Changing Gravel

[nraposa]

Is it Possible to change your gravel once it's established. I'm getting sick of the multicolored stuff I got know. Want to just go with a single color like brown or black something more natural looking.

I know there is beneficail bacteria in there. So how would you guys do it?

I was thinking of seperating the tank into thirds with a tank divider change scoop out gravel. Replace with new. and still leave 2/3 of tank with old gravel. Maybe after 4 or 5 days switch over the next third. and continue till it was all replaced what do you think.

[jman]

i did mine in one day and it was fine with the same technique but just throughout the day making sure i got everything clean before it was put in.

[nraposa]

Thanks for the quick response Jman. Do you think it's best if i wait a day in between changes. I am a little overloaded with fish and would hate to lose some of the bacteria that may cause a surge in ammonia because it's not there

[kimmers318]

Alot of your beneficial bacteria will be cultured in your gravel but you can save some of it. Have everything ready before you want to do the changeover so you waste as little time as possible. (I have actually removed small amounts of gravel over the course of a few weeks just to save myself the hassle of removing it all at once.....I'll explain the method later) Get ahold of some filter bags or any kind of fine mesh that is clean/sterilized and safe for aquariums (people have been known to use pantyhose). Scoop your old gravel into the mesh bags so that when you add the new substrate you can leave the bags with all that nice bacteria in your tank for easy removal later. It is a little unsightly to have bags of gravel hanging around in your tank, and will put some restrictions on your decor arrangements for the time being, but it will be easy to remove later when you no longer need it. If you use a few smaller bags of gravel you can remove 1 a week giving everything time to "catch up" and avoid spikes of am. or nitrites.
The method I have used to remove gravel over the course of a few weeks is to use the gravel vac without the vac part attached. So, basically I am just using the syphon on a 5/8 " hose....those small pieces of gravel will just suck right up for you. I use the hose method on my low tanks and my puffer tank since it makes sucking up empty snail shells so easy. When I changed over to sand I used the hose method for my regular water changes and just let it suck out whatever gravel I wanted while I was doing it. Just a side note, it is much easier to get the syphon going for the hose with the vac part attached and then just remove it while still submerged under water (or pinch off end of hose if small tank).
Good luck....hope you like your new substrate!

[blue fin]

Great advise Kimmers!

[Blakes]

Say, I have a 15 gallon rectangular tank and two Goldfish. If I had like, a smaller tank to put the fish into temporarily, would it be acceptable to take all the gravel out of the main tank in one go and give it a good old wash?

[Nautilus291]

Im not an expert, but if you do this make sure that you use the same water that is in your tank now. but if you have a gravel cleaner it basicly does the same thing unless you have algae I cant get that stuff off of my stones.

[Blakes]

Thanks for the advice, sounds like I need a gravel cleaner, just can't afford one (£56 per week jobseekers allowence :ezpi_wink1: )

[Nautilus291]

Over here in the us you can buy one for around $5. Idk how much that equals in euros.

[Blakes]

Oh right, think that's about 3 pound! Not expensive then. Saying that, it will cost me double that just to get to a fish store and back! Hmmmm, mail order then!

[Nautilus291]

Ya a mail order might work. If you have half inch rubber hose and 1 and a half inch pvc laying around you could probibly make you own. just find some kind of way to hook the 2 together so they are water tight and you probibly would have the same thing. YOu could look on the internet for how they look.

[blue fin]

You can wash the gravel but you need to be smart about it. I inherited my tank and the gravel was a mess. Based on the comments of fellow members I did not clean all of the gravel, I took out about 70% of the gravel and washed it by agitating it in tap water all by hand. My problem though had to do with excess food and garbage in my gravel, my tank was already cycled and I rinsed all the gravel thouroughly when I was done and strained it to get rid of any excess water.

I would only do this if the gravel is excessively dirty as mine was, if you do this wrong it can have a negative effect on your tank. What I would recommend if your gravel is really that bad is as follows:
1. Take out 60% of your gravel, try not to take out too much water as you may need it later
2. Clean the gravel by putting it in a plastic storage container with tap water and agitate it manually, almost as if you were mixing meatloaf by hand
3. Continue by flushing it out until the water is fairly clear when flushing through
4. rinse gravel in a strainer under clean water and put into an empty container with as little tap water as possible
5. When all of the gravel is in a new container put some seasoned water in the container and give it a good soak.
6. Put it back in the tank and use the remaining 40% and cover the clean gravel to get the cycle back in stride.

This worked for me but you should be aware of the negative effects. If your cycle is not complete you could set yourself back a couple of weeks and stress your fish.

I now only use my python to clean the upper third of my gravel and leave the rest alone.

Good luck with your decision

[jman]

Thanks for the quick response Jman. Do you think it's best if i wait a day in between changes. I am a little overloaded with fish and would hate to lose some of the bacteria that may cause a surge in ammonia because it's not there

that's defenitly not a problem