hey all i did a lazy search on this topic with no luck. is it ok to add new media such as mexican stone on top of established sand or even mix the two up? i thought i read something a while back that said you should not cover up existing established media with new media. any advice?? thanks all
is it bad to add new media to established media?
- Thread starter ChefFish
- Start date
I may be wrong but I don't see any problem doing it. If it were me I think my biggest concern would be getting the new substrate well rinsed before putting it my tank. I think I would rinse in tap water to get the loose stuff off first. Next I'd do a partial water change keeping the old tank water to further rinse with before adding to the tank. If you looking at completely covering the old media I don't know that I'd do it all at once although it may not matter. I'm sure someone else will chime in.
I would say if you don't put more than an inch of media on top of older media you should be fine. The main concern is robbing the media on the bottom of O2, hence killing off the beneficial bacteria you have living in the media.
Just for clarity, in the fish hobby "media" generally means the stuff we put in filters… and “substrate” is the stuff that covers the floor of our tanks… It sounds like you are referring to substrate…
　
　
The simple answer, it’s fine to add new (clean) substrate on top of old substrate…
　
It’s a good idea to thoroughly clean the old substrate before doing so. This is to prevent burying waste where it will rot. The only concern you will have is any bacteria that is living in the surface of the old substrate may be cut off from the flow of water. But it is very unlikely that a large enough percentage of your overall bacterial colony will be negatively effected by doing this.
　
As with any big change we make, it’s always a good idea to do a moderate water change a day or two afterwards to counter any effects you may have caused.
　
　
If I am off base and you do mean adding new bio media on top of old bio media, that’s fine too and has even less concerns…
　
　
The simple answer, it’s fine to add new (clean) substrate on top of old substrate…
　
It’s a good idea to thoroughly clean the old substrate before doing so. This is to prevent burying waste where it will rot. The only concern you will have is any bacteria that is living in the surface of the old substrate may be cut off from the flow of water. But it is very unlikely that a large enough percentage of your overall bacterial colony will be negatively effected by doing this.
　
As with any big change we make, it’s always a good idea to do a moderate water change a day or two afterwards to counter any effects you may have caused.
　
　
If I am off base and you do mean adding new bio media on top of old bio media, that’s fine too and has even less concerns…