Changing substrate

[teach]

To add to fins post you dont have to worry about the murkyness it wont bother the fish.

[frank_zappa]

wow, mollie thanks for putting all the work into that post....it was extreeeemely helpful to me.

let me ask, is it possible to change the substrate without removing the fish from the tank, and only say, half the water, or is that just me being lazy? should i just suck it up and buy a new cooler so that i can do this the right way?

one other important question, will the fluorite dark be suitable for my cories? i also want live plants, so im not sure if sand is an option for me.

again, thanks for your post; it was just what i needed

[Puff of Green]

awesome thread, i have one question and i have searched for an answer to no avail. I just switched to silica sand, and the water is very murky, it has been almost 24 hours since the switch and it is getting better but not as fast as i thought. my questions are how long does it take the water to clear up and can i run my aqua tech 30-60 filter since the water is murky?

[bushwhacker]

puff of green you didnt rinse the sand enough...my last change took 2 hours cleaning 100 lbs of sand and less than an hour to set the tank back up lol but i was able to turn my filters on immediatly

[2xtheman]

Great post. Lots of info about substrate that I didn't know. I thought that sand in the tank would make the water cloudy and would also be impossible to clean, but I guess I was wrong!

As for my situation/question, I am going to upgrade my tank from 10g fw planted tank to 20g, so I need more substrate. I currently have a mix of different color gravel, sized from 1mm to 4mm.

Can I combine gravel, sand, and flourite for a mixed substrate?
I was originally planning on just gravel and flourite, but now I'm interested in getting some sand in there as well. Is that possible?

[gazharpham]

Thanks.
You have made my mind up about the substrate to use and filled me in on how to care for my fish (when i get em). i am getting a 5"tank given to me and i think its about 37 us gal, but i am swamped by the number of species to prepare to put inti it. i have 3 young children and they live watching this little tank with 3 goldfish in and i would like to make a happy active colourful community tank. please would anyone help me to select amount and type of fish. i am in no rush to get it up and running as i have to buy bit and bobs each week until i have the right items. any help would be very greatful.

Thank you, Gaz;)

[MrJim]

Just sayin', mud would even be a more natural substrate for many fish than sand...looking at underwater Amazon footage points that way...is this ever done?

[krystalsohun]

hello i have question about sand i used to have and oscar in a 55 gallon and i put sand in the bottom well he stirred it up so bad and often i went through 3 filters in a month. it was the fine grain sand. now i have a oscar a gt and a dempsey and would like to switch to sand will i have the same problem seeing as i still have a oscar?? and also any tips on floating plants that they can all nibble on?? I tried plants that are on the bottom and my old oscar thought they were great to push around the tank lol.

[Wild Turkey]

Get a bigger granule sand.

A lot of people use 3m colorquartz and the different grades are different sizes
I know S grade is pretty big, T is smaller I think.

[krystalsohun]

so a larger grade will not mess up my filter when my oscar goes digging? also i'm totally new to plants with sand can you put floaters in with sand and what type do you suggest?