changing gravel and keeping fish safe

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Mgamer20o0

Mgamer20o0

BobsTropicalPlants.com
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Jun 4, 2003
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i am about to change my gravel in my 100 gal tank. i have a empty 20 gal tank i was going to put the fish in. it might take some time maybe a day or two. will they be ok in there for that long? should i put some of the gravel in the 20 gal? i have small fish and not to many of them so they will be fine in the 20 gal. i was thinking about harmful build up in the tank.
 
It'd be best if you could change the gravel in an hour or two. I switched mine once, put my fish into a larger rubbermaid tub we have with water from the tank. Drained the tank into a few tubs, took the decorations out, gravel, but the new stuff in, re-arranged tank, filled half way, filled the rest with my old water. I have a lot of spare large containers though.

However the best thing if your going to take a fews days is to take some of your old gravel and put it in the 20 gallon, put your filter on the 20 gallon, and drain water from the 100 into the 20.
 
i have sand on the bottom and gravel on top. thats why i am thinking it might take some time. the new gravel i have washed off so i hope it doesnt take long to settel. i just finished filling up the 20 gal with tank water. i cant use the filter that is used for that tank. i have another 50 gal tank that has 2 hobs on it. should i take one of them off and put it on the 20? i am leaving about 50% or so of the water in the tank.
 
ok the fish seem to be fine in the 20 gal. taking the sand/gravel out made the water really cloudy. i put some more water in the tank and added the new gravel. i left the filter on last night to clear up the water. today it is still foggy. i put the rocks and pots back into the tank. i am not sure what to do now. two thoughts right now. fill it up and do another water change to help clear the water up or two just put the plants back in and just wait for it to clear up before putting the fish back in. i also have new found respect for platy fry. i thought i got all of them out of the tank. today i saw 2 of them in my tank. they have survived all of this.
 
It sounds like you got things taken care of, but make sure you test the water. It is possible that you had a bacterial die off if the filter was off for more than a few hours. It is also possible that the bacteria are fine. Just be extra vigilant.
 
i had one fish die in my holding tank. the rest of the fish are back in the tank. they seem to be doing good.

tank-07172006.jpg
 
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