substrate change

[latazyo]

I'm swapping my gravel out for some sand I have

will it be ok if I put my fish in a safe container ( I dont' have another tank to put them in) until the tank is ready for them (probably 4-6 hours) if I have a heater and filter on the thing?

also--will I lose all of my bacteria in doing this, or will that all be in the filter?

edit - filter is penguin 125 biowheel

 

[christopher1260]

you'll lose a lot of your bacteria, but you will have a starter colony in your filter. another idea is to put your gravel in pantyhose or a mesh bag and put it in the tank for a few days. this will allow the bacteria to fall off the gravel and into the sand. that should help a lot. good luck

 

[fishlips]

I just did the change over and was worried about having to recycle the tank. I got a quick spike and it went back to normal in about a week. I also saved most of the original tank water and kept the filter wet. I let the sand settle for three days and put the fish back in. You won't regret it!

 

[ewok]

Originally posted by christopher1260
you'll lose a lot of your bacteria, but you will have a starter colony in your filter. another idea is to put your gravel in pantyhose or a mesh bag and put it in the tank for a few days. this will allow the bacteria to grow off the gravel and into the sand. that should help a lot. good luck

otherwise i agree.

sorry for the correction.....