After reading how many people really like sand over gravel im going to give it a shot. I am buying some playground sand from Home Depot. I says its washed and ready to go but should I wash it again? Is there any simple tools to remove pea size gravel i have in there now?

iv got both gravel and sand going on, like them both.

id def wash it again man, big time. u never know with play sand. if it was me id wash it as much as u would if u didnt know the sand origin.

in regards to yr gravel im not sure sorry

i recently changed to sand 2 weeks ago actualy and i removed the gravel from my tank without any trouble and quiet easy with a 1.5 inch syphon pipe its actualy the pipe from our easy up kids pool filter start the syphon and then just hoover it up
hope this helps

Yeah definitely wash, and wash...and then wash some more! haha!

You'll know why once you start doing it...lots of crap is still in the sand...all I did was pour some in a 5 gallon bucket and run a hose into the bucket and stir it around...the debri and dirt will get suspended in the water column and can either be poured off or allowed to overflow out of the bucket and the clean sand will be left behind.

I'm sure you'll love the sand man! I know i'm glad I decided to go for sand over gravel...love the stuff!

Can the sand be sucked up with the gravel vac?

James, The sand will have to be rinsed, and rinsed, and rinsed again.

As for removing the gravel. I always remove the fish first. And then just use the carpet shampooer to suck up the gravel.

If you are leaving the fish in the tank, Then I would use a net or small container.

Yeah if you put the vac in the sand it will get sucked up.

THe nice thing about sand though is the dirt and poo doesn't get embedded into the sand like it does with gravel so you don't really have to "dig" down into it while cleaning.

I found the best way to clean is to remove the larger vacuum tube and just use the hose itself and hover it a little bit above the sand just so it picks up the crap on the bottom but not the sand. It'll take a little practice to get it where you don't suck up a little of the sand but you'll get the hang of it quick...think i usually hover about 1/4" above the sand and I can get all the stuff sucked up without disturbing the sand at all.

Also every couple weeks i'll kind of poke around in the sand to disturb it a little (I use the end of one of my nets) to make sure no gas bubbles form under the sand. Since sand is so dense it can trap gas pockets over time so stirring through the sand a bit eliminates this.

To remove all the gravel what i would do is physically scoop out as much gravel as possible and then use a hose to suck out the last bits

Thanks for all the advice I have been draggin my feet. I have 150 lbs of play sand in my garage I just have to was it and put it in. =P

JamesS wrote:


if you just shove a gravel vac straight into the sand into the same way you would gravel than you are going to suck some sand up. You clean the sand in a different way you do gravel. Once you get a siphon going to hold the vac as close to the sand as you can without actually sucking any up, but still removing any bits of debris that will be sitting on top of the sand. You could also try pushing the vac at an angle rather than vertically, if you're careful you may find that the sand doesn't get sucked up.

It will take a little bit of practice but once you get the hang of it you'll find that you can clean the tank with sand a lot quicker than you can one that contains gravel

lets just say im yet to get that knack lol

It'll come, don't worry