Substrate

[cauterox04]

If I already have rocks down and I wanna add flora max how do I do that please someone help should I take my old rocks out or just add these on top help me please

 

[Khuligirl93]

In my opinion it would look cleaner if you completely took out the rocks and added the flora max. The best way to do this is to drain your tank.
I have experience changing my 10g from gravel to flora max, and my 36g from gravel to sand.
You will need to put your fish in a bucket, and if possible put your heater and filter on the bucket to run while you do the switch. It will probably take a couple hours. If you can't run the filter on the bucket, you must find some way to keep your filter media wet with old tank water. This is probably the most important thing, because if your filter media dries out, all your beneficial bacteria will die and your tank will have to cycle all over again.
Once you have put the new substrate in (rinsed well), you can fill up the tank with fresh, conditioned water. Hopefully there will be minimal clouding, but when dealing with substrate change some temporary clouding is inevitable. Now you can plant your plants and add the filter and heater back on the tank, and once the temperature is back to normal, you can return your fish to the tank. It might be a good idea to drip acclimate them because the 100% water change might have caused a significant change in nitrates, pH, and other dissolved solids from what they were in the tank previously.

 

[lectraplayer]

FloraMax looks like a fortified gravel to me, so you can do it however you want. If using soil, you put an inch of soil in, put the gravel on top of it (or it will mud), then put a dinner plate down (important) and fill.

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[cauterox04]

Doing 100% water change would I have to recycle my tank how how that go. And after I add the new substrate could I add the old rocks back or anything

 

[Khuligirl93]

I don't think the OP mentioned anything about using soil... That's a completely different ball game.

OP- no, like I said in my post, if you keep your filter media wet, you will not have to re-cycle your tank. All the bacteria you need lives inside your filter. If you wanted to put the rocks back on top, yes you could do that.

 

[cauterox04]

Okay awesome could I throw the filter media in the bucket with my fish would that work or something like that

 

[Khuligirl93]

Yes, like I said in my post, putting your filter on the bucket with your fish would be best.

 

[lectraplayer]

Absolutely, you will have to cycle your tank again. If you keep everything in a bucket of old water, it will hasten the process drastically. Putting some of the old gravel in a bag speeds things even more.

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[cauterox04]

Alright cool maybe I'll do that tomorrow how much is the substrate

 

[Khuligirl93]

I bought mine a long time ago, and it will vary with each location. Try looking online.
After a quick google search, looks like it's about $14 at petsmart.

 

[Khuligirl93]

Absolutely, you will have to cycle your tank again. If you keep everything in a bucket of old water, it will hasten the process drastically. Putting some of the old gravel in a bag speeds things even more.

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No... You will not have to cycle your tank again. All the bacteria you need lives in your filter media. As long as it is kept wet, you can simply put the filter back on after the switch and you're good to go.
And it's a common misconception that old gravel is necessary to cycle a tank. All the bacteria you need lives in the filter media!

 

[treemanone2003]

absolutely, you will have to cycle your tank again. If you keep everything in a bucket of old water, it will hasten the process drastically. Putting some of the old gravel in a bag speeds things even more.

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wrong !!!

 

[treemanone2003]

no... You will not have to cycle your tank again. All the bacteria you need lives in your filter media. As long as it is kept wet, you can simply put the filter back on after the switch and you're good to go.
And it's a common misconception that old gravel is necessary to cycle a tank. All the bacteria you need lives in the filter media!

right !!!

 

[lectraplayer]

wrong !!!

Somebody better explain where my ammonia spikes are coming from then.

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[treemanone2003]

Somebody better explain where my ammonia spikes are coming from then.

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Without a full history, absolutely no clue. Perhaps start a thread about it and not jump this one.

 

[lectraplayer]

Hey. I got jumped.

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