substrate

[ALAINA]

how do i change my horrible and inefficient substrate to pea gravel without screwing up my cycle? i have never had to use a test kit before.. just very attentive but now i have alot of 6 week old baby cichlids that i would like to take good care of.. View attachment 716974View attachment 71697580 gallon

 

[joe jaskot]

If your tank is cycled, there is enough of the good bacteria in your filter media for you to change out your substrate without any problems.

 

[Hot Slime]

Should be fine with just taking out all the gravel. Most of your bacteria should be in your filters anyways so it shouldn't affect anything. You coul just do bare bottom, it's the easiest to clean and maintain your parameters.

 

[ECW]

Should be fine with just taking out all the gravel. Most of your bacteria should be in your filters anyways so it shouldn't affect anything. You coul just do bare bottom, it's the easiest to clean and maintain your parameters.

+1

 

[KaiserSousay]

You are right to be getting rid of what you have.
I would suggest you give a bit more thought to the replacement, gravel is what you were thinking of.
Sand is really a much better choice.
Gravel has a bad track record, as it traps all manner of gunk and needs good cleaning, often done.

You could very easily have a water quality problem after pulling that stuff out of your tank.
I don`t think it will be anything major, but you might have to do a few extra WC as the tank settles into your new arrangement.

I don`t go along with all who tell you all will be fine.
They really can`t give you the OkeeDokee since you didn`t mention your form, or composition of filtration.

Not all tanks have most of their bacteria in filters. Your bacterial colony will be where it has the best access to food, oxygen,and is un-disturbed.
That might not be in a filter.

Do your change, but keep an eye on your fish.
Look for any signs of stress.
WC as needed.
Get some means of testing your water, at least until your tank gets back to normal.

Good luck and show us what your new setup looks like.

 

[ALAINA]

You are right to be getting rid of what you have.
I would suggest you give a bit more thought to the replacement, gravel is what you were thinking of.
Sand is really a much better choice.
Gravel has a bad track record, as it traps all manner of gunk and needs good cleaning, often done.

You could very easily have a water quality problem after pulling that stuff out of your tank.
I don`t think it will be anything major, but you might have to do a few extra WC as the tank settles into your new arrangement.

I don`t go along with all who tell you all will be fine.
They really can`t give you the OkeeDokee since you didn`t mention your form, or composition of filtration.

Not all tanks have most of their bacteria in filters. Your bacterial colony will be where it has the best access to food, oxygen,and is un-disturbed.
That might not be in a filter.

Do your change, but keep an eye on your fish.
Look for any signs of stress.
WC as needed.
Get some means of testing your water, at least until your tank gets back to normal.

Good luck and show us what your new setup looks like.

thank u for your honest advice i do not have the funds for sand or i would be 100% on that so in my budget i got a ton of pea gravel from lowes and i will be thoroughly washing it with patience lol.. i was wondering if i vacuumed as much debris from the large rocks as i can fiirst, would that keep the "mess" at bay? oh and i have never used a test kit so far.. just been using my internet advice and got into a rhythm with maintenance, sooo i will be buying one of those soon i also had to replace the main sponge in my filter a few months ago so its still "establishing" slowly.. its a huge sponge..

 

[ALAINA]

Should be fine with just taking out all the gravel. Most of your bacteria should be in your filters anyways so it shouldn't affect anything. You coul just do bare bottom, it's the easiest to clean and maintain your parameters.

my tank is in a tricky state right now.. the large rocks will cause a huge mess in my tank when moved.. idk what i was thinking but i need a smaller gravel for bottom to establish better i would love the bare bottom (which i did in my ten gallon once) but i have to climb a dang ladder to get to the top of my tank with it being on an entertainment center... sooo bare bottome would mean frequent waste and food removal which is tricky with my tank placement.. ty for your help!!! any other advice is well appreciated

 

[spadoc79]

thank u for your honest advice i do not have the funds for sand or i would be 100% on that so in my budget i got a ton of pea gravel from lowes and i will be thoroughly washing it with patience lol.. i was wondering if i vacuumed as much debris from the large rocks as i can fiirst, would that keep the "mess" at bay? oh and i have never used a test kit so far.. just been using my internet advice and got into a rhythm with maintenance, sooo i will be buying one of those soon i also had to replace the main sponge in my filter a few months ago so its still "establishing" slowly.. its a huge sponge..

sand is very inexpensive at home depot....i use play ground sand..its less than 4 bucks for a 50lb bag...just pour half in a bucket and rinse it really well and repeat with the other half.

 

[MN Fish]

Take a 5 gallon bucket and drill a bunch of little holes in it add the gravel and rinse it a bunch of times with the hose. I tried this and it works great to rinse out gravel.

 

[ALAINA]

idk if this helps understand my concern with my "big rocks" and my "high 80 gal" lmao these little guys make me happy..