Changing Substrate

[meegosh]

Hey guys, its that pesky guy with all the questions again!!! I have won the battle over the substrate in my tank. I finally convinced my girlfriend to ditch the mutli-colored gravel and get something a little more natural looking. I chalked this victory up to having gradually replacing the bright neon pink caves with darker brown caves.

I want to try sand in this tank before I do my 30 gallon. I've searched on here and found some good points to take into consideration. I know the fish will have to removed, I have a fish only bucket that the filter and heater can hang on while I do the work. I've read that you should keep some of the gravel in a never-used pantyhose and hang it in the tank for a while after doing the change.

Do I need to take anything else into consideration? I believe all my fish will be ok with the sand. Any tips, suggestions?

 

[Ziggy953]

The only thing that comes to mind is that you will be releasing a lot of "gunk" into the water column so a PWC would probably be a good idea. I've never changed all the substrate out on a FW tank before (other then taking one down and starting over). I expect the FW gurus will have a better idea of what to do or not do.

 

[meegosh]

I was planning on removing the water, saving 5 gallons. Empty the rest, remove all the gravel, wipe up the dirt underneath the gravel and do the sand. Add conditioned water, and then the 5 gallons from the bucket. So basically the tank would be empty when I remove the gravel. The rest of the nasty water I will toss.

Thanks for the reply, so quick too!

 

[Ziggy953]

By doing all of that you will probably have a small cycle. Again I'm not as well learned in the FW world as I am in the SW. I would be prepared to do a few PWCs over the next week or two and test your water a couple of times a week just to make sure nothing spikes.

 

[mom2reds]

You should be fine with your plan as long as you keep your filter media wet. Just watch your water parameters

 

[rich311k]

I have done it several times. Keep the filter media wet and don't change it at the sametime you do the gravel and you should be good. It would be wise to do a water test or two but you should be ok.

 

[meegosh]

Well thanks for the replies guys. I plan on keeping the filter running in the bucket while I do the change. I will keep an eye on the water params and see how it goes. I will post any tips I come across once I'm done.