changing rocks

I want to change the rocks in the bottom of the tank, but I'm afraid that doing so will upset the good balance in the tank. Also, when cleaning out a filter, am I supposed to clean out the spongy part of the filter? Someone told me that will upset the balance also. I have lots of fish and I want to change the rocks without having any die.

And another question, a woman gave me a HUGE pleco. He's about 8 inches long, maybe even bigger, and I have no algae in my tank, so will he get what he needs to eat just by nibbling at the scraps of food left from other fish, or is there something special I should just for him?


When I have done this I take out much of the water and the fish to a safe bucket. Change the gravel and get the sludge out if there if any. Put back the water and fish and let it all settle while you top off the tank.

A huge pleco likely is more of a scavenger than an algae eater anymore. I would feed him with a good algae and or catfish wafer that sinks.

When cleaning the filter the sponge is best rinsed/squeezed in water taken from the tank during your water change.

Assuming your filter is in good shape, the effect of changing the gravel and thus removing the good bacteria shouldn't hurt the tank. However the physical act of removing the gravel and stirring up the mulm could be irritating if the gravel isn't well maintained clean. Over the next few water changes vacuum the gravel well to minimize the disturbance when you change it out. Also be sure the replacement gravel is very well washed.

As for the pleco, algae wafers or vegetables such as zuccinni should be used to supplement it's diet. Also many pleco's do better if they have driftwood to nibble on.

Local classifieds and garage sales are often good for used tanks. Today I saw a 55 with stand for $50 (NJ). Ebay always has plenty as well, just check out a bunch and see if one is near you.

to change the gravel:

visually divide your tank into quarters. scoop the gravel from one quarter of your tank and fill that area with the new gravel. wait a week. remove another quarter of the old gravel and replace with the new gravel. wait another week. you get the idea. just remove a quarter of the old gravel at a time and replace. keep the quarters of new gravel sepperate from the old gravel so you don't get them mixed up.

as for the pleco, they like veggies and pellets. you can put some different veggies like romaine lettuce, zucchini, green beans, broccoli, cabbage, etc. in some old tank water and nuke them for about 30 seconds and your pleco will LOVE them. plus they will clean up stuff the other fish drop. you can also get sinking carnivore pellets for him and he will eat those too.

oh yeah. don't totally repalce your old filter sponge. just rinse it out in old tank water. when it looks like its starting to fall apart and just get really gross, then you replace it, but float the old cartridge in the tank for a few weeks to help transfer some of the bacteria to the new sponge so your tank doesn't cycle again.

Is this near you?

http://cgi.ebay.com/55-gallon-fish-tank_W0QQitemZ7747522229QQcategoryZ20755QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem