Removing gravel, adding sand

Harpii

Harpii

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Hi all, we were wrongly advised by several people to use medium sized gravel in our tank, which i have discovered thanks to this site is the wrong type of substrate. I was curious to what type of sand I need to purchase and then how I go about cleaning it and adding it to the tank, and what container is best to place my axls in while making the change and how long do we need to wait before placing them back in the tank after the change? Any advise is much appreciated
 
Play or pool filter sand is fine. Make sure you don't get calci-sand, or anything made from coral or for marine tanks. Wash it by putting a little bit in a bucket and running water through it, stirring it until you feel like your arm will fall off, and then switching arms (this removes all the dust).

You can remove your axolotls and put them in a bucket or a tupperware for the duration. They can go back in when the water is mostly clear. A little dust won't hurt them.

The water may be cloudy for a couple of hours/days. This is entirely dependant on how strong your arms are in step 1.
 
Hi and thank you for you reply, should I remove any of the tank water or will the sand be fine to go straight in once cleaned?
 
Also I still have over half a bag or large river pebbles, (As seen in my pics) will it be fine to take the gravel out and use the rest of them and then add sand at a later stage?
 
Play sand from Argos is good, and less than £3 for 15kg! I used it after advice on here, and after washing as Kaysie says above the water didn't get very murky at all :happy:
 
Also, I'm new to this, so someone else can probably advise you better, but I think pebbles are fine as long as they are larger than their heads. Though they might not be good as a substrate as I can imagine that they would be hard to clean as axolotls are messy and I took out my bits of bogwood as I kept finding bits of bloodworms/poop etc stuck inside the wood that I couldn't suck out. Sand is definitely the way forward!
 
when it comes to your pebbles/stones or what not make sure they are much much larger than your axi's head, unless their full grown. You need to take into account growth!

and you can add them when ever youd like!

also i just bought my sand at the fish store, its more exspensive and no better than just buying filter sand or play sand!!!
 
Thank you for the advise :) I am going to be taking out the gravel and adding the rest of the pebbles, i will take out any that are small but they are generally quite large pebbles, definately bigger than thier heads, and we will buy some sand for them in the week an add it as i really dont want to put them in a situation where they could be harmed, they are so precious, even after only having them for day :)
 
I would be a bit dubious as it has gravel in the title, but I guess if you are going to wash it first you can check for small lumpy bits/stones. I got mine from here

Buy Children's Play Sand - 15kg Bag at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for Sand pits and sand.

after asking about a million people on here, this is what the majority of uk people seem to use. But as I pointed out, I am slightly neurotic about my axie! I think pretty much any sand is ok as long as there are no big grains.
 
I had a look at the argos sand, was worried about any metals inside it? and ive been put off the pets at home sand, it looks too sharp for my liking, I was thinking about riverbed sand, not sure if it would effect the ph level of the water, ive not found any information on it saying its bad for axolotls but its says its suitable for amphibians...
Exo Terra : Riverbed Sand / Aquatic Terrarium Substrate

Theres not many places that sells sand around here unfortuantely :/
 
Why take out gravel just to add substrate, to take that out a week later and add more? Your axolotls will be fine on a bare-bottom tank for a couple of days. Don't bother adding the other pebbles, unless you like the look of them on top of the sand.
 
Im taking the gravel out and adding a few more large stones and then adding the sand in, not taking anything out other than the small gravel, and hopefully will be buying the sand tomorrow so it all gets done in one day, Its a very large tank so just using the very large stone for decoration :) Is riverbank sand ok to use? Its a nice colour and says its fine for amphibians, it mentions salamanders but not axolotls? :/
 
It depends on the size of the grains. If they're fine to slightly coarse, it should be fine for adults.

Keep in mind that your axolotls are juveniles still, and will grow. Consider grain size for them at their size now, and as adults.
 
That will be fine. Just remember not to make too thick a layer.
 
I've ordered their sand, no where had it in stock today but am getting it tomorrow now along with some worms, what kind of depth does the sand new to be? a couple of cms?
 
Will i need to change the water in the tank or will it be fine to just add the sand into the tank after its been thoroughly cleaned? and should we add any water treatment to the sand before putting it in the tank?
 
2cm or so should be adequate. Your axolotls will rearrange as they see fit.

If you rinse adequately, you shouldn't have any problems with the water. Don't add any 'clear' chemicals. Just rinse a lot.
 
Ok brilliant, thank you again, we are looking forward to setting up the tank again for them, they seem to have settled really well and are eating well, hopefully this wont stress them too much, what is the best way to take them out of the tank? a net or a jug?
 
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