[Bpiche]

Currently i am not running sand with my Brevis in the tank. All of them have the large escargot shells, about 2.5" in diameter. Would they be able to move around and bury these larger shells (seem much larger then most of the ones i've seen on videos and such).

Currently have small/medium gravel. I was warned off of sand due to it being a pain to clean, but i figure i might as well try it. I'd also only put it in the areas that i have gravel. I've kept all of my rock areas bare, for ease of cleaning and blowing with my powerhead.

If i do add sand, should i remove the fish when i do it? Leave the filters off for a while, or just when adding? How many pounds for i'd say 1/4 to less then 1/2 of a 36x12 tank (33 gallon)

 

[shellies215]

When changing substrate it is best not to do it all at once. every day or two scoop out a cup of gravel and add a cup of sand. Wet the sand before you add it to reduce water cloudiness and get a sponge pre-filter for your filter intake, it will save your impeller in the long run. If done properly you and your fish will be happy you switched to sand, I have it in my brevis tank

 

[DJRansome]

My brevis did not dig and bury as much as some of the other shellies seem to.

 

[Bpiche]

Did they dig enough to make it worthwhile?

 

[Furcifer158]

Brevis will dig out just a tiny bit around the edge of the shell, mostly when spawning.

 

[SandBagger]

Had mine for about a month or so now and I guess mine are abnormal because they dig A LOT!

I have one that has decide against a shell altogether and has dug out a cave under a rock and clay pot! Some days ill leave for work and piles of sand that were there when I left will be flat and a new pile will be some where else when I get home. Mine love the sand and I, like you started with gravel then made the switch.

 

[Bpiche]

How many pounds should I need?

 

[jrf]

Mine dig and push the shells around a bit. Which is ironic since they hardly ever use them. They spend most of the time swimming around with the Cyps.

How many pounds should I need?

Just get a 50 lb bag of pool filter sand. It’s cheep, it’s clean, and it’s more than you’ll need for a 33 gallon.

 

[Bpiche]

Thanks guys, I think I'll start with sand really soon. My goldhead Comp was moving pretty big chunks of gravel today that had gotten into his favorite shell (seems all of my Rock Dwellers have a love for shells, my Marlieli keeps pushing out my Brevis of their shell), so should be entertaining with sand

 

[Bpiche]

When changing substrate it is best not to do it all at once. every day or two scoop out a cup of gravel and add a cup of sand. Wet the sand before you add it to reduce water cloudiness and get a sponge pre-filter for your filter intake, it will save your impeller in the long run. If done properly you and your fish will be happy you switched to sand, I have it in my brevis tankg]

If I wanted to do it in one big go, could I put the gravel in a mesh bag or ziploc with lots of holes and keep it in the tank for a while so I don't kill off the bacteria in one go?

 

[DJRansome]

Although you will lose some bacteria when removing your gravel, you still have lots in your filter media and on other tank surfaces. You should be OK removing it all at once.

If you have a spare tank you could toss the gravel in there until you confirm by testing the tank with the new sand for a week or two.

If you have any problems you could add back a bag of gravel.

 

[Bpiche]

If my two HOBs are 8+ inches off bottom, do i need to put a filter guard on them, or should i be ok?

 

[DJRansome]

During the change you will turn them off. After the change...that should be plenty high enough unless your sand floats around the tank constantly. I usually try for no more than 3" off the substrate.