Gravel To sand

[revrange]

Thinking of going to a sand bottom. Read around and play sand from argos seems the weapon of choice. Some say coral sand but as i run a commuinty tank, i dont want the pH going up.

pool filter sand seems popular as well?

Anyone done a gravel to sand swap?

I read about putting soil under the sand?

I know i have to wash the sand well before placing it in, any other tips?

[Turn7]

I use playsand. You mat need.to raise the depth if your filter intake as it does get drawn into the filters.

I think pool filter sand is a bit heavier and less.likely to .

If you gave any corydoras they will love you for.it.

[therealpigdog]

All sand will need to be rinsed first, otherwise you will end up with cloudy water that will clog your filter.

I've used the following different types of sand, all successfully:

• Argos play sand (was a bit orangey/yellow for my liking)
• Coral sand (very white, and raised the pH a little, but not significantly - fairly expensive)
• River sand (get it from a builders' merchant - very cheap and natural looking although you may want to sieve out some of the larger particles)

Personally I only use river sand now for tanks with sandy bottoms as it looks more natural, but have moved to fine black gravel fairly recently when rescaping tanks as I think it shows the fish off a little better.

You can add soil/compost below the sand (I have that in two of my tanks), but unless you are going for a full on planted tank then it probably isn't worth it as it will cause more hassle than it is worth. The soil will need to be soaked (and ideally then baked before resoaking) then drained and added to the tank. Then add a layer of sand before planting and carefully refilling. Plus side of this method is that provides the tanks with plenty of nutrients and they absolutely thrive. The down sides are that it can get messy if you want to change your planting, or have fish that dig; and you can suffer from anaerobic bacteria more than with just sand itself (and not forgetting that the pH of the soil can affect the water). Google Walstead/Walsted method if you are interested.

[revrange]

Thanks for that, yes problems with soil and bateria is something no one else could give me an answer too, i think I'll go pure sand, I have a lot of plecs (14!) and so I think they prefer a sandy bottom plus will dig any sand up.