switching substrate.

[joel618]

I am in the process of switching over to carib sea cichlid sand. I want to use my old substrate to help seed the new. I have heard to use panty hose so I bought 100% nylon leggings (and got made fun of while in the store).
Will they work and not leach stuff into the water?

 

[mfdrookie516]

Whether they'll work or not depends on the skirt you're wearing...



IMO, there's no need to seed from the sustrate. I've switched sustrate twice without seeding and never had an issue. Can't hurt though. Those should work fine, just rinse them well before using.

 

[librarygirl]

I agree, as long as you're keeping your filter media in tact and just changing the substrate you shouldn't have problems. I just upgraded my tank and changed my sand entirely and haven't seen any toxin issues at all. I'd just change it over and then monitor the water for a few days; if anything you might get a mini-cycle but it shouldn't last more than a few days if you get one at all. But if you're overly cautious and want to use the pantyhose they should work fine as well.