White Gravel Substrate
- Thread starter Seasalt
- Start date
Control nutrients, clean the substrate often. White substrate is harder than most any other color, simply because any and all waste shows up, and the normal, healthy biofilm that develops in every tank will change the color as well.
I have had to clean my white substrate before. Here is what I did and it worked great.
1. Get a 5g bucket and a large fish net (small one if that's all you have) and scoop the gravel out with the net into the bucket.
2. Once most (leave some because of the bacteria you need), about 90% is in the bucket then take it outside to a hose and push the hose (without spray nozzle) to the bottom of the bucket (so that the water comes from the bottom up) and let it overflow while turning the gravel with your hand over and over. It can take up 45 minutes to get it back to new.
Letting it overflow will force most of the nasty stuff out of the bucket. You may lose a few peices of the gravel but not enough to make a difference.
3. Once you are satisfied with the cleansing, then drain as much of the water out as possible. You may want to use a noodle strainer or scoop it out with your fish net again into a clean empty bucket.
4. Gently pour it back into your tank (try using a cup or something so as not to pour to much back into your tank too fast).
hope that helps.
1. Get a 5g bucket and a large fish net (small one if that's all you have) and scoop the gravel out with the net into the bucket.
2. Once most (leave some because of the bacteria you need), about 90% is in the bucket then take it outside to a hose and push the hose (without spray nozzle) to the bottom of the bucket (so that the water comes from the bottom up) and let it overflow while turning the gravel with your hand over and over. It can take up 45 minutes to get it back to new.
Letting it overflow will force most of the nasty stuff out of the bucket. You may lose a few peices of the gravel but not enough to make a difference.
3. Once you are satisfied with the cleansing, then drain as much of the water out as possible. You may want to use a noodle strainer or scoop it out with your fish net again into a clean empty bucket.
4. Gently pour it back into your tank (try using a cup or something so as not to pour to much back into your tank too fast).
hope that helps.