I am wondering, can the gravel be changed in an established tank if the bioload is light? I have an Eheim ECCO filter and an Emporer power filter on this tank so i should have enough bacteria colonized. Has anyone ever tried this? I would like to have a substrate that would help show off the fish instead of looking so washed out. Right now i have deep river pebble and it seems pretty drab. This is a 54 gal with 1 angelfish, 2 cory cats, and 3 blue rams. I will be adding more fish in a few weeks. My tank is cycled for months now, i just haven't found the right fish yet.
can the gravel be changed?
- Thread starter teresa33
- Start date
Yes it is possible and without any drastic problems. At most a short lived mini-cycle. I would recommend several intense gravel vacs in the days leading up to it, to minimize the cloudy water due to floating debri. Change about 1/5 to one fourth at a time, working from one side to the other.
If you decide to go on with it, just check your water parameters regularly to see if you would be having a mini-spike of some sort. Good luck 
I changed my gravel in my 55 gallon tank which has an undergravel filter..I put Bio Spira in after I changed the gravel..I was really scared that my good bacteria was gone..Well, the ammonia and nitrite showed up in the first few days..Then the tank was completly cycled on the fourth or fifth day..I might give credit to Bio Spira for doing that or that my undergravel filter had a lot of sludge/water (good bacteria?) under the plates..
I am sure glad that I changed my gravel thou..It used to be blue and the blue was coming off and it was looking white and blue..Then I changed to natural gravel..It looks a lot better..Sometimes changing gravel can make your tank look a lot better..I am glad I did..
I am sure glad that I changed my gravel thou..It used to be blue and the blue was coming off and it was looking white and blue..Then I changed to natural gravel..It looks a lot better..Sometimes changing gravel can make your tank look a lot better..I am glad I did..
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Remove fish. Add fish to bucket. Throw heavy blanket over bucket and place fish in safe, quiet place free of vibrations. Also add some cover into the bucket so those frightend fish can hide.
Drain tank and wash it out with a hose or whatever.
Thoroughly wash new gravel and add to bottom of tank.
Fill tank about an inch with water then get your filters sponge and squeeze it out. Get the water as dirty as you can =)
Once gravel is 'seeded' you can refill redecorate and add the fish once more.
Try to save 50% (or as much as you can) of your old water to add to the tank ...
Not for bacteria reasons but, I think, to lessen the stress of any possible PH swing.
I've changed the gravel on my tank using this method and I was highly successful. No mini-cycle and I only lost one cardinal from the stress (they are a frightful bunch) ...
Drain tank and wash it out with a hose or whatever.
Thoroughly wash new gravel and add to bottom of tank.
Fill tank about an inch with water then get your filters sponge and squeeze it out. Get the water as dirty as you can =)
Once gravel is 'seeded' you can refill redecorate and add the fish once more.
Try to save 50% (or as much as you can) of your old water to add to the tank ...
Not for bacteria reasons but, I think, to lessen the stress of any possible PH swing.
I've changed the gravel on my tank using this method and I was highly successful. No mini-cycle and I only lost one cardinal from the stress (they are a frightful bunch) ...
You can probably just siphon out the gravel if you have the right diameter hose.
If you have any spare filters sitting around you could put them all on the tank at a low flow rate to ease the transition.
I've tried the grey turface lately, and it works very well. I've gotten it for around $8 for a 50 lb bag, and that is more than enough to do your tank to a depth of a couple inches.
If you have any spare filters sitting around you could put them all on the tank at a low flow rate to ease the transition.
I've tried the grey turface lately, and it works very well. I've gotten it for around $8 for a 50 lb bag, and that is more than enough to do your tank to a depth of a couple inches.
if you want to be very sure, another option is to seed the new gravel... Put the new gravel in a net, or pantyhose.... Place it in the tank for a week or two, with the old gravel.. this will seed the new gravel with the beneficiall bacteria you need. Then make the swap, and you'll have nothing to worry about.