Member

Posts: 255
From:Courtenay, B.C, Canada!
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-28-2004 08:53 PM         

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after seeing so many nice tanks with sand in them i was wondering if i have to take the fish out when i add the sand in.. i was gonna mix the sand with my original substrate so i know i have to rinse it throughly and such but can i just sorta funnel it into the bottem so it dosnt kick up allot? will the fish be ok with some of the sand floating? also will it reck my filters if they suck up the merky ness when adding tha sand thats for everything!!

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From:Missouri
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-28-2004 09:17 PM         

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Personally, I wouldn't want to try it, but I have heard of a lot of people who did leave their fish in when switching to sand. You just have to vacuum the gravel REALLY well first. Then just scoop out the gravel and slowly pour in the new sand.

-Chelle

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From:Courtenay, B.C, Canada!
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-28-2004 09:37 PM         

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i want the original gravel in the tank cuz its a realy thin layer and i wanted to add a bout an 3/4 inch of sand. just wondering if the floaties from the sand will hurt the fish. also could i get a huge ruber made bin to put the fish in while i change to sand? just put the heater and stuff onto it?
oh and what about heating the water back up so i dont put the fish into shock when i add them back in?
thanks

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(>( < ')

early bird gets the worm! but the second mouse gets the chesse!

[This message has been edited by cichlids small Jaws (edited 02-28-2004).]

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From:Surrey, B.C., Canada
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 02-29-2004 01:02 PM         

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IMO, it's a bad idea. Changing the substrate will get rid of all that good bacteria that has been established. Maybe put the sand in a large rubbermaid container and cycle it for a bit then put it in.

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From:Missouri
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-29-2004 02:26 PM         

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Actually, a majority of the bacteria is in the filter media. So at the most, you will only see a mini cycle. I changed 3 of my tanks to sand after having them established with gravel and never had any problems.

When I did my 55 gallon, I put all the fish in buckets. The whole process only took about an hour so I didn't worry about heating or filtering their buckets. And when I refilled the tank, I just tried to get the temp as close to the water in the buckets as I could. And as long as you rinse the sand really good first, the majority of it should settle fairly quickly.

-Chelle

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From:Courtenay, B.C, Canada!
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-29-2004 04:06 PM         

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lol i dont want to remove my old supstrate just want to mix it with white or tan sand. is that bad or good?

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From:Missouri
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posted 02-29-2004 04:23 PM         

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That will be fine. But the sand will likely settle to the bottom so you'll probably end up with the gravel on top. The sand in my oscar tank ranges from really fine particles to 1/8" grains and a few days after vacuuming, all the fine particles settle to the bottom leaving the larger particles on top. It doesn't hurt anything, but if you're going for the smooth surface layer, it probably won't happen if you mix the two.

-Chelle

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From:Surrey, B.C., Canada
Registered: Oct 2003

posted 02-29-2004 05:08 PM         

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Oops! Good call on the filter media...Though in some cases the gravel is the media, like in an under gravel filter.

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From:Courtenay, B.C, Canada!
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-29-2004 07:02 PM         

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well i want the sand so i can put the plants in easyer. and for my convicts to dig in lol the male likes to dig out his pot. i thought a littel sand would increase his pleasure lol. and also it looke better for the side i also can just remove abit of my original substrate with is very fine crushed coral. i know increases PH but my ph is only 7.4. other tank the with-out the coral is 7.3.

[This message has been edited by cichlids small Jaws (edited 02-29-2004).]

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From:Courtenay, B.C, Canada!
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-29-2004 07:16 PM         

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lol so this is the plan.
1) get ruber made HUGe Tube. and sand
2) clean tube(no soap)
2.5) rinse sand
3)remove tank decorations
4)siphon water into rubermade container
5)add air pumps and some filtration to container and heater
5.5) move fish into my 20 galon(hospital tank and the rubermaid container
6)remove 60% of original substrate
7) add Rinsced sand
8)add decorations and water
9) get water to temperature
10 add the water from the tub(cuz still warm)
11) add fish
12) clean up all wet mess
dose this sound right?? i dont have a python to add warm water just a hose thats on the inside of the house(house extention it used to be out side) the water comes out freezing
so should i save as much water from the tank that will be warm in rubermade Tubs? these hold about 50galons

[This message has been edited by cichlids small Jaws (edited 02-29-2004).]

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From:Missouri
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-29-2004 10:51 PM         

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Sounds good. If you use purely cold water, it will take quite a while for the water to warm up, though. When I did my 55 gallon, I had access to the hot & cold faucets in the laundry room (for the washing machine so they're separate faucets). I filled the tank about 1/3 of the way up with cold, then switched the hose to the hot and filled it up another 1/3 of the way. Then I switched it back to the cold and added just enough to get the water to the right temperature.

But if you don't have access to hot water, then yes, save as much of the original tank water as possible. That way the're be less water to warm up so it should go a little quicker.

-Chelle

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From:Courtenay, B.C, Canada!
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 03-01-2004 12:59 AM         

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alright sounds like a rainie day project or when ever i get some money lol. if i get another heater how much will that incress heat up time? becuse i have 1 300w for my 80 would it be ok to have 2 300w heaters?
i would just get another of the 1 i already have witch has all the presets and is sumergable

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