Changing gravel, tips?

[noelllll]

I'm going out to buy some black and red gravel today and plan on changing what I have right now. My plan right now is to take the fish and ornaments out then scoop out the gravel and replace, simple enough. I heard before though that gravel contains beneficial bacteria so would this change mess up the tank parameters at all? Is there another way it's supposed to be done that'll avoid that? I don't have a test kit at home so the most guaranteed process is probably what I'll go with. Any advice and tips appreciated. Thanks

 

[Sharpchick]

If it were me, I'd take out and replace about 25% in the next four water changes.

How big is the tank?

 

[noelllll]

If it were me, I'd take out and replace about 25% in the next four water changes.

How big is the tank?

So just leave all the rocks and stuff in there or take them out for the next few days? Tank is 10 gallons

 

[Bigfish99]

What kind of filter do you have, some bacteria is stored there. Also save some of the old gravel, put inside of 1 or 2 stockings and hang in the tank with new gravel for a week or two. Mot of all, i reccommend purchasing a testing kit so you can stay otop of any and all issues that may arise. Any decorations will also carry bacteria as well as the walls of the aquarium. Dont wash it out, do the change as quick as possible.

 

[noelllll]

What kind of filter do you have, some bacteria is stored there. Also save some of the old gravel, put inside of 1 or 2 stockings and hang in the tank with new gravel for a week or two. Mot of all, i reccommend purchasing a testing kit so you can stay otop of any and all issues that may arise. Any decorations will also carry bacteria as well as the walls of the aquarium. Dont wash it out, do the change as quick as possible.

I'm not sure the exact brand of the filter but it's one that hangs over the back.
So you're saying take some water out and put the fish and ornaments in the tank water then make the change quick and put everything back in?

 

[frank98284]

I would go with bigfish99 and put some old gravel in two knee high stockings and hang one at each end of the tank for a week or two.

 

[Bigfish99]

I'm not sure the exact brand of the filter but it's one that hangs over the back.
So you're saying take some water out and put the fish and ornaments in the tank water then make the change quick and put everything back in?

Yep, thats what i just did when i switched to sand substrate. Dont forget to put the heater in the bucket to keep the water warm

 

[Mrs.h2012]

I wouldn't worry about BB, the majority of the BB lives in the filter and filter media anyway, so I don't think it would do any damage. I switched from gravel to sand and took all my old gravel out and it made no difference at all.

 

[Sharpchick]

You can pretty much guarantee to get two different replies to this question.

There are goldfish people with bare tanks who will tell you the substrate, plants and decor have absolutely no beneficial bacteria in it at all.

Then you can come along on a fish forum and see a question from someone about why their ammonia soared out of control after they deep vacuumed all their gravel, rearranged plants, and cleaned the decor at one time.

I am of the opinion that there is more beneficial bacteria in substrate (regardless of whether it's gravel, glass stones, sand, etc.) than other people think.

That's why I'd remove and replace in stages. It's also why I don't do deep gravel cleaning of an entire tank in one water change.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

You can pretty much guarantee to get two different replies to this question.

There are goldfish people with bare tanks who will tell you the substrate, plants and decor have absolutely no beneficial bacteria in it at all.

Then you can come along on a fish forum and see a question from someone about why their ammonia soared out of control after they deep vacuumed all their gravel, rearranged plants, and cleaned the decor at one time.

I am of the opinion that there is more beneficial bacteria in substrate (regardless of whether it's gravel, glass stones, sand, etc.) than other people think.

That's why I'd remove and replace in stages. It's also why I don't do deep gravel cleaning of an entire tank in one water change.

I'm not saying there is no BB at all in substrate, just saying that it's not near as much compared to what's in the filter. Personally I don't think deep vacuuming can cause an ammonia spike, never happened to me when I had gravel and I always stirred up my gravel a lot when I would vacuum it. Probably why people had ammonia go out of control is because they more than likely cleaned things with tap water, which will kill BB. The thing to remember is whenever you clean anything from your tank that you intend to put back in is to rinse it in old tank water.

 

[Sharpchick]

I'm not saying there is no BB at all in substrate...

Agreed. You didn't say none at all.

 

[noelllll]

Okay thank you all for your help! I went ahead and switched the gravel. It was quite the challenge I must say. When I had the fish in a bucket one of them jumped out 3 times I had to keep catching him and putting him back in, scary.. Anyways got the new gravel in the tank and I have one stocking with some old gravel sitting in the tank. The water is really cloudy but I assume that's from moving everything around? Fish are back in the tank and all seems well again. Here's a picture of what it looks like now

 

[Sharpchick]

Oh, that's not bad at all. It'll clear. When you get up in the morning, it will be tons clearer...