Substrate Swap - ideas, suggestions?

[welchrock]

**As a background - I am transitioning from a super-low light fluorescent setup to a 1.7 watts-per-gallon setup. To improve the look of the tank and hold low-light plants, I have purchased some pool sand.**

I am planning on swapping out my pea-sized gravel for pool sand, and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions. Are there any tricks or is it just simply elbow grease and patience? I would hope I'm ok to do this with all the fish in the tank.

I plan on doing it in at least two stages, so as not to over-stress the fish.

Anyone who has done this or has expertise in this area, your assistance is appreciated!

(I have also read that my setup would not benefit from enriched substrate, such as Aquasoil/Eco-Complete...but dissenting opinions on this would be welcomed!)

[gil_ong]

don't do it all at once. you loose enough "good stuff" in the gravel to force your tank to cycle again. i found out the hard way.

[welchrock]

I think to be safe I'll do it over at least three different stages.

Thanks for that personal advice...sorry for any deaths you may have had!

[JustOneMore20]

I've done it all at once several times without issues.

But, if you want to be safe, do it like you said in 2 stages. Take half out and replace each time. You'll want to take out as much water as you can.

With 1.7wpg, you would have some stem plant options as well as other rooting plants, so having Eco Complete or Flourite would be beneficial, but its not necessary. You could even use Aquasoil IMO if you plan to have alot of stem plants. If it were me, I'd go with EC or Flourite over Aquasoil though, in low light, unless you want the pH lowering capabilities of AS.

Keep the filter media wet while you do the change. Doing half the tank at a time (or 1/3) shouldn't take too long though. You could put some of the gravel in a pantyhose/nylon if you wanted and leave it in for a couple weeks after you get done with the change to seed the new substrate.

If you are putting in light colored pool sand, I'll give you my advice......choose something else. Or put alot of plants in so you don't see much substrate. The light colored stuff shows poo and algae really bad. I have it in part of my 55g and I hate the stuff now. Just my experience, but if you are set on it, go for it.

[welchrock]

Hi Kristin, thanks for your input.

I actually have the pool sand from another project, so I'm not married to the idea of using it. I totally hear what you're saying when it comes to light-colored sand showing all the crap. However cost is a concern. For a 46G bowfront tank, how many pounds of "pro-quality" substrate would I need? Chances are I"ll go with EC or Flourite.

Happy 4th!

[sneasle]

I bought 75lbs of sand for my 55g tank, in a 15lbs black to 10lbs blue ratio and mixed the two. It came out rather well. This was the Estes Ultra reef sand sold in 5lb bags for $3.50 a bag at a LFS. I did not use all of the sand. I probably have about 10-12 lbs left.

assume a little over 1lb a gallon.

[JustOneMore20]

For Flourite or Eco Complete, I think 3-4 bags would be enough. I'd probably go with 4 of either just to be safe. If you want a thick layer (like 3" or so) you'll probably want to add another bag. A 2-2.5" layer should be fine though and should be achievable with 4 bags. You can always slope it and have like 1" in the front and try to get 2-2.5" in the back for taller plants.

[lohachata]

try this....call your local builders supply and ask if they have "coarse builders sand"..if they don't have it(but they should);ask if they know where you can get it.it is an excellent substrate for plants and is very affordable.for a 46 gallon bowfront i would suggest about 100 lbs or so.if you have a little left over;no biggie.
i know a lot of rich folks use all them special substrates;but i just ain't that rich..i have better things to put my hard earned money into..
now i do happen to have a friend that sells some awesome gravel that is on the finer side that is great for plants..and nice color too.not sure;but i think he gets 30-40 pounds of it in a flat rate box..so shipping is reasonable.it is called..."BBB" or "Baylees Better Bottom"...you can contact him at....bayleespapa@aol.com.....tell him i sent ya.
but the best gravel that i have ever used for a planted tank was stuff i got from the s****************s of lake erie.absolutely amazing stuff...

[Good Wolf]

I have pool sand in two of my tanks. The poo wasn't an issue until I got a clown pleco, and later some shrimp.

I ended up putting Black Tahitian Moon Sand in one of them and the mix is pretty cool. I'm actually getting rid of the other one.

It is difficult to vac sand so I would go with Kristin's suggestions and go with dark substrate or even a mix like I did. I also got some Malaysian Trumpet Snails to help ariate the sand and eat the left over food.

I haven't had any problems with my stem plants in the regular sand. I use Flourish Excel and Leaf Zone to fertilize my tanks.

You probably already know this but make sure to wash out the sand really well before using it. I just stuck it in a 5g bucket, stuck a hose in there, and kept stiring and dumping until the water was clear.

Here is a pic of the pool sand/black sand mix.

[welchrock]

Wow Chris thanks for the picture - looking good!

I think I'm gonna go with Eco-Complete. Yeah the price is high (about a dollar per pound plus shipping) but I'm kind of the "if-you're-gonna-do-it-right, just-do-it" type. I have hundreds of dollars invested into my tank already, what's another hundred right?

I appreciate all the input and non-traditional ideas. The coarse-builders sand is an especially intriguing idea. However if I go with that and then decide to change it out in a few months for Eco-Complete, I'm creating a lot of extra work for myself and putting a lot of strain on my fish.

Final question and it seems too obvious to not ask - what would be the pros/cons of getting some dirt from the bottom of a local pond?

Hope everyone had a fun holiday.

[JustOneMore20]

If you got dirt from a pond, I suggest boiling it to kill any critters that might be in it. You don't want to introduce anything into your tank that may be living in the pond and be harmful. Some people use mud/dirt but just boil it. I'm not sure it that affects any nutrients it might hold though.

[Scuba Kid]

An easier way to get through the mini-cycle is to change out your sand completely, all at once, but then put some of the old substrate in a nylon and just throw it in the tank. Really, I don't think you'd have much trouble if you just changed it out and were done with it, but if you want to be safe, that's an easy way to do it.

[BV77]

As I'm typing this, I'm still wiping sweat off my forehead from changing a 55 from gravel to sand. I kept the filters running in another tank while doing so. Later today, when the tank is up to temp, I'll add some of the fish. I'll lightly stock it for a couple weeks , then add all the rest. BTW , Kristin, the 55 I changed will be for the cobue, so I can get them out of the 33 long. They are too pretty of a fish to be on the bottom rack. lol

[welchrock]

Kristin - other than creating a lot of work and mess for myself, would using pond dirt present me with any problems?

Some of what I've read leads me to believe that with my light setup (1.7 wpg) that I wouldn't be able to take advantage of all the nutrients in Eco-Complete anyways, so using a less nutrient-rich alternative wouldn't have much of an impact on my plants. For the most part I'm just looking for something that provides more nutrients than gravel, while making my tank look more professional and holding my groundcover plants.

[Scuba Kid]

Originally Posted by welchrock

Kristin - other than creating a lot of work and mess for myself, would using pond dirt present me with any problems?

As Kristin said, if you don't clean the dirt well enough before putting it in your tank, there is a chance that you could be adding some organisms that could have negative affects on your tank. Like she said, if you boil it you shouldn't have a problem with that.

[welchrock]

With a decent direction thanks to everyone here, I think I'm gonna take a stab at saving myself $90 and digging around in a local pond this weekend!

If this goes fairly well, I'll likely supplement with some Eco-Complete down the road.

[Good Wolf]

You can get the pool filter sand dirt cheap at Home Depot or Loews. Pun intended.

That way you don't have to worry about any foreign stuff in it.