I have some questions about switching from gravel to sand in established tank

[bobc4d]

- I have a fluval filter, when I go to change out the gravel to sand do I turn it off or set it to a low flow level and put it in a 5 gallon bucket?

- can I put my fish and plants in the same bucket as above?

- how long after the change before I add the fish, plants and fluval back to the tank?

- should I expect to do more frequent partial water changes until the tank stabilizes?

 

[aqua_chem]

As far as putting plants and fish in the same bucket, I guess that would depend on how many plants and fish you have. If you only have a few plants, then I don't see any problem with that, but if they're going to take up most of the bucket, I would try to find another method of doing it, such as a second bucket.

I would try to get them back into the tank as soon as possible.

You might have a minor ammonia spike, but remember that the majority of your beneficial bacteria live in your filter. Your filter BB should compensate for the missing substrate BB within a few days, hopefully before conditions can get to unhealthy levels, but I would monitor it all the same.

 

[bobc4d]

thank you for the reply, I appreciate the feedback