Necessary to change substrate?

[Swank]

My folks gave me a book on planted tanks for christmas last year...didn't really look at it much until now (i've been using the web for most of my info). Well, I notice in the care and maintenance section it says you should change out your substrate every 3 years or so!!! 8O

Is this true? DO you all do this? SOunds like a huge, messy, possibly destructive job!!!

FYI, I have a tall 39 gallon tank, 21 inches deep with a fairly deep substrate (4 inches avg, up to 5 in spots). Substrate was a layer of laterite mixed with gravel, a layer of peat moss, then a new layer of laterite and gravel with a small layer of gravel over the top for looks...


**As a side question, if you do decide to make a substantial change to your aquascaping, do you remove fish and other animals to a separate tank first? Which is more stressful, tearing out a giant piece of driftwood and stirring up the tank, or moving the livestock to a temp tank that may not be a preferred size or may not be planted, decorated, etc., in a way that makes fish comfortable?

 

[JDogg]

MAYBE if you were Heavily planted with root feeders and using a nutrient rich substrate like Eco-compleat..you MIGHT deplete the nutrients, but by then you should have a good layer of mulm built up... so i do not see why you would have to...

maybe someone else can shed some light on their reasoning... :?

 

[fish_4_all]

I guess it really depends on what you are using. I don't know for sure but laterite and peat moss could break down and become either dormant or non-existant over 3 years time. Might have to replace them if you want to keep that kind of layering.

 

[Swank]

well, it didn't take much planting, replanting, and setting of logs/rocks for the layers to kind of blend all together...

The book was concerned with "compacting" of the substrate, and the more general concern of it being "too old" without describing what you might lose with age. Iron? I thought iron loss that was assumed. To me it sounds like that's why we use ferts...Something else?

and I think my MTS would more than take care of compaction!!!

 

[fish_4_all]

If you aren't worried about the layering then I would't worry about it. Eco is supposed to last for many years. Sand is inert anyway. Gravel will last for decades. Eco can be added on top of itself. Laterite can be added if you think you need more. Peat I don't know, maybe the granules I have seen can be added in an established tank.

The only reason I can see replacing it is if it turns to a fine powder and it simply won't grow plants anymore.

 

[Swank]

sounds good to me...

what about my other, related question? if you do decide to make a substantial change to your aquascaping, do you remove fish and other animals to a separate tank first? Which is more stressful, tearing out a giant piece of driftwood and stirring up the tank, or moving the livestock to a temp tank that may not be a preferred size or may not be planted, decorated, etc., in a way that makes fish comfortable?

 

[rich311k]

I generally leave my stock in the tank, unless I am changing the substrate. To be honest the fish don't really seem to mind all that much.

 

[JDogg]

yea... i re-aquascape every now and then... i do not remove the fish...

 

[Purrbox]

It really depends on the substrate as to whether or not you need to replace it periodically. If using soil, laterite, aquasoil, or similar products the substrate will eventually breakdown and need to be replaced. When using products like EcoComplete, Flourite, and gravel the substrate won't break down. For the ones that are nutrient rich to begin with you can start supplimenting with root tabs when they start to become nutrient poor. If you're using a substrate that is prone to compacting you can either pick up some MTS to keep it stirred for you or you can manually stir it yourself during water changes.

I too leave my live stock in the tank when doing a major overhaul on the aquascaping. I figure chasing them with a net is much more stressful on both me and the fish, than just leaving them in the tank.

 

[fish_4_all]

I have to agree, I don't think you need to remove the fish except with certain substrate. I would think that laterite might have enough fine particles in it that it COULD be harmful to the fish. I think the iron content might get into the gills and maybe other organs and cause possible problems. I have seen many put in Profile and sand with fish in the tank without problems because they are inert and SHOULDN'T hurt the fish. Fluorite, maybe but I can't say as I haven't seen anything about it being added with fish.

All that said, I am one who is always "overly" cautious so it might be fine to add any substrate without much worry.