Can this be done without removing the water and the fish? I'd really like it to be able to, because i want to add flourite and take out my old, cheap gravel. Am i still going to have to recycle the tank? How can i speed this process up? i was thinking plants, adding them in large #'s, getting a new light fixture, and adding CO2 to promote growth, will this speed up the process? I don't want my fish to have to live in buckets for too long.
Changing substrate
- Thread starter Jerm
- Start date
Ive done it once, but just with aquairum gravel. I didn't have to re-cycle the tank. For about a month, I would vacum and take off more and more of the substrate until I took everything out. I went slowly because I was worried that there might be a lot of detritus deep under, and I didn't want to release it all at once. Then I simply cleaned and rinsed the other gravel a lot before addnig it. I think most of bacteria should be in the filter, so even if there is a bit of a spike, and shouldn't last long if your filter is established.
The problem now is wih fluorite. It's really messy at first! I suggest you rinse it, then rinse it again, and maybe a third time if you can! I'd suggest adding a bit at first so that if it does cloud everything up, then you can rnise the rest some more.
Hope this helps!
The problem now is wih fluorite. It's really messy at first! I suggest you rinse it, then rinse it again, and maybe a third time if you can! I'd suggest adding a bit at first so that if it does cloud everything up, then you can rnise the rest some more.
Hope this helps!
'Can this be done without removing the water and the fish?'
In a word, no. At least not easily or effectively.
Rinse the Flourite outside and have it ready.
Put your fish in a bucket. Siphon off 30 - 50% of the water (if possible) into another bucket. Then siphon off the rest of the water, down to the substrate.
Pull all the substrate and now you are left with about 1 - 1.5" of black, gunky water in the bottom of the empty tank.
Hopefully you have enough Flourite for a depth of 3" or 4" (slope from 1.5"-front; to 3" - 4"-back).
Dump in the flourite right over top of the gunk. It will cover it and your bio-colony is left in tact(no need to recycle). Lay a bowl on the flourite you just put in and 'leveled' out. Re-fill by pouring your saved tank water into the bowl and letting it SLOWLY fill the bowl and then gently overflow the bowl and fill the tank.
Leave the bowl in as long as you think it will deter the re-fill water from stirring up the substrate.
Now you still have the water that the fish are in and fresh water to add back. Just add back your water very slowly until the tank is full again.
Plant the tank and there you go!!!! Very simple.
This can be accomplished in 10 - 30 minutes. The fish will not even miss a beat. They will think you just performed a large water change and love you for it.
Just keep your water temps., fresh and old. reasonably uniform and use your dechlorinater for the new water.
Len
In a word, no. At least not easily or effectively.
Rinse the Flourite outside and have it ready.
Put your fish in a bucket. Siphon off 30 - 50% of the water (if possible) into another bucket. Then siphon off the rest of the water, down to the substrate.
Pull all the substrate and now you are left with about 1 - 1.5" of black, gunky water in the bottom of the empty tank.
Hopefully you have enough Flourite for a depth of 3" or 4" (slope from 1.5"-front; to 3" - 4"-back).
Dump in the flourite right over top of the gunk. It will cover it and your bio-colony is left in tact(no need to recycle). Lay a bowl on the flourite you just put in and 'leveled' out. Re-fill by pouring your saved tank water into the bowl and letting it SLOWLY fill the bowl and then gently overflow the bowl and fill the tank.
Leave the bowl in as long as you think it will deter the re-fill water from stirring up the substrate.
Now you still have the water that the fish are in and fresh water to add back. Just add back your water very slowly until the tank is full again.
Plant the tank and there you go!!!! Very simple.
This can be accomplished in 10 - 30 minutes. The fish will not even miss a beat. They will think you just performed a large water change and love you for it.
Just keep your water temps., fresh and old. reasonably uniform and use your dechlorinater for the new water.
Len
That sounds easy, next time I get money I am going to switch substrate.
THanks for the help.
Edit: One more question will one 15 pound bag of Flourite be enough for a 20h tank?
THanks for the help.
Edit: One more question will one 15 pound bag of Flourite be enough for a 20h tank?
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one bag won't work. I have (2) 20 gallon long tanks and I had to fill each with at least 40 lbs of substrate before the plants would sit comfortably in them. My 100 gallon tank took almost 120 lbs of substrate but only because I was able to shift more of it in the places where I had the plants.