Substrate Change

[MR T]

How easy is it to change the substrate in a tank that is stocked and running??

Oh and what is the process??

Ceers
T

 

[Cheffi]

Not too difficult with a big of organisation. What have you got now and what do you want to change too?

 

[Teelie]

And what is it right now? I've done gravel to sand changes and rock gravel/rock/sand combination to sand changes and changing from regular gravel is definitely the easiest way.

 

[MR T]

the substrate at the moment is a large gravel that is pulled from the solent - there are even bits of flint in there. I'm not at all happy with it (it looked good to start with)

I want a finer gravel or even sand (I like my tank to look natural)

Any advice on what to do with the fish while I am doing this change??

 

[iroc]

I did a complete gravel change the process was fairly easy but very time consuming

TURN OFF HEATER, light, and filter
1. got a 5 gal clean bucket and filled it with the water from the tank, then I filled my 2.5 gallon water change bucket
2. I pulled all my plants out and put them in the 2.5 gal bucket, then I removed all the bogwood and rocks
3. I got all the fishes out and put them in the 5 gal
4. I ran a hose outside and drained the remaining water from the tank
5. remove all the old gravel (if you are changing to sand and plan on doing a planted tank I think you should leave some gravel at the bottom as it is easier to get the plants to root into and stay in place.)
6. replace the new gravel, and bogwood (great time to get things in a much better placement , however this whole process needs to be seemless so think about any changes you might miake before starting)
7. poor the water from the 2.5 gal back into tank and begin putting the plants back into their new spots.
8. Put back at least half the water from the 5 gal then begin putting the fish back in, after they are all safe put remaining water in tank
9. proceed to fill tank as if you are doing a water change, turning the filter back on asap

now keep in mind these number (water bucket sizes) are for doing a 20 gal tank so for you tank things could need to be bigger or smaller

hope this helps

 

[Cheffi]

First I would say do NOT turn off your filter, if you have it turned off for more than 30 mins the beneficial bacteria in it will start to die off.

If you have a heater turn it off. Syphon off tank water into largest container you have to hand put your heater into it and switch on. Ideally you would want to retain around 50% of your original tank water to put back.

Drain down tank to around a level where it is easy to take out any plants, rocks, ornaments. Catch fish and put in container. Ensure intake of filter is still under water at this point.

Start to shovel up your gravel, a small plastic shovel or scoop would be ideal. If you are going to use another gravel or sand make sure it has been washed/rinsed ready to put in. It isn't necessary to have the tank completely empty to add either of these.

Put everything back, syphon water and refill. Obviously if you have plants it may take a little longer but you don't say whether you do or not.

If you have to turn your filter off at any point ie if the water goes down below the intake then you will need to move quickly. Good luck

 

[iroc]

Cheffi is very right about the 30 min rule with the filter. When i did mine I think I removed the water, plants and fish all before turning it off and the whole process when done correctly only took 15 mins or so after that.

Cheffi my seggustion about taking all the water out was based on the old gravel when removed can contain A LOT of grime and excess waste depending on how long tank has been set up and how often a gravel vac was done, thuis making the water left in the tank very dirty. This can make putting plants back diffucult since you can't really see what they look like in place.


maybe a good idea would be to put the filter into the water which contains the fish, as well as the heater then eveything stays cool for them and nothing really needs to be turned off?

 

[OohFeeshy]

If possible, fill a bucket with tank water and put as many of the fish in there as you can. You don't *have* to, but it makes it easier, especially if you have bottom dwellers. Then I usually take out any decor and use the biggest net i've got to scoop out the substrate. Then put in new substrate, decor and release fish.

 

[Cheffi]

Cheffi is very right about the 30 min rule with the filter. When i did mine I think I removed the water, plants and fish all before turning it off and the whole process when done correctly only took 15 mins or so after that.

Cheffi my seggustion about taking all the water out was based on the old gravel when removed can contain A LOT of grime and excess waste depending on how long tank has been set up and how often a gravel vac was done, thuis making the water left in the tank very dirty. This can make putting plants back diffucult since you can't really see what they look like in place.


maybe a good idea would be to put the filter into the water which contains the fish, as well as the heater then eveything stays cool for them and nothing really needs to be turned off?

I was going to say it's possible to put filter into the container with fish but as we don't know how large the tank is and what kind of filter I didn't bother, however that is also a good point. Also we don't know if there are live plants so if there are some slight adjustments need to be made. The reason I said syphon out 50% first was that you then have half of the original water, undisturbed to keep the fish in hopefully content and at the right temp when you put it back. Obviously if when you start to remove gravel and find remaining water is completely gunky then plan b is to remove all remaining water but if possible not to. Does that make sense...it makes sense to me but funny how when you write it down it starts to sound so complicated