# How Safe Is It To Transfer My Substrate.



## Homer_Simpson (Apr 2, 2007)

Hi, I have a 5 gallon hex tank that turned into a dog's breakfast in my attempt to go the high tech root. Lighting was full spectrum 30 watt compact fluorescent bulb, mixture of fluorite and schultz aquatic soil for substrate, DIY c02 injection, and 7 hours photo period. The inhabitants(1 dwarf frog, amano and cherry shrimp) mysteriously disappeared, and I can only assume they are all but dead eventhough I never recovered any bodies to confirm that fact.

I want to tear down the tank and experiment with the low tech route. I was thinking of transferring some of the substrate as an ovelay over peat which would then be capped with Tahitian moon sand. I was going to replace the light with a lower watt bulb as the plants grown in there will strictly be low light. Cyptocorne(s), java moss, java fern, anubias, etc.,

I know that once a tank with any parasites is left empty of fish for 3-4 weeks, the parasites will likely die as they will not have any hosts to infect and continue their life cycle. Would this apply even if a few plants were left in the tank or could those plants act as a nesting ground for parasites. Could parasites lay dormant in the substrate and come out when new hosts are spotted.

I am just wondering if it would be safe to transfer any of the substrate to a rebuild, as I really want to take advantage of any mulm in the old substrate but don't want to transfer over anything that could screw things up for my plants or fish. Of course the other thing it the tank has algae, so would transferring some of the substrate to the rebuild introduce algae spores and cause a major algae bloom? 

Should I just disinfect the tank with bleach, throw away the few plants in there, and throw out the substrate just to be safe. I could temporarily run an oversize ultraviolet sterilizer in the tank, but I doubt that this will kill any algae spores in the substrate. 

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated. Many thanks.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

If the inhabitants of the tank died due to parasites, I would disinfect. I suppose you could test this by puttin in a 'feeder' type fish or two and see what happens to them in a week's time. If you're talking algae, there's no point trying to wipe that out, as it will always be around to one degree or another. Just because we have 'algae free' tanks, does not mean there are no algae spores in the tanks just waiting for their chance to take over.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Bert H said:


> If the inhabitants of the tank died due to parasites, I would disinfect. I suppose you could test this by puttin in a 'feeder' type fish or two and see what happens to them in a week's time. If you're talking algae, there's no point trying to wipe that out, as it will always be around to one degree or another. Just because we have 'algae free' tanks, does not mean there are no algae spores in the tanks just waiting for their chance to take over.


My apologies in advance: Algae spores are the terrorists of the aquarium world!


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## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

I'd just give everything a tapwater rinse & start over.

If you're going low-tech, you might want to consider soil under moon sand.


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## Homer_Simpson (Apr 2, 2007)

Squawkbert said:


> I'd just give everything a tapwater rinse & start over.
> 
> If you're going low-tech, you might want to consider soil under moon sand.


O.k. thanks. Just curious have you tried a substrate of soil under sand? Has anyone? I have three choices and need to pick one and there is no turning back when the choice is made. Thin layer of garden peat moss, thin layer of laterite with a couple of seachem substrate tabs capped with thin layer of Tahitian Moon Sand to one inch total. Top soil capped with sand. As per Tom Barr, thin layer of peat, topped with thin layer of Leonardite, capped with a thin layer of Seachem Onyx Sand to a total of one inch. As much as I would love to experiment with all of these substrates on a whole bunch of different tanks for comparison, finances and lack of space do no make this possible.

I would love to hear from others who have experimented with these different substrates at one time or another thanks. I may eventually experiment with all of these but it may not be for several years time, again depending on space and finances, and of course other peoples' experiences.

Thanks.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

"Sand" over garden soil is the standard substrate for el natural tanks, so we know that works well for low light, non-CO2 tanks. That is Ms Walstad's approach and a well proven one.


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