Baileyfrog
05-26-2009, 02:29 AM
Being a newbie and all, I originally purchased a bag of colored gravel from Petsmart along with the tank and other decor. I've had it up and running for several months (fully cycled), and now I want to redo my 6 gallon tank and change the substrate so I can add some more live plants.
I'm thinking of removing the colored gravel and adding some Eco-complete so that I can plant various low light plants in the substrate. Would you recommend that I also purchase some black or dark colored gravel to put on top of the Eco-complete? If so, what size should the gravel be? Do you have any recommendations on where I can purchase the gravel online?
I have some fish and a snail in the tank already. How should I handle the substrate change? Should I put all of the inhabitants in a bucket with water from the tank and a heater for a few hours while I switch out the substrate? I'm planning to drain the tank, remove the colored gravel, replace with the Eco-complete (and possibly a layer of dark gravel on top), and then fill the tank mainly with new dechlor water, plus the water from the bucket where the inhabitants will stay for a few hours.
I'm guessing that the Eco-complete might make the water murky for a few hours; should I wait until the water is clear before adding the fish, etc? Will my plan drastically alter the parameters and possibly create a mini cycle? I plan to add Stress Zyme after doing the water change. Will this suffice or do I need to add anything else to ensure that the parameters are safe? Anything else I need to know? Ideally I would like to place the inhabitants in another cycled tank while I redo my 6 gallon, but unfortunately this is not an option for me, so just wondering what an acceptable alternative would be.
Please let me know if you foresee any problems with my plan.
Thanks in advance for your help!!
I'm thinking of removing the colored gravel and adding some Eco-complete so that I can plant various low light plants in the substrate. Would you recommend that I also purchase some black or dark colored gravel to put on top of the Eco-complete? If so, what size should the gravel be? Do you have any recommendations on where I can purchase the gravel online?
I have some fish and a snail in the tank already. How should I handle the substrate change? Should I put all of the inhabitants in a bucket with water from the tank and a heater for a few hours while I switch out the substrate? I'm planning to drain the tank, remove the colored gravel, replace with the Eco-complete (and possibly a layer of dark gravel on top), and then fill the tank mainly with new dechlor water, plus the water from the bucket where the inhabitants will stay for a few hours.
I'm guessing that the Eco-complete might make the water murky for a few hours; should I wait until the water is clear before adding the fish, etc? Will my plan drastically alter the parameters and possibly create a mini cycle? I plan to add Stress Zyme after doing the water change. Will this suffice or do I need to add anything else to ensure that the parameters are safe? Anything else I need to know? Ideally I would like to place the inhabitants in another cycled tank while I redo my 6 gallon, but unfortunately this is not an option for me, so just wondering what an acceptable alternative would be.
Please let me know if you foresee any problems with my plan.
Thanks in advance for your help!!