So I've got a 65 gal tank which was going to be a growout for my poor Jack Dempsey and Severum, but when I moved to an apt more than a year ago, (and just this fall to a house), I have not been able to bring that and another tank to permit them more room. But I have been changing their water weekly or at least twice a month at my mom's for over a year (and the tank was set up about 1-2 years before that). Granted, some weeks it's 90% if I didn't get to do it the preceding week, and when I do keep on track, I only do 50%-ish. They've been doing OK healthwise, but today's WC brought up a big problem. I had never thought much about stirring the sand substrate, thinking the layer was too small to breed a colony of anaerobic bacteria, but I found out I was wrong. I didn't have the lights on, and was really only paying attention to the water level when I filled it up, but I noticed I'd made a huge mess of cloudy water and I did get the smell of sulfur that is different than the one I get at the beginning of filling when I add my prime. So from what I understand, i need to stir the substrate and do some more water changes. But how to go about it?
I have no temporary tank to move my fish to, so they will have to stay in there no matter what I do. Is it best to just mess up all the sand at once and do another 90-95% change? Or would that be too much of another shock, and should I only do like a quarter of the sand and 90% WC? And then repeat as son as I can? (I want to do SOMETHING today, but I'm going out of town for a few days tomorrow, so I want to make sure they'll be OK without me being able to do an emergency change tomorrow, ya know?)
EDIT: Forgot to mention I can't check my parameters if you all need those because I have left my testers packed in some box somewhere for now :<
I have no temporary tank to move my fish to, so they will have to stay in there no matter what I do. Is it best to just mess up all the sand at once and do another 90-95% change? Or would that be too much of another shock, and should I only do like a quarter of the sand and 90% WC? And then repeat as son as I can? (I want to do SOMETHING today, but I'm going out of town for a few days tomorrow, so I want to make sure they'll be OK without me being able to do an emergency change tomorrow, ya know?)
EDIT: Forgot to mention I can't check my parameters if you all need those because I have left my testers packed in some box somewhere for now :<