go from the rest of the gravel to the sand in what I've been told takes about 3 days total. My tank is a little cloudy, but I'm not sold that its because of the sand (probobly my sponge, its been about 2 weeks since I cleaned it). Would anyone know how many times I should rinse the sand? I've done it already about 7 times to 6 pounds of sand. I think thats enough, I'm not real sure though.

Okay heres an update. I'm almost done with my gravel changeout. I added 2 pounds the 1 week ago. Then 6 pounds 3 days later and 10 pound last night. I've only got about 3 pounds left to go. Its looking really sharp now. I'm wondering if anyone has any precausions to take though.

Nope, no precautions. Just redecorate the tank as you see fit and be patient as the sand settles then enjoy

I recently (Thursday) changed the gravel in my 150 from very large gravel to a much smaller gravel. I changed it all and so far no problems. However, I run 2 AC500's and an Emperor 400 (bio-wheel) so I don't anticipate any problems from losing the bacteria. I removed half the water and didn't remove the fish. All went well though it was quite a chore. The tank is as tall as I am so I had to stand on a chair with the bucket propped on the corner of the tank. All in all it took me about 3 hours. It was very well worth it though...I'm much happier with the tank now.

Jason

I've figured out that sand is hard to keep from getting kicked up. My water is still a little cloudy, not sure what to do about that. I've turned my power head off, all its doing is kicking up the sand. And I'm also concerned about my fluval. The intake is 3" from the sand and I'd hate to clog it, that would be a pain. But I have paranoia about filteration of the bottom, cause thats where all the waste comes from. I'm learning, and its a pain, but something seems to be working. My fish are still happy and they were never moved from the tank.