How to switch from planted to sand?

[JenTN]

Okay, I give in, wave the white flag, I am going to switch from planted with eco-complete to a thin layer of sand with no plants. I want sand because I have rams and I don't think they would handle bb well. So I would much rather do it all at once, but will this cause a mini-cycle or complete re-cycle? Do I need to do it in stages? If so, how much do I remove and how often? It is a 55 gallon tank, I do wc daily, 75-90%. I have a tetra whisper ex for up to 70 gallon I think filter HOB. My discus seem to be growing well but I am just worried to death about the long term effects of growing out these juvies and babies in a planted tank. Thanks for any input!

[Chicago Discus]

I would go bare bottom IMO for a while you can start taking substrate out little by little every water change as to not disturbed the good bacteria. I have used a dust pan in the past, thats how I have done it. then wait a while and start adding your sand................

[JenTN]

Ok thanks. Do you think sand will be okay for growing them out? I may gift the rams to my daughter but wasnt plamming on it til christmas..tank in her room is supposed to be a reward for keeping her room clean. Im also toying with the idea of giving her my 55 so I can upgrade and keep all 10 discus lol. Stupid addictive hobby!

[Chicago Discus]

Ok thanks. Do you think sand will be okay for growing them out? I may gift the rams to my daughter but wasnt plamming on it til christmas..tank in her room is supposed to be a reward for keeping her room clean. Im also toying with the idea of giving her my 55 so I can upgrade and keep all 10 discus lol. Stupid addictive hobby!
IMO I really don't like sand its hard to keep clean and bacteria seems to collect in the bottom....I just paint the bottom of my tanks it keeps things much cleaner..i wish I could entice my son with fish but he would just laugh at me LOL

[JenTN]

IMO I really don't like sand its hard to keep clean and bacteria seems to collect in the bottom....I just paint the bottom of my tanks it keeps things much cleaner..i wish I could entice my son with fish but he would just laugh at me LOL

Haha..my son is 5 and wants to be a marine biologist- problem is he wants a SHARK tank in his room! OR a piranha! Don't have room for either. So, I'm researching "mini monsters" for him. I took my kids and my niece to my lfs and they had books on clearance, so they each got one..my daughter got a nice tropical fish book, niece got a goldfish book- my son got a piranha book- and makes me read it to him- it's so boring, the care of piranhas! He has so many shark books, I think I know everything there is to know about every kind of shark! I told him he could get a red tailed shark and showed them to him- he didn't buy it he said " do they have cartlidge?" lol. My daughter wants discus, of course!

[Chicago Discus]

Haha..my son is 5 and wants to be a marine biologist- problem is he wants a SHARK tank in his room! OR a piranha! Don't have room for either. So, I'm researching "mini monsters" for him. I took my kids and my niece to my lfs and they had books on clearance, so they each got one..my daughter got a nice tropical fish book, niece got a goldfish book- my son got a piranha book- and makes me read it to him- it's so boring, the care of piranhas! He has so many shark books, I think I know everything there is to know about every kind of shark! I told him he could get a red tailed shark and showed them to him- he didn't buy it he said " do they have cartlidge?" lol. My daughter wants discus, of course! thats adorable my son (11) has been around fish all his life and shows no interest in fish room he looks at it as work (funny). Now if they made a Discus game for XBOX where the discus shoot things then I think I would get him interested LOL......He and his friends call me the fish lady...go figure

[ZX10R]

I grew out all my fish in tanks with sand but now that I look back on it I hated every minute of it and would never do it again. I recently went BB in my 120 I just slowly sucked out some sand everytime I did a WC. After a few weeks it was all out now I just need to paint the bottom.

[Chicago Discus]

I grew out all my fish in tanks with sand but now that I look back on it I hated every minute of it and would never do it again. I recently went BB in my 120 I just slowly sucked out some sand everytime I did a WC. After a few weeks it was all out now I just need to paint the bottom.
that was my problem so i just painted the bottoms

[Chicago Discus]

this tank had sand and I took them out and put them in a forty overnight and painted the bottom
http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff509/snoopodus/IMG_0117-2.jpg

no sand after 24hours
http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff509/snoopodus/IMG_0023-1.jpg

[ZX10R]

Of course you never think about while you are growing out fish but BB is the way to go. Doing WC and tank maintenance it so much quicker now no more standing there for 30 minutes trying to clean the sand and make sure you get everything sucked up. What a pain!!!

[JenTN]

Hmm. I may block off a small "sand area" for the rams to dig in. I really love my bolivian rams, almost as much as personality as my discus. My big male (& 3 others but hes my fave) is over 2 yrs old, its gonna kill me when he goes.

[Chicago Discus]

It broke my heart when I lost my two rams (old age)...I still won't get more and its been a few months now

[JenTN]

I lost 2 from my angelfish that I used to have..when she started picking on the others thats when I decided she had to go! Theyve spawned a few times but their eggs have always been eaten overnight, I wish they would have a successful spawn but I guess it wont happen in a community tank.

[DiscusLoverJeff]

Jen, one thing you can do is what I did in my wilds tank. I had it BB because I was growing them out, but, they always hid; so I added just a thin layer of pool sand and now, they are always out, go figure? If you take out your Eco-Complete, as Josie mentioned you have to do it slowly because if you do to much, you can release an over abundance of ammonia, thats not good. Take out maybe a 1/8 at a time over a period of a week or 8 days while at the same time do a water change of about 30% to suck up some of the bad bacteria that you will release. After you have it all out, give it a few days maybe a week for everyone to get re-adjusted to the water quality. Test your water after a week going BB. Then do a 50% water change and add a thin layer of sand for the rams.

I tell you, for my wilds, the sand made a huge difference in their behavior.

[JenTN]

Jen, one thing you can do is what I did in my wilds tank. I had it BB because I was growing them out, but, they always hid; so I added just a thin layer of pool sand and now, they are always out, go figure? If you take out your Eco-Complete, as Josie mentioned you have to do it slowly because if you do to much, you can release an over abundance of ammonia, thats not good. Take out maybe a 1/8 at a time over a period of a week or 8 days while at the same time do a water change of about 30% to suck up some of the bad bacteria that you will release. After you have it all out, give it a few days maybe a week for everyone to get re-adjusted to the water quality. Test your water after a week going BB. Then do a 50% water change and add a thin layer of sand for the rams.

I tell you, for my wilds, the sand made a huge difference in their behavior.

Thanks..a very thin layer was what I was thinking of. I think (could b wrong) I may be a step ahead on the ammonia. I have a bn pleco that is always churning up the substrate (cant even keep stem.plants) & also have malaysian trumpet snails that came in on some plants.

[DiscusLoverJeff]

It depends on how thick your substrate is. Its whats on the very bottom of the substrate thats bad news for the tank. Baby steps grasshopper, Lol.

My planted tank has a 4" layer of Eco-Complete, so for me to switch, it would take about 2 weeks.

Good Luck!

[JenTN]

Lol..I have a hard time with baby steps :-p fishkeeping is a good hobby for me, it forces one to exercise patience! My eco complete is a good 3-4 inches so it will take a while.

[DiscusLoverJeff]

Don't destroy the Eco-Complete, someone may pay you good money for an established substrate!

[JenTN]

Hmm I doubt Id be motivated to store & sell..took out my first little bit tonight & dumped it in my flowerbed!

[TexasDiscus!!]

I to have Eco complete with some discus and have considered switching. But what would I do with all my plants?!? I only have a few discus in my 150g. For me I made the decision that it wasn't worth it. How long has your tank been setup before u decided to turn to sand.
I wonder if I will make the same decision some day? What Factors really made you change your mind?

[JenTN]

My tank has been set up for 2 1/2 years, added discus around a month ago. I just threw out the plants. Really, it was hard cleaning around the plants & btwn the daily wc's & constant substrate cleaning, my plants were turning brown..not willing to try to salvage plants at fish detriment. Btw after I removed plants, I almost passed out at the amount of stuff left in their place!

[TexasDiscus!!]

My tank has been set up for 2 1/2 years, added discus around a month ago. I just threw out the plants. Really, it was hard cleaning around the plants & btwn the daily wc's & constant substrate cleaning, my plants were turning brown..not willing to try to salvage plants at fish detriment. Btw after I removed plants, I almost passed out at the amount of stuff left in their place!

What do u mean by the amount of stuff left in there place? Like ammonia release? Or the nasty gravel?

[Maria Ashton]

I am thinking of doing the same moving from my planted substrate tank to a light layer of sand, this thread has been very informative. I take it, it is not a good idea to move the fish to a temporary tank for a couple of hours, remove plants and substrate, do a large WC and put the fish back? My substrate is JBL's Mando which absorbs, now worried about what it might release when removed.

[JenTN]

What do u mean by the amount of stuff left in there place? Like ammonia release? Or the nasty gravel?

Not ammonia, but gunk under the plants.