# swapping out gravel for sand



## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

not looking forward to doing this but i have to i cant stand looking at the black and white gravel anymore. i did it in my old 25g and that was a pain, now its the 150g. i have 4 days off i hope it doesnt take that long....lol


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Nah, it'll only take you a few hours. Are you going to take the fish out first? If you do it's a no brainer. Take fish out, gravel vac the gravel to get mulm out and settle in bucket (learned this trick from Tom Barr) and then use a big hose to suck all the gravel out with the water and then lay down the mulm to seed the sand bed and fill with water and you're done.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> Nah, it'll only take you a few hours. Are you going to take the fish out first? If you do it's a no brainer. Take fish out, gravel vac the gravel to get mulm out and settle in bucket (learned this trick from Tom Barr) and then use a big hose to suck all the gravel out with the water and then lay down the mulm to seed the sand bed and fill with water and you're done.


Yep, that's a good way to do it. Much easier if the fish aren't in the way.


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> Nah, it'll only take you a few hours. Are you going to take the fish out first? If you do it's a no brainer. Take fish out, gravel vac the gravel to get mulm out and settle in bucket (learned this trick from Tom Barr) and then use a big hose to suck all the gravel out with the water and then lay down the mulm to seed the sand bed and fill with water and you're done.


sounds good ill give it a try tomorrow.


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

thanks for the idea


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

No problem, just passing on stuff I read that worked for other people.


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## Johnnyfishtanks (Apr 21, 2010)

jay_leask said:


> not looking forward to doing this but i have to i cant stand looking at the black and white gravel anymore. i did it in my old 25g and that was a pain, now its the 150g. i have 4 days off i hope it doesnt take that long....lol


im in the same boat. i wanna get rid of my crushed coral mixed with black gravel for something else im scared to use sand with my 2 xp4s


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Johnnyfishtanks said:


> im in the same boat. i wanna get rid of my crushed coral mixed with black gravel for something else im scared to use sand with my 2 xp4s


Sand doesn't affect canister filters, only HOB's, as the impellers are at the top of the canister and the sand goes to the bottom of the canister.


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

ok this is what i ended up getting Opta Minerals - Temisca Silica Sand wondering if its a good idea or not?


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

That's perfect. Smooth and even grains with low impurities. How much was it and where did you get it?


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

i got it from homehardware it was $14.99 for 50lbs bag, but my girlfriend works there so she gets everything at discount.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Wow, what a steal. I am sure you're going to love it.


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

yeah it time to get to work and get it in there


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

i hope 100lbs is enough


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

is it necessary to save the mulm or is that only for planted tanks so it can be taken up as nutrients?
ie when starting a new tank is it a good idea to put some mulm in the sand to seed it if its a non planted tank? wondering if i should when the time comes..

100lbs should be enough for a 150, might be a bit deep tbh


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

jay_leask said:


> i hope 100lbs is enough


I am using 45 lbs in my 100 gallon cube and it's more than enough, so 100 for a 140(?) should be plenty.



Mferko said:


> is it necessary to save the mulm or is that only for planted tanks so it can be taken up as nutrients?
> ie when starting a new tank is it a good idea to put some mulm in the sand to seed it if its a non planted tank? wondering if i should when the time comes..
> 
> 100lbs should be enough for a 150, might be a bit deep tbh


Yep, works for planted and unplanted. Just something I learned reading various threads on how Tom Barr likes to start his tanks. Makes sense to me so I use it. About the same as squeezing stuff out of the sponges from a seeded filter to a new one. Gives it that kick start, but in this, it's buried beneath the sand, so no mess.


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

trying to catch 23 clown loaches is not fun  haha


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Take out the decor and just suck the water/gravel out first and then when there's 3 inches of water, net them all out with 2 nets...one as a chaser and one as a catcher.


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

yeah thats what i ended up doing is taking most of the water out, now for the gravel


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

sand is in  now just to clear up the water a bit then put everything back in. not as bad as i thought it was going to be.


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

should i just fill it and let my filter clear it up?


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Fill it. If you're running a canister fire it up. If you're running hob, I'd wait, or your pumps are going to grind themselves to death.

Oh, and PICS!


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

i have a fx5


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

and my batteries are charging for pics :bigsmile:


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Hmmm...I'd wait as the pump for FX5 is on the bottom, unlike most canisters. Don't want to suck up sand.


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

i started thinking the same thing as soon as i turned it on, should i just let it settle first?


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

and there is so much foam on top not too sure what to do? i thought i did a good job sifting through it in the tote but i guess not.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

It's always like that for a few hours. Don't worry about it. I had a reverse blizzard with my white sand because of surface adsorption when I put in my white sand for one whole day, but the Eheim has the pump on top so I just ran my filter right through it.

You can always do a quick water change to get rid of the foam and floaties I guess.

Edit: You can also put a prefilter on the FX5?


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

A big water change will help it clear. I ran my canister to do it, but like Gary said, not if the motor is on the bottom.

I have 100 lbs of sand in my 90g tank and it is enough in my opinion.


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

foam is gone now i just skimmed the top with my python, should i keep doing water swaps till its clearer or do a couple and then the fx5?


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

If it's not sand floating in the water, I'd just run the FX5.


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

no there isnt ive check the water coming out of the python a bunch of times now and there is no sand in the glass i used.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Fire up that FX5 and you're good to go.


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

*teaser for now*

still cloudy


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## mdwflyer (Jan 11, 2011)

When I did it, Roger's advice was to rinse the sand about 2 gallons at a time in a 5 gallon bucket. That got rid of most of the foam, 100 lbs of rinsed sand later.... my 135 was cloudy for a few hours.


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

yeah mine is still cloudy now


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

not as bad though, but still i cant stand the sight of it


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

It'll clear up by morning. The FX5 isn't as good as others in filtering out fines unless you put it the polishing pads, but if you do that the filter clogs up fast, so just be patient.


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

this was last night








and today a little hazy but better








and one of my L91


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

heres a before with the gravel


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

nice pictures. Another day or 2 and it will be clear for you. Looks good.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Looks better with the sand...now where's the L239?


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

i bought leather couches instead


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

thanks guys for the help and comments


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

jay_leask said:


> i bought leather couches instead


Wow, those must be tiny leather couches.


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> Wow, those must be tiny leather couches.


nothing but the best for my plecos :bigsmile:


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

so is that the full 100 lbs in there? is that a 72x18" footprint?


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

yeah its 100lbs and yes it is 72"x18"


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## clintgv (May 6, 2010)

I recently updated my gravel to sand a few months ago. It took me no longer then a few hours but note mine was only a 45gallon. So yours will take a bit longer but it won't take most of your 4 days off


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

i think all said and done it was 4 or 5 hrs lots of call of duty black ops in between


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## clintgv (May 6, 2010)

haha oh. I kinda just skipped to the last page after reading the first page hehe


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## jay_leask (Apr 22, 2010)

clintgv said:


> haha oh. I kinda just skipped to the last page after reading the first page hehe


haha i tend to do that too sometimes :bigsmile:


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## mikechelsie (Nov 19, 2010)

i use fine black sand in my 72 and i use a 405 canister and i have no issues


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