i want to switch from gravel to sand in my aquarium?
by Aquaboy on Sunday, March 28th, 2010 | 7 Comments
i have a 20 gallon tank with one tiger oscar and i have gravel in the tank but i would like to change to sand what is the best way to to this and where could i buy sand i would like a lighter sand color thanks
Best way is to put your oscar in a smaller holding tank while you scoop out all the gravel. Marine stores almost always have a big variety of sand and colors but make sure you don’t buy a bag that has specific minerals for saltwater tanks.
you could buy playground or sand box sand
when you change it do half the tank at a time leaveing it eat up scoop out as much of the gravel as you can on one half
don’t worry if you don’t get it all out than replace with the sand
let tank be with half sand and half gravel for a couple of weeks then do the other half
this will help prevent problems from removing to much of the good bacteria at one time and prevent going thru a major recycle of your tank good luck
if you cheat and get the sand from a play ground make sure you boil it before putting it in the tank
you do have salt water fish right?
First you should go to your local pet store and find out which sand is right for you and your fish. Then, when you have your sand, put you fish into a bowl with water while you replace the gravel with sand. Then out your fish back in when your done.
The Oscar will need at least a 55 gallon tank soon.
You should go to your local pet store to get aquarium sand.
Never use play sand.
So you want to safely putting the fish in a temp tank, and how to change the gravel in the other one.
Ok, first have the temp tank up and going, cycling won’t be necessary if you just take the filter off the main tank (the one getting the sand) and run it in the temp tank. Now your fish will be in here for a few days so you should do small water changes daily to help remove the ammonia that will build up since you have so many fish it will build up faster then it did for me. Do like %10 water changes (daily).
Now putting sand in the other tank:
First you’ll need to remove the water, try saving as much clean water as you can. Then remove the gravel. Make sure that you have rinsed you sand very very well. No matter how many times you rinse the sand, the tank will be cloudy for a few days to a week until the sand settles. Put the sand in the tank, put a cup or bowl or pot in on the sand and pour your old, cleaner part, of the water you saved, in to whatever object you have on the sand. This will help to control the cloudiness that the sand will make. Let the tank sit for a day or so before adding the fish and filter back.
Then all you do is wait for the sand to settle and you’ll be good once again.
Just remember that your going to have to make move frequent water changes for about the first month until the beneficial bacteria start growing in your substrate again.
http://markspetfish.com/
First of all when it comes to sand, i’d recommend pool filter sand. It’s more dense than playground sand and will be much cheaper than the aquarium stores. It’s dense enough that you can still gravel filter it too.
Secondly, i hope this oscar is still fairly small, and you have plans to upgrade his tank size, because he won’t last long in such a pitifully sized tank.
To hold him while changing the substrate, siphon a portion of your aquarium water into a 5 gallon bucket with an airator in place. Then transfer the oscar and start switching out the substrates. I recommend not changing the filter media for about a week or two before doing so as to keep some beneficial bacteria and prevent having to cycle the tank again. You will probably have to let the sand settle overnight, so the heater should be transferred to the bucket as well. If you had a spare that would be better as to keep both the oscar and the tank at the proper temperature.