Changing Substrate

[Willyleigh]

When I bought my aquarium I was recommended sand as the substrate, however know I wish I'd gone for gravel as the sand makes the tank look much darker than gravel does.

I want to change the sand to gravel, would it be ok to just add gravel on top of the sand, I havn't got a very thick layer?

Or would it be better to change it completely and what would be the easiest way to change.

Thanks in advance!!

[cocoa_pleco]

You need max 1.5 inches substrate, but I dont see any harm in mixing them

[jweintraub]

I'd just lay gravel right on top of the sand since you said it's not a lot in there in the first place. You're going to have headaches trying to get it out and plus, there's benificial bacteria in the sand already, so if I were you, I'd rinse the new stuf and add it nice and slowly...

[Chrona]

Let a bag of the stuff sit in the tank for a while in a pantyhose or something to build up a bacteria population in it. When you add that gravel to your sand bed, it's going to kill all the bacteria in the bed because there will be no aeration, so to prevent any kind of spike, you need to culture some bacteria in at least part of the gravel that you are putting in. Or add the gravel to 1/3 to 1/2 of the tank at a time, allowing a week or so in between.

[xoolooxunny]

i agree with chrona. its called 'capping' when you just dump new substrate on top of an already established bed, and this is something you definitely want to avoid!

good thing you asked, i love this forum:1:

[kimmers318]

If your only reason for wanting to ditch the sand is the dark color consider removing half of the sand and swapping it for lighter colored sand. I use a mix of black and white in my tanks and love it, the black is REALLY dark by itself, and the white makes it way too bright in the tank, my half blind husband likes the bright look but it was like staring at a sunny beach, way too much. Now I have this streaky look throughout my sand that looks quite natural, is dark enough to set off the color of my fish and I love it.
If you prefer to go all gravel remove your sand by using the hose only from your vaccuum and place as much as you can in a bowl to sit in the tank for a couple of weeks, or as suggested, have the gravel sit in tank for a couple of weeks to culture. Once you get your siphon started on your gravel vac you can stop the siphon by placing your thumb over the end of the hose, while the vac is still under water you can remove the vac part and you will have a straight hose that should siphon the sand up for you. It might take some practice to get good at it, but it has worked well for me. This will also create a large water change which you can return some of the water if you want, or change it. I usually use this method for a couple of weeks removing a little each week until I am ready to do the rest all in one shot, then I remove the final amount (of course I am always going from gravel to sand, not the other way) and leave the old substrate in the tank for a couple of weeks. Check your water parameters every other day for a couple of weeks to make sure you don't get any spikes and all should be well.

[Lady Hobbs]

Sand will darker up when air pockets are trapped as well. You need to lift the sand up a bit now and then or run your gravel vac thru it when it's not siphoning. I've read it will clear back up that way.

I just switched to sand last night. LOL