# How to change substrate in running tank??



## kroner19 (Oct 20, 2009)

Hey all,

Im looking to upgrade my substrate from gravel to something a little better for the plants. Maybe fluorite or AS, haven't decided yet. The only thing holding me back is how do I do it? My tank is fully stocked with about 35 tetras and I'd say medium planted. Do I have to tear down the whole tank? Save the water? Can i do it while its full, a little at a time? Any thoughts or experiences would be helpful.

Thanks in advance,

Kroner


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## Silvering (Jun 10, 2011)

Whenever I do major work on my tanks that will involve draining them completely, I get out a big cooler, fill it with tank water, catch all the fish and put them in there, then hook the filter up to the cooler full of fish. Then I don't have to worry about them while I do whatever I need to! I dump the rest of the water, it's the bacteria that you need to keep alive. 

But you probably don't even need to do anything drastic - you can add finer-textured substrate to the bottom of your gravel, and the gravel will stay on top. Freezing little cubes of substrate mud is the usual recommendation, that way you won't be disturbing much but you'll still be able to add soil right around the plants you've already got - that's the way I'd probably do it. Much less work that way.


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## PlantFun (Feb 15, 2012)

Kroner, I am a total noob at this but i will share my experience. Last weekend I added 15 lbs of fluorite to half of my 55 gal. I carefully pushed the existing pea gravel over then layered it back over. The package (Carib sea) clouded the tank up for a while so i throttled my fluval 306 to full power which helped. I plan to do the other half later. Note that the package said it was pre-rinsed - despite rinsing it 4 times and very slowly lowering containers into the tank - doing this minimalized the clouding , but there is just no way to avoid it in a runing tank. Anyway now all is well and the tank is looking much better than before since I now have the rear ground raised up in a hill and am able to put the plants into better substrate. Now I just have to do the other half!

I like Silverings idea and am curious where the mud was obtained.


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## Big_Fish (Mar 10, 2010)

PlantFun said:


> Last weekend I added 15 lbs of fluorite to half of my 55 gal. I carefully pushed the existing pea gravel over then layered it back over. The package (Carib sea) clouded the tank up for a while so i throttled my fluval 306 to full power which helped. .


OOOO you MIGHT get away with doing that with Caribsea Eco Complete, but you wouldn't with (seachem) Flourite... (unless the flourite came from another tank) ..
Flourite is a great substrate, but it DOES require HEAVY rinsing (I'm talking hours for a 20 lb bag)
even after rinsing, expect the water to be (very) cloudy for at least 24 hours.. 
CaribSea Eco Complete is already rinsed, (it typically is wet while still in the bag)
and doesn't initially cloud the water nearly as much. 
Flourite is made by Seachem, not by CaribSea. BTW, they are both excellent substrates imho.


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## Silvering (Jun 10, 2011)

PlantFun said:


> I like Silverings idea and am curious where the mud was obtained.


I'm afraid I can't take any credit for originating that idea, I got it from this forum, myself! The "mud" is just any fine-grained substrate like soil that you either bought or made up, mixed with enough water to bind it together when it freezes.

The advantage of doing things piecemeal is that your water shouldn't cloud up too much. I'm in the process of adding some aragonite sand to my African cichlid tank, and it's one of those "wash forever and it's still dirty" substrates, but if you only add a cup at a time the cloudiness isn't too bad! [smilie=l:


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## kroner19 (Oct 20, 2009)

First off, thanks for all the responses. 

So, anyone who has done this "freezing thing"......how big of a square would you freeze? Can i go as big as maybe lets say 4" x 12"? And how thick? My main reason for asking is the temperature reduction that would follow adding, in essence, a big piece of ICE to my tank. Im not totally against breaking down the tank completely if I can just get it over with on a saturday. Im not really sure how this would effect my "ecosystem". Should i save some of the old gravel in some panty hose or is the biologicals in my canister filter enough to get the new water cycled? Should get a bunch of big 5 gallon buckets and save all the old water? Whatever would be the easiest/fastest way, Im all about it. Please post your experiences/ideas. Any help is appreciated.


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## fishyspots (Oct 7, 2011)

I've recently redone a bunch of tanks to add dirt bottoms and have just caught the fish, drained them, left some of the existing substrate in the bottom then added the dirt and capped with whatever I wanted. Left existing filters alone and most of the time replaced most or all of the water (most of the beneficial bacteria is on the rocks, substrate, filter, etc.) I've had no issues doing it this way and haven't lost any fish.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Several good options as long as the substrate will not add ammonia to the water. The ADA products cannot be done this way, they add too much ammonia to the tank for too long. 

Here is how I have done a complete change:
Unplug, turn off ALL equipment. 
Put best water and fish in as many buckets as needed (keeping species separated, keep Loaches separated, keep aggressive fish separated). Cover the buckets. 
Put live plants in more buckets of water, treat for algae if needed (Soak with hydrogen peroxide while I am doing the rest of this)
Remove decorations (rocks, driftwood, ceramic mer-people)
Use remaining water as a way to wash the old substrate, in case I want to use it later. Drain the tank. 
Scoop out old substrate, add new (rinsed as needed). 
Add decor (rocks, driftwood), sculpt the substrate into hills and valleys. 
Plant. Mist the plants as needed. 
Put a plate or plastic bag over the substrate, start adding water (water has been prepared ahead of time). Pour the water in slowly, (1 gallon per minute max) so it seeps over the plate or plastic. This minimizes the clouding. 
When the tank is filling, set up all the equipment. 
Add the fish last. Do not add any water from the fish buckets. Fish under stress release more ammonia, and you do not want to add this to the tank. 
Lights off the rest of the day. Feeding the fish is optional. 
Next day, lights on, feed... If the fish are still in hiding feed only half as much as normal. 
Test the water for all the usual suspects, but because the filter was not disturbed and because the tank has lots of plants there probably will not be noticeable ammonia or nitrite. Be ready to do water changes as needed, though.


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## kroner19 (Oct 20, 2009)

Looks like a full break down is the way to go here. Im just too impatient and want to start my aquascape as soon as possible.

Can anyone recommend a good substrate? I like the texture and look of ADA Amazonia but being that my tank is fully stocked I would need a substrate that would be the least likely to mess with my water parameters, and the health of my fish. Or should i just sell my fish back to my LFS and go for the ADA Amazonia and heavy plant it for a few weeks til the ammonia dissipates? Any ideas? Black color is more important than granule size. Thanks for the help everyone.


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