# HELP!!! NEED ADVICE



## DMONEY09 (Oct 27, 2008)

im switching from gravel 2 sand i need to kno how to go about doing that do i take half the water out my tank and just drop sand in and then fill tank back up or do i take all the water out put fish in big bucket put sand in then refill the whole tank .......... plz help


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## RedneckR0nin (Nov 5, 2008)

Scoop the gravel out as effective as you can. If you have no plants in your tank this should be rather easy with a measuring cup or Ice cream bucket. If using a scoop drill or poke several holes in it and once you have made a pass let it sit above water level and drain the excess water out. Once you have removed all or most of the gravel you are ready for the sand. Get a strainer with small holes if possible and a cooking pot. Fill the strainer as much as possible and place on top of the pot. Rinse down the sand for a good 30-45 seconds to clean off dust and debris. this will make it clumpy and more of a solid mass. Put the strainer into your tank and slowly pour in onto the base of your tank at about 6 inches off the tank floor. If done at a relaxed pace it will settle where you want it and make clouding of your tank as little as possible. I have done this a couple times with fish still in the tank and have suffered no losses and little to no stress to the fish. The problem with changing the substrate and the water as well is cycling issues and a typical level spike. This way your levels and fish need no assimilation and with some patience works just as well as draining IMO.


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## DMONEY09 (Oct 27, 2008)

RedneckR0nin said:


> Scoop the gravel out as effective as you can. If you have no plants in your tank this should be rather easy with a measuring cup or Ice cream bucket. If using a scoop drill or poke several holes in it and once you have made a pass let it sit above water level and drain the excess water out. Once you have removed all or most of the gravel you are ready for the sand. Get a strainer with small holes if possible and a cooking pot. Fill the strainer as much as possible and place on top of the pot. Rinse down the sand for a good 30-45 seconds to clean off dust and debris. this will make it clumpy and more of a solid mass. Put the strainer into your tank and slowly pour in onto the base of your tank at about 6 inches off the tank floor. If done at a relaxed pace it will settle where you want it and make clouding of your tank as little as possible. I have done this a couple times with fish still in the tank and have suffered no losses and little to no stress to the fish. The problem with changing the substrate and the water as well is cycling issues and a typical level spike. This way your levels and fish need no assimilation and with some patience works just as well as draining IMO.


thanks man ill try my best to not cloud it too bad


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## RedneckR0nin (Nov 5, 2008)

That's why soaking it a bit helps out alot and if over a pot you catch what little bit of sand leaks through. I forgot to mention make sure you turn of your filter and powerheads as well so there is little to no circulation for the first stages. It should work out fine and I have found sand to cloud less than other substrate by a fair bit. Good luck man.


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

Unless you empty out the tank completely you are asking for a cloudy mess that lasts a while and may even wind up damaging a power head, power filter, or both. Just put the fish in a cooler filled with tank water, empty completely, scoop out the gravel, clean the sand in a bucket, empty sand into tank, refill slowly with the hose running down the side of the glass. Once temperature and all the gas bubbles are dissipated just acclimate the fish as if it was a new purchase. Dont forget the water conditioner if you need it.


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## Sheppard (Jul 8, 2004)

I'm about to do the same on my 120g next week. The thing to be most concerned with is not washing the sand enough. If it gets into your filters then you're looking at a very nasty and lengthy cleanup, and you possibly be looking at some damage.

It's best to remove all the gravel first. Then rinse the hell out of your sand as much as you can. 
When I did it last time I dumped all my rinsed sand into the tank and left my filters off for afew hours. When I turned them back on the tank looked like it had sand in it for years.


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## Rough996 (Oct 3, 2006)

ironically, as much as I love the look of my black sand, I'm considering going the opposite direction and replacing the sand with black gravel. My fish is so big that when he gets upset and gets to flapping his fins around, he stirs up terrible sand clouds and has no problem putting sand all over my decor and into my filters. The filter noise alone is unsettling.

Anyway, Dr. G is right. You'll have a cloudy mess any way you do it if there's water still in the tank. I was able to swap out white sand with black sand and left my P's in the tank, but it was a touchy situation... feared for their lives.

*Is there anybody that's using a combination of sand and gravel?* Are there any foreseeable issues with that setup? Ideally, I'd like to add heavier black gravel into the sand, to help keep the turbulance affect on the sand (from both powerheads and fins) to a minimum. Any feedback is appreciated.


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## His Majesty (Apr 5, 2005)

while putting the sand in it might be an idea to turn all the filters off while you are doing it to minimise the sand granuls clogging up the filters.
as long as you do it nice and slowly and systematiclly all should go well.
the fish should be fine, just don't spook them too much. calm movements is the key

good luck


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## DMONEY09 (Oct 27, 2008)

ok i added sand best i coukld fish r ok and the tank is cloudy as heck but i can wait til it settle i turned filters off for good amount of hours over night turned em on this morning and hopefully i start to see a clearer tank by sunday


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

DAVID09 said:


> ok i added sand best i coukld fish r ok and the tank is cloudy as heck but i can wait til it settle i turned filters off for good amount of hours over night turned em on this morning and hopefully i start to see a clearer tank by sunday


Depends how you did it. First time I ever used sand I was a dumbass and just dumped the sh*t into the tank filled with water thinking it will settle quickly.







Took about a month. The way i described in the other post wasnt cloudy for no more than a day.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

when i changed my 125 to sand, i removed the fish into buckets with an airstone (or even filter- another aquaroum would be good too) then sunk a bucket and filled it with gravel. I would remove and drain the bucket when it was full then remove it from the tank. For the sand, you should was it as good as you can first then add it. I didnt drop the water level at all, but i did a good waterchange after. I turned the filters off when i was dumping it in, but i turned them back on when the sand was across the bottom. I added the fish back in about 30 mins when it was beginning to look clearer. Letting it clear longer would be better, but i had adult reds in multiple 5 gal buckets so i didnt want them in there to long.

when i changed my 125 to sand, i removed the fish into buckets with an airstone (or even filter- another aquaroum would be good too) then sunk a bucket and filled it with gravel. I would remove and drain the bucket when it was full then remove it from the tank. For the sand, you should was it as good as you can first then add it. I didnt drop the water level at all, but i did a good waterchange after. I turned the filters off when i was dumping it in, but i turned them back on when the sand was across the bottom. I added the fish back in about 30 mins when it was beginning to look clearer. Letting it clear longer would be better, but i had adult reds in multiple 5 gal buckets so i didnt want them in there to long.


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## DMONEY09 (Oct 27, 2008)

well tank came out clear after couple days didnt take long fish are doing great so im happy will post some pics up soon as i finish the docoration n things


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## gtc (Nov 5, 2008)

Good to know man!!! Good job..


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