Question about substrate

[PlantedTurtle]

I have a 36 x 30 x 18 tank- I just put eco- complete substrate and some plants - soon I will need to place a basking platform in there- and it will have a 16 x 16 slate base that I would like to sit directly on glass- can I move the substrate around with water in tank - to place the slate? Or do I need to empty it? It will be a chore and I am worried about messing up the biology chemistry etc of the water - all advice is greatly appreciated- thanks


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[PlantedTurtle]

It's got 3 turtles , some live plants, some plecos, loaches and nerite snails for algae and detritus cleaning-


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[Fresh2o]

Assuming all live stock will be removed during this and the fact that the substrate was recently added, I think it will not affect the water quality very much if you disturb it. Now if the substrate had been there for quite a while and was full of detritus, it could get messy. But the majority of the biological activity should be taking place in the filter.
As for placement of the slate base, IMO a few options here. If you place it directly on the glass, make certain that no EC grains are under it. I would be concerned that a few stray grains can serve as "pressure points" depending on the weight of the basking setup. You could spread out a 1" layer of EC to serve as a sub base to help dissipate the weight.


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[PlantedTurtle]

Ok- thanks- I was going to put down a foam padding between glass and slate -- and I will be extra careful to make sure there are no grains of substrate underneath- I think to have an inch under there would mess up the height of the basking platform- and if it were to compress over time then the basking platform again would not be at the right height-
Thanks-


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[Fresh2o]

Sounds like a good plan. Post pics of the finished tank when you are done. In progress pics are appreciated as well.


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[PlantedTurtle]

Will do


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