I would have been terrified to try that on a tank with that many fish, but your process was well thought out, and you took pretty much every precaution you could. The results definitely speak for themselves!!
best video I’ve found for this!! I’m in pretty much the exact same situation, bought a fully equipped tank and want to change from river rock to sand, and also don’t really have the option to move the fish elsewhere. Thank you so much for posting!
Finally someone who shows what sand they use. I’m definitely switching my aragonite coral for this sand. Been wanting too but count find this sand. I always see it. Thank you. Beautiful fish and tank btw.
Beautiful fish and tank set up. I'm preparing to replace my substrate and completely change my setup in my 220 gal so i appreciate your video. Thanks for sharing.
Be very careful changing substrate with fish in due to the sudden change in water chemistry gravel to sand can cause a change in PH and water hardness that can really give fish a hard time but great content thanks for the video
Well thought out before proceeding. I want to replace gravel in my 180 gallon with sand and keep the fish in the aquarium during the process. Thanks for providing this informative video. Your filtration consists of two sponge filters and a sump? More cost effective than two canister filters and a sump which filters my 180. 👍
This is such a good idea. I have a lot of plants and dragon stone in the tank. But the old bonsai gravel food ? Must be worn out. And the gravel I put on top is too big in diameter I find. I am really going to attempt this. The one time I tried to before I put the fish in buckets. But that to me felt personally worse then this. Stress level of the fish and all. Thanks. Going to attempt this soon 🎉
Didn't you lose all the bacteria in the old gravel? I think it is a good process, I'm just wondering about the bacteria. I am getting ready to switch tanks and put in new substrate, so this helps.
Beautiful tank dude. I've changed from gravel to other gravel in a 20 gal and recently took out 70lbs of gravel and replaced it with the exact same sand as yours with fish in the tank. Why didn't you put the sand in when your water level was low? you were putting the sand in while the tank was filling up? Just curious. As for my results, I'll know in a few hrs when I get home from work! I fast tracked my process though. I don't have a garden hose plus it's winter here now. I rinsed my sand in 2x 5 gal buckets in a large basin using a powerful faucet and used my hand to woosh around the sand a few times to rinse out the debris, then let the faucet run over it for 10-15 mins each per bucket. Was it enough? Will my water be cloudy when I get home? The suspense..is killen me!
Thank you. I wanted to get warm water back into the tank as quickly as possible to reduce the stress on the fish. Also, if the sand was going to cloud the water, I wanted it to have more water to dilute the cloudiness - again with the fish in mind. The sand was pretty clean, so if you are using the same stuff I'm sure you will be fine. Good luck!
I’m going to drain my20 gallon take out my fish and put them in a 10 gallon tank and then put in the soil I want under my substrate would be a mess if I left any water while working with the soil
That's what I was thinking!!! I've had a suggestion by someone called father fish on TH-cam to put 2" of sand on top of my gravel subtrate which will keep the beneficial bacteria in the tank. Ive got 20 kg of silver sand for my 90 litre tank which I'll do soon. He also does dirt and sand subtrate tanks creating natural tanks for the fish! Check him out he's really knowledgeable.
Did you have any issues with the beneficial bacteria? What type of chemicals did you add? (Ex: Seachem Pristine). I have been pondering on removing the gravel and using a sand substrate. After seeing your vid, has me rethinking it. I currently have a 75 gallon with 4 blue acara, 3 angels. I am thinking of getting rid of one angel to add smaller species of geo or 5 to 6 roseline sharks.
I know you aren't asking me but if you want to have a low-risk change then you should definitely add chemicals to the tank afterwards because this process does ruin the nitrogen cycle. Depending on the amount of cloudiness remaining when you finish filling the tank with water you might want to consider doing a second water change so the fish dont have to cope with long hours of stress from the cloudiness.
@swagbo - RL I ended up taking the fish out and put them in a tub. Vacuumed the gravel and the removed over 3/4 of the water. Of course, the sand was rinsed. After all the grave was removed. I added the demand slowly and refilled with most of the tank's original water and replanted and added the fish back. Surprised the water was clear and I did use a micron filter just in case. Thanks for the response. 👍
@@thomass2187 Thats great! Removing the fish beforehand is probably the best thing you can do in that scenario. I'd say you did the swap in the best way possible. Sure thing! Love to help whenever I can, wish I'd stumbled across this video sooner so I could help others. Take care! 😊
I got some aqua plants as a gift. Mine is a bare bottom tank. I don't have another tank to move the fish. I am afraid what would happen if i add substrate. Does it result in an ammonia spike? I got guppies and fries. Please advise.
@@ItsJustRenova Your saying soak his next substrate for a few weeks prior to getting the substrate in the bare bottom tank, right? BC idk how he diiid this without causing a little tiny Ammonia spike without like FritzymTurbo etc adding that as well but doesn't look like he's responded to anyone's comments
I just did this with a 20 gallon tank I just slowly removed the gravel over a couple of days the removed my plants which was easy Java ferns attached to drift wood and slowly reversed the process with “ aquarium “ sand I just had to clean the hob pre filter every day so far no floaters
I am thinking to change my substrate from sand to small rocks for my cichlids tank. It’s really hard to clean sand from siphon. What’s your recommendation guys? Thanks
I found this vedio just two days after what I did the exact same process..... Glad I am not alone..... My biggest hurdle switching to white sand is cleaning/extracting fish waste and left over food without sucking sand in the vacuum..... I am really worried my fish is still okay but....... Please help
Congrats on successful substrate change! When you vacuum with sand, it's different than gravel. I use the hose to swirl above the sand to create a mini tornado and lightly vacuum the surface. It takes practice. I found that I don't have as much waste deep in the substrate with sand as I did with gravel. Give it a try. Good luck!
I would have been terrified to try that on a tank with that many fish, but your process was well thought out, and you took pretty much every precaution you could. The results definitely speak for themselves!!
best video I’ve found for this!! I’m in pretty much the exact same situation, bought a fully equipped tank and want to change from river rock to sand, and also don’t really have the option to move the fish elsewhere. Thank you so much for posting!
Finally someone who shows what sand they use. I’m definitely switching my aragonite coral for this sand. Been wanting too but count find this sand. I always see it. Thank you. Beautiful fish and tank btw.
Beautiful fish and tank set up. I'm preparing to replace my substrate and completely change my setup in my 220 gal so i appreciate your video. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you!! Clear and concise
I really, really appreciate this video. It sure helped me a lot.
I'm so happy it helped you! I couldn't find any good videos when I wanted to learn how to do this properly, so I decided to make a video myself. =]
Be very careful changing substrate with fish in due to the sudden change in water chemistry gravel to sand can cause a change in PH and water hardness that can really give fish a hard time but great content thanks for the video
Beautiful job!!
Well thought out before proceeding. I want to replace gravel in my 180 gallon with sand and keep the fish in the aquarium during the process. Thanks for providing this informative video. Your filtration consists of two sponge filters and a sump? More cost effective than two canister filters and a sump which filters my 180. 👍
Really helpful video. 👌
Amazing video
This is such a good idea. I have a lot of plants and dragon stone in the tank. But the old bonsai gravel food ? Must be worn out. And the gravel I put on top is too big in diameter I find. I am really going to attempt this. The one time I tried to before I put the fish in buckets. But that to me felt personally worse then this. Stress level of the fish and all. Thanks. Going to attempt this soon 🎉
Would it still be the same to switch from sand to fluorite stratum?
Didn't you lose all the bacteria in the old gravel?
I think it is a good process, I'm just wondering about the bacteria.
I am getting ready to switch tanks and put in new substrate, so this helps.
Beautiful tank dude. I've changed from gravel to other gravel in a 20 gal and recently took out 70lbs of gravel and replaced it with the exact same sand as yours with fish in the tank. Why didn't you put the sand in when your water level was low? you were putting the sand in while the tank was filling up? Just curious. As for my results, I'll know in a few hrs when I get home from work! I fast tracked my process though. I don't have a garden hose plus it's winter here now. I rinsed my sand in 2x 5 gal buckets in a large basin using a powerful faucet and used my hand to woosh around the sand a few times to rinse out the debris, then let the faucet run over it for 10-15 mins each per bucket. Was it enough? Will my water be cloudy when I get home? The suspense..is killen me!
Thank you. I wanted to get warm water back into the tank as quickly as possible to reduce the stress on the fish. Also, if the sand was going to cloud the water, I wanted it to have more water to dilute the cloudiness - again with the fish in mind.
The sand was pretty clean, so if you are using the same stuff I'm sure you will be fine. Good luck!
Do you still need a filter in the tank or jist an aerator
I’m going to drain my20 gallon take out my fish and put them in a 10 gallon tank and then put in the soil I want under my substrate would be a mess if I left any water while working with the soil
What about all the beneficial bacteria on the previous substrate?
That's what I was thinking!!! I've had a suggestion by someone called father fish on TH-cam to put 2" of sand on top of my gravel subtrate which will keep the beneficial bacteria in the tank. Ive got 20 kg of silver sand for my 90 litre tank which I'll do soon. He also does dirt and sand subtrate tanks creating natural tanks for the fish! Check him out he's really knowledgeable.
Did you have any issues with the beneficial bacteria? What type of chemicals did you add? (Ex: Seachem Pristine). I have been pondering on removing the gravel and using a sand substrate. After seeing your vid, has me rethinking it. I currently have a 75 gallon with 4 blue acara, 3 angels. I am thinking of getting rid of one angel to add smaller species of geo or 5 to 6 roseline sharks.
I know you aren't asking me but if you want to have a low-risk change then you should definitely add chemicals to the tank afterwards because this process does ruin the nitrogen cycle. Depending on the amount of cloudiness remaining when you finish filling the tank with water you might want to consider doing a second water change so the fish dont have to cope with long hours of stress from the cloudiness.
@swagbo - RL I ended up taking the fish out and put them in a tub. Vacuumed the gravel and the removed over 3/4 of the water. Of course, the sand was rinsed. After all the grave was removed. I added the demand slowly and refilled with most of the tank's original water and replanted and added the fish back. Surprised the water was clear and I did use a micron filter just in case.
Thanks for the response. 👍
@@thomass2187 Thats great!
Removing the fish beforehand is probably the best thing you can do in that scenario. I'd say you did the swap in the best way possible. Sure thing! Love to help whenever I can, wish I'd stumbled across this video sooner so I could help others.
Take care! 😊
I got some aqua plants as a gift. Mine is a bare bottom tank. I don't have another tank to move the fish. I am afraid what would happen if i add substrate. Does it result in an ammonia spike? I got guppies and fries. Please advise.
Soak your substrate in water for a few weeks and do water changes to the substrate. Should keep ammonia spikes down!
@@ItsJustRenova Your saying soak his next substrate for a few weeks prior to getting the substrate in the bare bottom tank, right? BC idk how he diiid this without causing a little tiny Ammonia spike without like FritzymTurbo etc adding that as well but doesn't look like he's responded to anyone's comments
i plan on changing my gravel in my 55 because it is all different kinds vs all one so i plan on taking everyone out
I change my gravel fish in tank
I just did this with a 20 gallon tank I just slowly removed the gravel over a couple of days the removed my plants which was easy Java ferns attached to drift wood and slowly reversed the process with “ aquarium “ sand I just had to clean the hob pre filter every day so far no floaters
I am thinking to change my substrate from sand to small rocks for my cichlids tank. It’s really hard to clean sand from siphon. What’s your recommendation guys? Thanks
I found this vedio just two days after what I did the exact same process..... Glad I am not alone..... My biggest hurdle switching to white sand is cleaning/extracting fish waste and left over food without sucking sand in the vacuum..... I am really worried my fish is still okay but....... Please help
Congrats on successful substrate change! When you vacuum with sand, it's different than gravel. I use the hose to swirl above the sand to create a mini tornado and lightly vacuum the surface. It takes practice. I found that I don't have as much waste deep in the substrate with sand as I did with gravel. Give it a try. Good luck!
Needs live plants
Will this sand be okay for goldfish too?
yes.
The fish are very hardy to survive this.