How to change substrate safely?

[acnuno25]

Hello, new here and sooo happy to have found this forum! I have a 46 bow with 6 discus, currently I have black gravel, driftwood and heavily planted. I want to switch to sand - I am reading that pool filter sand is probably best, but what is the step-by-step safest way to switch the substrate out? Also, when I first started my tank I used caribsea white sand it discolored black (I had angels in it then)...will this happen again with pool filter sand??

[Cooldadddyfunk286]

Welcome to Simply my friend,

this is all just an educated guess on my behalf, but I would say take out all the discus first. put them in a bucket or something. then probably dig up the plants carefully and set them in a bucket of tank water...drain the tank as low as you can then scoop out all the gravel handful at a time. then siphon out all the rest of the then mucky water. add ur sand, add ur water, add ur discus??

I'd wait for some more replies, but thats how I would do it. altho I have NO exp. with plants. however, back when I first started this hobby I had a 40 gal. tank with a ton of gravel, fake plants, fake wood, 2 discus, 8 tetras, 2 coris...and thats how I went about changing to a bare bottom tank. worked fine for me.

I think the main and most important thing is to make sure you remove the fish BEFORE you dig up ur gravel...when u dig up the gravel its going to release alot of poisonous waste into the water. thats probably the only thing you have to "watch out" for.

and the sand turning black is probably from algae. Iv never used sand or gravel really, so I dont know for sure...but I THINK that if you turn over your sand regularly, it wont be so black? wait and see what advise the pros have to offer you. ;) you found the right place tho. this forum ROCKS. stick around. :D

good luck, take care.

[tcmemphisbbq]

Thats exactly how I did it when I went from gravel to sand -

If your gravel is shallow and well kept (vacuumed cpl times per week) then you can remove it slow it but it depends on how much silt/etc you have in yours - personally I think the bucket would be less stress then someones hand tearing the tank apart right in front of them :D

[mlw]

How I did it.
Two weeks before I decided I was going to do this I took three nylon bags and filled it with the new substrate and placed it in my tank with the fishies. I also started running my Magnum H.O.T. filter

Day off
I drained some of the water into two 15 gallon rubbermaid containers. 1 had the plants and driftwood, the other I put the fish in. The one with the fish I also hooked up the H.O.T. filter from the tank up to it and a heater. They were fine.

Removed the rest of the water.
Removed the old substrate to another rubbermaid container
Scrubbed the tank really well got rid of all the algae
Cleaned the filters with aquarium water
added new substrate, added the substrate from the nylon bags
added some RO water
Added driftwood, replanted plants
Added the aquarium water from the rubbermaid container that had the plants in it
Started filters
added fish back and rest of aquarium water

[nikond70s]

how i did it:

i used a short garden hosed as a powerful vacuum. make sure its powerful. then i just sucked out all the substrate. very easy and done cleanly without creating a mess. then i just add the cleaned sand in. and walla! its done. it was done in no time.

[Ardan]

I have sucked out the substrate a "little each wc". This helps to not disturb the biofilter. (some of the good bacteria live in the gravel and need to find a new place to live or you may have ammonia/nitrite spikes.)

hth
Ardan

[Elite Aquaria]

Looks like you have already gotten some good advise so all I can do here is Welcome you to Simply...:)