Does Rearranging Plants Cause an Ammonia Spike?

[DeirdreHoyle]

Hi All,
I have an amazon sword that I want to move to a different part of my 25 gallon community tank. Can I rearrange my plants without causing an ammonia spike or some other issue to my fish from all the debris in the gravel? Or do I have to do a water change right after moving my plants around?

 

[bud29]

You could possibly junk up the water column if there is a lot of debris in the gravel. Swords are some of the worst, since their root systems are so large. Depending on how much gunk is kicked up, you may want to do a water change after moving it around.

 

[aqua_chem]

You shouldn't cause an ammonia spike solely by disturbing your substrate.

 

[wildroseofky]

Every time I rearrange plants or disturb the substrate by heavy vacuuming, I get a nitrate spike. Gravel is even worse than sand for this. A lot gets trapped in the gravel. Just keep an eye on your water perimeters. A large water change and gravel vacuuming after the rearranging will prevent some of the spike you can get.

 

[DeirdreHoyle]

Every time I rearrange plants or disturb the substrate by heavy vacuuming, I get a nitrate spike. Gravel is even worse than sand for this. A lot gets trapped in the gravel. Just keep an eye on your water perimeters. A large water change and gravel vacuuming after the rearranging will prevent some of the spike you can get.

My nitrates are already at 40 ppm which is a little higher than I'd like so I think I'll wait a few days and then do a gravel vacuum/water change after moving the plant.

Thanks for the advice guys.

 

[wildroseofky]

Have you thought about switching to sand? I started with gravel too but it holds a lot of yucky stuff. It can keep you nitrates high because of everything that gets trapped even with thorough vacuuming. Plants also do better in sand. It lets the roots grow better. It is also cheaper than gravel.

 

[DeirdreHoyle]

Have you thought about switching to sand? I started with gravel too but it holds a lot of yucky stuff. It can keep you nitrates high because of everything that gets trapped even with thorough vacuuming. Plants also do better in sand. It lets the roots grow better. It is also cheaper than gravel.

I have definitely considered it, I love the natural look of sand. I just feel like it would be a pain to switch substrates in a tank that's already up and running. I don't really know much about the process though so maybe it's not as difficult as I think it is

 

[Fishperson]

Doesn't ADA Amazonia have ammonia in it? If you are using that then I could see why.

 

[Mebbid]

It's pretty standard to do a big water change right after replanting a tank to get the nitrate spike that usually comes along with it down.