# Grevel to Sand



## BurgerKing (Jul 1, 2008)

I'm thinking of replacing my blue gravel to sand but dont know how i'd go about doing this. I know how to rinse the sand and plan on doing that pretty soon but am lost when it comes to fish and gravel.

How do i do the switch?? Do the ffish stay in the tank while i switch?? How much sand do i need for a standard 75 gallon tank??

Any help is apprectiated, thanks


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## xalow (May 10, 2007)

When I switched my substrate to sand I submerged a plastic container that I had stabbed small holes into and then placed the substrate inside with all of the fish in there acting as if it was just another water change. The holes allowed for the gravel to drain out and allow the water to stay. If your gravel is very fine though it is possible to siphon it directly out which I accidentally do to a small extent all of the time.

There is a risk involved with leaving the fish in this tank if your substrate has a lot of waste inside of it which would be stirred up and sully the water, in which case it is better to remove the water and fish to another container then do the switch and put the fish and water back.

The amount of sand you need depends on how deep you want it, here is a link to the Cichlid-Forum calculator which will give you exact numbers: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/calculator.php

I was personally happy with my 55 gallon using only two 50lb bags which gave a satisfactorily deep substrate, though I don't have anything planted or any digging fish in the tank.


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## Hoosier Tank (May 8, 2007)

When I changed over, I drained about half the water out of the tank via a thourough gravel vacuuming then used a new kitty litter scoop to remove the gravel. I put the sand in by filling a large cup with damp sand then lowing it into the tank and it simply poured out nice and smooth. Rinse, rinse, rinse you sand. If you do this enough it will only cloud the water for about an hour.


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## natalie559 (Dec 6, 2007)

Although it is not always necessary, I find removing the fish while trying to completely change the substrate much, much easier than leaving them in the tank. Out of the tank they don't get in your way, you can clean better and I just find it much easier overall to put them to the side and not have to worry.

What I have done in the past was to

1) get a bucket/cooler big enough for the fish, 
2) drain the tank water into the bucket/cooler, 
3) net fish and put them into the holding bin, 
4) add an airstone to the holding bin for proper oxygen,
5) remember to keep any bio media wet,
5) finish draining tank water,
6) scoop out old substrate, (I hear an old milk carton, cut a large hole in the neck and hold with the handle, works good)
7) add new substrate + decor
8 ) add back in new water and some old tank water goaling for no more than 60% new water
9) add back fish and watch them enjoy the new setup

Good luck and remember to show us pictures!


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## iceblue (Apr 27, 2004)

Is it just gravel in the the tank or is it part an under gravel filter system?


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## BurgerKing (Jul 1, 2008)

no its just gravel, 3.5" (it'll take forever). I have a cannister filter for the tank. I want to remove all the fish, but they get so stressed out when i do.

I'll probably get a bigger net for this job. I use smaller ones now because the lava rock catches the net and tears them pretty quick.

I changed from gravel to sand in my 10g hospital tank to make sure i like it.

Thanks for the input and i'll post pics.


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## alexrex20 (Aug 26, 2005)

BurgerKing said:


> no its just gravel, 3.5" (it'll take forever). I have a cannister filter for the tank. I want to remove all the fish, but they get so stressed out when i do.


they'll get even more stressed out if you leave them in there as you remove all the decor, all the gravel, then add in a bunch of sand and more decor.


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## Hoosier Tank (May 8, 2007)

alexrex20 said:


> BurgerKing said:
> 
> 
> > no its just gravel, 3.5" (it'll take forever). I have a cannister filter for the tank. I want to remove all the fish, but they get so stressed out when i do.
> ...


I don't know about that, sometimes chasing them with a net can be pretty stressful, I have had to take breaks and let all involved calm down. :roll:


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## alexrex20 (Aug 26, 2005)

the OP's tank is 'only' a 75gal, which is much easier to chase fish around with a net, than a 180gal.

in the end, it all depends on how good we are at using a net.


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## hey_wood1981 (Apr 7, 2004)

a tank divider would come in handy.


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## iceblue (Apr 27, 2004)

When I did my change over I drained my 84g tank down to a couple of inches and removed all the decor (rocks). It was an easy way to catch the fish without overly stressing them. They were placed in a large beer cooler lined with a black plastic garbage bag. Just before placing the fish (aggressive Mbuna) I transferred the filters to the container along with some stress coat. I also covered the cooler to darken it up. Weather this helped or not I couldn't tell you but they did just fine for the 3 hours they were in their.

I also cleaned all my sand the day before and allowed it to come up to room temperature before doing the change over. Here's a thread of how I did it. http://mbunamadness.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=852
I did the change over a month period so my other filters could take over the bio-filtration that the gravel used to provide.


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