Changing Gravel

[Durbkat]

I need to do a complete clean down of my 10g and would like to change the gravel as it used to be blue but now its brown so will it cause a mini cycle if I remove it and the UGF?

 

[tttnjfttt]

If i remember correctly, when you had a similar thread last week http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=125571 you said that you also had an external filter going in this tank. If that is so, you should be fine, however, whenever I do anything major in the tank, whether it is with the substrate or the filter or decorations, i like to watch the water just to be safe.

 

[Durbkat]

Sorry I just wanted to double check. I don't have a test kit so will it still be ok to do it? Would it help if I put some of the old gravel in a zip lock bag with the bag open sitting on the bottom of the tank?

 

[monkeyman]

Sorry I just wanted to double check. I don't have a test kit so will it still be ok to do it? Would it help if I put some of the old gravel in a zip lock bag with the bag open sitting on the bottom of the tank?

Personally i wouldnt bother setting the old gravel in bags... If you DO have an EXT. filter as well as the UGF, i think that the EXT without the UGF would be sufficient. You know the score, just go light on the feeding to help your bacteria build up. But hey, i didnt need to tell you that. Good luck, hope it goes well!

 

[tttnjfttt]

Steal a pair of nylons from your mum. This way the water can flow through the gravel and the bacteria can begin growing easier. I doubt you will have a problem though.

Also, i strongly recomend you get a test kit. It is worth every penny. Ask your parents to help you out. Print out this page from BigAlsOnline and you can probably get a LPS to match its price. The link is to the API master test kit, the one many people use on this board.

 

[Durbkat]

I already printed it out but I'm going to New York with a class at school in may and I need to save all the money I get to be able to buy my meals and stuff there. Thanks for the help. Also some how my heater got un plugged yesterday and didn't notice till about half an hour ago and plugged the heater back in, all the fish were pale and what not. So will it be ok to put them into a warmer place while I do this or will I need to put them in bags and match the temps before I do so?

 

[tttnjfttt]

I would say wait. Your fish are already stressed out from the temperature thing (and be sure you raise it SLOWLY or it will cause more stress). The process of netting the fish and moving them will be even more stressful. I think it is just asking for a fish to get sick, as they get sick with stress.

 

[Durbkat]

Opps. I didn't get a chance to read this before I took them out. ) Well since I already took them out, I put them in a 2g bucket and have the filter and heater running and yes I did slowly raise it. I emptied the 10g and am going to clean it in a minute. But me and my grandmother got mixed up when we first bought the amquel for dechlorantor and now she thinks that after you treat the water you have to wait 24 hours before pour the water into the tank but it really says only 1 dose per 24 hours but now she believes you have to wait 24 hours before you can add it to a tank with fish. So I emptied the tank and when I refill it and since I have to wait 24 hours before I can put the fish in will they be ok in the bucket over night with the filter and heater running?




Sorry if what I just wrote seems confusing, I'm kinda in a hurry.

 

[tttnjfttt]

They should be fine, just make sure they have something covering the bucket so they can't jump out.

 

[Durbkat]

Ok thanks alot. And sorry for my dumb questions and being rude by asking for such a quick answer. )

 

[tttnjfttt]

No worries. I may have also came off alot harsher than I intended. I got very little sleep last night from a migraine, and even though its gone now, i'm still exhausted