# removing gravel and aing sand without removing the fish



## Ashtreelogger (Mar 8, 2012)

ok so all the youtube videos are pretty freakin useless since they love to just cut and skip the step instead of showing you what to do sooooooooo i thought you guys would like to help me


I have had my 55 gallon for i think 3 years now and i just want to change it up and not just the decorations but the terrain to i want get all that gravel out and replace it with sand just cause cleaning is a pain after awhile so i'm wondering how can you do that without removing the fish from the tank?

reason i ask is cause aside from my little 6 tetras that can fit in a 10 gallon and maybe the the 5 gallon while i remodel the tank my two dollars and one pleco are two big to throw in a 5-10 gallon and i can't really put them in a large bucket cause my cats can't keep their paws to themselves plus my fish like to jump if there is an open hood without my supervision.first day i brought home a the tetras the love tetra jumped right out of the bowl and on the floor before i could move him to the bigger tank and i had a mini heart attack.

and i don't wanna hear the fish can't live in this environment they need more space blah blah blah.that's not what i'm asking here.



my boys are fine,happy,and healthy little fish and little splashers too during feeding time.though im debating on adding two more dollars if i can find the size the other two are

also please don't ask what is the balance of everything the temperature,what i feed them,or what else you all might ask again that's not what i wanna hear

i want to know how to switch gravel to sand without removing your fish or if i have to what can i do about the big boys that i know are to big for small tanks when remodeling your tank without them going i'm freeeeee then becoming fish out of water?.


also is the sand even safe for my pleco who i an algea eater?


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## SirReal303 (Sep 30, 2013)

Number one, the sand will be fine for your fish. Number two, sand is harder to clean than gravel is because u can't put the end of your syphon directly to the sand. It'll collect all the waste on the top and if your suction isn't strong enough to pull all the poop out you will constantly have waste laying on top of the sand.

With that being said, you need to remove the fish and all the water to do this. Get a 20 gallon trash can from Home Depot, drain the tank into that, put the fish into that. Drain the rest of the water u want to save into buckets or whatever and then just get rid of the rest of the water (it's best to do this during a water change).

Once the fish are out and the tank is drained, scoop out all your old gravel and discard. If you're going with sand that isn't live/wet sand, wash the sand or it's gonna make your tank more hazey than a cypress hill concert. Once u have the sand in, fill her back up starting with the water u have recycled from draining.

Make sure your temperature is on point before u toss your fish back in, and make sure your filter has plenty of bio media/bacteria because you're gonna lose a TON of bacteria by removing all your old gravel. A way to supplement this is to leave a slight bit of your old gravel in the tank before putting the sand in as it will help bacteria transfer into the sand bed.


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## Ashtreelogger (Mar 8, 2012)

SirReal303 said:


> Number one, the sand will be fine for your fish. Number two, sand is harder to clean than gravel is because u can't put the end of your syphon directly to the sand. It'll collect all the waste on the top and if your suction isn't strong enough to pull all the poop out you will constantly have waste laying on top of the sand.
> 
> With that being said, you need to remove the fish and all the water to do this. Get a 20 gallon trash can from Home Depot, drain the tank into that, put the fish into that. Drain the rest of the water u want to save into buckets or whatever and then just get rid of the rest of the water (it's best to do this during a water change).
> 
> ...


what i i have that bacteria supplement stuff with that help i know i read something about dipping your filter in the water for good bacteria also i can throw them iin abucket but like i said they are leapers which mean they will jump out of the bucket


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## SirReal303 (Sep 30, 2013)

The supplement stuff will help you're just gonna lose a lot of bacteria that is colonizing in your substrate when u remove it. As long as u don't put your filters in tap water and just leave them as they are they will be fine, u just don't want them to dry out while you're doing all this stuff.

They have lids for 5 gallon buckets, and the trash cans at home depot. Just put lids on them. I've transferred predator fish like arowana and peacock bass that were over a foot long all the way to the local fish store without them getting out and arowana are notorious for being jumpers.


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