changing gravel

[wmpaul]

in my cherry shrimp tank i currently have a sandy coloured gravel, was the cheapest at the time of setup, but now want black gravel.

whats the best way of changing the gravel.

i dont want to just swap it all in one go as i dont want to lose the bacteria in the gravel.

am i best changing 1/4 of the gravel each week so that the new gravel gets time to build up bacteria.

 

[Crazed Demasoni]

I just did a gravel change during a move. Give me some more specs of your tank? Size/filtration/stocking

 

[wmpaul]

tank is 20g, dont know on the number of shrimp, recently sold 80 of them so there isnt that many left now. filtration is a tetra tec canister but currently building an over head filter for it.

 

[Crazed Demasoni]

I did a 100% change on my 29g, and it has been completely fine. I was moving, so I saved 15g of the water, kept the filter wet and warm (only a 20 min move), then reacclimated the fish when I arrived. No ammonia etc. No mini cycle.

 

[wmpaul]

ok thanks

think im going to do 50% one week 50% next week. means i will have to move all the plants around etc and replant them