I switched out old Aqua Soil clay pebble type substrate from three of my tanks to pool filter sand.
In the 15 gallon, I've had no deaths but the filter on that tank is over rated for the size and bio load. The other two tanks don't have over rated filters.
In the two 10 gallons, I've had deaths and ammonia readings that weren't terrible but weren't great.
I've been really good at regular water changes lately (last couple of months after my broken foot healed) and did even more tank cleaning with the ammonia readings but it seems to get toxic really fast. I also have lots of live plants.
I never considered that the substrate would carry such a substantial beneficial bacteria load.
I've since put xtra filters on these two 10 gallons while the new sand develops enough bacteria and hope not to see anymore deaths but how do I prevent this in the future?
I don't want to drag out another tank to temporarily house fish while their new substrate gets the bioload needed. It would take forever with multiple set ups.
Do I just seed the new sand with old sand next time?
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
In the 15 gallon, I've had no deaths but the filter on that tank is over rated for the size and bio load. The other two tanks don't have over rated filters.
In the two 10 gallons, I've had deaths and ammonia readings that weren't terrible but weren't great.
I've been really good at regular water changes lately (last couple of months after my broken foot healed) and did even more tank cleaning with the ammonia readings but it seems to get toxic really fast. I also have lots of live plants.
I never considered that the substrate would carry such a substantial beneficial bacteria load.
I've since put xtra filters on these two 10 gallons while the new sand develops enough bacteria and hope not to see anymore deaths but how do I prevent this in the future?
I don't want to drag out another tank to temporarily house fish while their new substrate gets the bioload needed. It would take forever with multiple set ups.
Do I just seed the new sand with old sand next time?
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app