Could changing the gravel in my tank put me in a mini cycle?

Batmanjay28

Batmanjay28

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Aug 22, 2006
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Oregon
I have a heavy planted 55G tank that houses 2 blue rams. I plan on taking out all the old gravel and adding some plant gravel that suppose to help your plants root and grow better. My tank is completely cycled and has been running for about 2 years.

Is this a good idea? Could I possibally go through a mini cycle if I change the gravel? I have 2 filters going, one is for a 55G and the other is for a 40G tank. Both have been running for 2 years.

DO you think that I could do this without hurting the fish and putting the tank into a mini cycle?

If you have suggestions please help. Thank you
 
Yes, it can. When changing the substrate, pile all of your old substrate on one side of the tank, then add about half of the new substrate to the other side. Wait a few weeks for your bacteria to spread to the new stuff before taking out the old, then put the rest of the new in.
 
what about moving all the old gravel to one side of the tank than add the new stuff. After that I could just put the old stuff over the new stuff so I don't lose any good bacteria.
 
It can be done all at once if you wish if it is done the right way. Before removing the old gravel, do a gravel vac first to help get rid of some of the crud that stays in the gravel bed. Then turn your filters off during the change but you will have to work quickly since if the filters are off for longer then sixty minutes the good bacteria from the filter starts to die. Start netting out the old gravel with as little of the water as possible. The water will just make it weigh more when you want to discard the old gravel. Then after rinsing the new gravel until it rinses clean(do not rinse it if it is eco-complete), you can start adding the new substrate to the aquarium. As soon as the new substrate is in place and there is enough water in the tank so the filters are not sucking air, then you can go ahead and turn the filters back on. Finish decorating the aquarium the way you want and you are good to go. Oh, and just remember to save some of the old gravel and put it in a filter bag or an unused ladies nylon stocking and place it in the tank for a week or two under the intake of the filter or by the airstone so there is enough water running through it. This is like liquid gold. If you leave it in the tank for a week or two it will give the filter enough time to play catch up and the tank filter will have enough benificial bacteria on it to handle the bio-load in your aquarium. It really is not that hard just time consuming but when you are done you will have the new look that you want for your planted aquarium. I am confident that it will look absolutely stunning. Good luck with it.

Marinemom
 
Good question...I've been wondering the same thing. I used river rock and have since decided that I want the smaller pea gravel sized gravel. I figured if I started adding a pound or two at a time (to give the bacteria time to transfer) I could remove the same amount of larger rocks every couple of weeks. This way I would not be changing the gravel all at once.
 
It can, but one way to avoid this is to take all your original gravel, and put it in a womans nylon stocking, tie it off, add your new gravel, and set the old gravel in the bag in the corner of the tank. After about a week you can pull the gravel out without ever having to worry about cycling.
 
Daud

i was wondering about doign something like u suggested. Could also be used to transfer gravel to a new tank to assist in cycling.
 
in my opinion, the most siginificant percentage of your 'good' bacteria are in your filters, and changing the gravel should not cause a mini-cycle.
 
liv2padl said:
in my opinion, the most siginificant percentage of your 'good' bacteria are in your filters, and changing the gravel should not cause a mini-cycle.
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I concur ..the bacteria in your filter should easily be able to convert any ammonia and nitrates. if you see any spike at all. it should subside in a day or two.

I have cyced tanks using bacteria squeezed out of filters from existing tanks..these tanks will generally cylce in 3-5 days.
 
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