The Puffer Forum

At the moment I have gravel in my 125l tank, is it possible to swap it to sand? (I think the GSP's and goby's would prefer it too) or is it too late to change it now?

What would be the implications of changing it and where would I start?

Yup, you can change it. I find it easier to remove them if there's only a couple of fish, putting them in a container of the tank water. But you can also do it with them in the tank. Expect it to kick up some muck though and get cloudy. When doing it with them in the tank, I remove using a net and replace using a cup.

IMO, I don't think they will prefer the sand--neither are burrowers. It is also more difficult to clean, IME.

Many thanks for your reply BM , I didn't think it would be that easy as I thought it may upset the water quality, what sand should I use?, I've been reading that play sand can be used, is this okay? or is it really messy..... ooooo so many choices... help

PP- you think I should stay with the gravel .... so hard to choose as I only want whats best for the puffers

I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't thinking--you need to change to crushed coral or aragonite sand for BW species. Duh...

I still prefer CC over sand--easier to clean with a Python/gravel cleaner. Sand must be thoroughly stirred before each weekly water change, then skimmed over by the syphon.

Actually, since your tank is only large enough for 1 adult GSP, you could just keep the gravel in there, until you upgrade to a larger tank & then put CC in there. I kept mine in gravel, till they were upgraded to their 55g high-end BW tank. I still think that tank wasn't large enough for them though...

Yup, I went from big ugly gravel to crushed coral in my GSP tank and was much happier with it. I wouldn't use play sand though, not going brackish.

The only time it should mess with the water parameters much is if the tank is newer. If its a well-established tank with a mature filter, it shouldn't be a problem. However, if you are also changing decor, as I did, I would only change one thing at a time - either the decor or the substrate. I swapped out the decor first, then waited a couple of months before swapping out the substrate. That allowed enough time for the bacteria to attach to the decor, I believe, and I had no adverse water parameter issues.

Pufferpunk wrote:Actually, since your tank is only large enough for 1 adult GSP, you could just keep the gravel in there, until you upgrade to a larger tank & then put CC in there.

Thanks for the info, Upgrading the tank would be great but it will have to wait for a while, hmmmm I wonder if I could sneak in a 400l whilst my better half is looking the other way

Gonna have to, eventually. Generally recommended after they are 2".

a_t, I also find maintaining sand far more difficult than gravel too. I recently changed over my coral sand mix to a crushed coral gravel and haven't looked back since. One of two best equipment buys I've ever made since keeping fish (the other being my trusty siphon bulb for pwcs).

Thought I would tack a question on here instead of starting a new topic on the same subject.

I'm in the process of upgrading my tank and can't decide on gravel(best color for the gsp?) or crushed coral. Is the crushed coral only beneficial if you have an under gravel filter?

CC is best for BW fish, to keep the pH steady, around 8.

It's a good substrate in general. Helps buffer pH (although your marine salt should do that too/anyway), looks great, easy like gravel to maintain/clean, and also has an added bonus of assisting with the development of biological filtration (I've read that the porous/pitted nature of crushed coral gravel provides a good surface for beneficial bacteria).

Thanks for the quick response. I was just curious because I was told at the lfs that it only helps with the ph if it is used with the under gravel filter (which I do not have)

Your LFS clerks are morons then.

While crushed coral or coral sand work well for buffering pH up to a point, it is very, very easy to overestimate this. I have heard many times about aquaria that gradually lose pH after five or six years of use. Presumably, the sand or coral gets covered with a microbial film, isolating the grains from the water (think of the crispy shell around a chocolate M&M).

So while using coral sand is well worth it in a high-end brackish water tank, it is good not to rely on it completely, and certainly not to take it for granted. Schedule a deep clean every couple of years, perhaps replacing a portion with new material as well.

Cheers, Neale