Changing Tank Decor, including Gravel

L

Lesmiz4

AC Members
Nov 1, 2005
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I was thinking that after the first of the year I'd like to change the look of my tank. I set it up before I really got "into" the hobby and I'd like to make it look more natural instead of what it looks like now. This would involve changing the gravel to a more neutral color instead of the blue that I have now.

I've read before that it's best to change the gravel a bit at a time so as not to mess up too much of the chemistry of the tank. I'm wondering a few things:

1. Has anyone here done this, and did you run into any problems?

2. What happens if when I remove the gravel all the gunk floats up into the water. Won't that hurt the fish?

3. Is doing this going to really stress out my fish?

Thanks, see my signature for tank info.
 
the gunk won't harm the fish . .. but I would give the gravel a nice siphoning before the change...


What you can do is put all the existing gravel in some kind of a net (pantyhose works fine), then add the new gravel in the tank. Keep the netted gravel in the tank for about a week so the good bacteria will eventually get into the new gravel, then just toss out the old.
 
most of the beneficial bacteria will reside in the filter.

you should not have any big issues unless the filter is cleaned.
but you could do as cheech suggested and place some gravel(old) in a stocking and hang it in the tank.
 
i would just do it all at once if possible. as said, most of your BB is in the filter, not your gravel. i believe its been "tested" before, and like 90% of the BB is in the filter, with gravel, decorations, etc taking up the other 10%
 
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