# Changing substrate



## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

The way I have changed substrate (as well as the tank) is to drain out at least half of the water. Remove the plants and keep them in a bucket of tank water. Wait a few minutes for the tank to clear a bit, then net out the fish and keep them in a bucket of tank water. Drain out as much more water as I can. Net out the last fish. Scoop out all of the old substrate. Clean the tank well (or replace it). Put some mulm from the old setup in the bottom of the tank. Wash the new substrate, and add it. Put just enough water in the tank to cover the substrate. Add the driftwood. Plant the plants, as much as possible. Fill the tank about 3/4 full and add Prime to take care of chlorine and chloramine in the water. Finish any planting. Add the fish, acclimating them to the new water first. Finish filling the tank, and setting up all equipment. Don't do any cleaning of the canister filter - just restart it.

This has worked every time for me.


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## VeeSe (Apr 16, 2011)

It's very very dangerous to swap your canister filter's media at the same time as you change your substrate. You will likely wipe out almost all of the beneficial bacteria and have to cycle your tank all over again, except all your fish will be exposed to ammonia, nitrite, etc. because you already have them in there.


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## HolyAngel (Oct 18, 2010)

If you want a substrate that's already 'cycled' and good for plants I know of only 1 option really. Caribsea Tahitian moon black sand.. Maybe mix it with Eco complete or fluorite/floramax for better cec ratio.. 
I'd also put a good portion of the current substrate in pantyhose and leave them in the tank for a couple weeks after you switch to whatever new substrate you get. Do not touch the canister filter! Leave it be for now until you KNOW the tank is cycled for good..


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Hoppy said:


> The way I have changed substrate (as well as the tank) is to drain out at least half of the water. Remove the plants and keep them in a bucket of tank water. Wait a few minutes for the tank to clear a bit, then net out the fish and keep them in a bucket of tank water. Drain out as much more water as I can. Net out the last fish. Scoop out all of the old substrate. Clean the tank well (or replace it). Put some mulm from the old setup in the bottom of the tank. Wash the new substrate, and add it. Put just enough water in the tank to cover the substrate. Add the driftwood. Plant the plants, as much as possible. Fill the tank about 3/4 full and add Prime to take care of chlorine and chloramine in the water. Finish any planting. Add the fish, acclimating them to the new water first. Finish filling the tank, and setting up all equipment. Don't do any cleaning of the canister filter - just restart it.
> 
> This has worked every time for me.


That's pretty much what I do, too.

Keep in mind that the mulm from your tank is FULL of N-bacteria- the more of that you can vacuum out and save to put under the new substrate, the better. I don't think I've ever had an ammonia or nitrite spike in a tank where I was able to put down plenty of fresh mulm under the substrate?


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## 10galfornow (May 13, 2011)

What is mulm? And what is a good new substrate for doing this?


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Substrates don't need to "cycle", that is for the tank and all surfaces within the tank. ADA Aquasoil leaches ammonia into the water for a couple of weeks or longer, so it needs big water changes every couple of days or so, for that long. Pool filter sand, Flourite, Eco Complete, Fluval Stratum, Soilmaster Select (and similar products), mineralized topsoil, etc. are good as soon as you put them in the tank.

If you don't mind spending money, you could use Fluval Stratum and have a nutrient filled substrate with no leaching problems. If you prefer an inert substrate, Flourite is good, if you lack spending money, mineralized topsoil and/or pool filter sand are good.


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## 10galfornow (May 13, 2011)

Alright I'm gonna get fluval shrimp stratum, cause I have amanos and the smaller size will look better I think. Should I wash it before I put it in? Will the cloudy water hurt my fish? And what about the driftwood I asked about in my original post?


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Fluval recommends washing the Stratum, gently, until the water runs clear. I found that regular Stratum was very dusty and it took quite a bit of washing to get it reasonably clean. Cloudy water primarily makes the tank remain ugly for much longer.

As long as you clean a piece of wood well you can put it in the tank when you want to. It will leach tannins for much longer if you haven't soaked it for a month or so, but otherwise you shouldn't have any problems with it. Mopani wood tends to sink as soon as you put it in water.


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## 10galfornow (May 13, 2011)

ok thanks. another quick question, i can still return my cardinal tetras to petsmart. would that be a wise decision to avoid casualties or should they be fine, but just a little stressed?


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

It's totally a judgment call that's all up to you. I only lost one out of about 60 Cardinals when I moved a few months ago and did a big substrate change in the process- but I didn't experience any ammonia spike at all. It doesn't take much ammonia or nitrite to put Cardinals at risk, though- so it's always a risk when doing lots of work in a tank.


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## 10galfornow (May 13, 2011)

So is it good just to have only the shrimp stratum or should I put something beneath or above it? Nothing can leak anything harmful though.


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## jasonpatterson (Apr 15, 2011)

10galfornow said:


> What is mulm? And what is a good new substrate for doing this?


When you vacuum the gravel and get all that brown flakey crap out, that's mulm. Basically a bacterial colony that has grown on all the dead plants, extra food, and fish poop that made their way to the bottom of the tank.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Fluval Stratum is supposed to be free from leaching of ammonia, which means you don't need to cap it with anything. I use it in a 45 gallon tank, and had no problems with ammonia that I could see. I did wait 2 weeks to add fish, just to allow the plants to get a good start on growing before adding fish waste to the equation. I would have no worry about putting fish or shrimp in the tank immediately, when you are using the cycled filter, the plants and hardscape with new substrate.


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

I may have said it before, but I'll say it again.......Hoppy, you unfailingly give some of the best advice I have ever read on this forum ! You have no doubt helped a great many newbies (and some experienced people too) work out their problems in this hobby. Please keep up the great work. I for one admire it.
Sincerely,
Paul


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## chiefroastbeef (Feb 14, 2011)

3 months ago, I swapped from my acrylic tank to an ADA 60p. I transferred over my fish ( 8 cardinal tetras, 5 ember tetras, countless chili rasboras, nerite snails, 5 pygmy cories, 7 celestial pearl danios), plants, and driftwood. 

I used shrimp Stratum as a new substrate because I was sick and tired of the gravel( couldn't grow much, stems plants would just die). I didn't rinse the Stratum, and placed it right into the new tank. Put driftwood and plants back in, adding the old tank water, and new tap water. I then connected the established canister filter to the new tank, and finally placed the fish in there.

I swapped everything in 3 hours, no fish died, and they were very happy in the new tank. I bought Stratum specifically because it didn't leech ammonia. The new plants I bought are doing great in the Stratum, and fish are doing great too (some died from Ich later on).

I wouldn't bother rinsing the Stratum, just place it right in, and use a plate to disperse the water into the tank to prevent cloudiness.


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## 10galfornow (May 13, 2011)

chiefroastbeef said:


> 3 months ago, I swapped from my acrylic tank to an ADA 60p. I transferred over my fish ( 8 cardinal tetras, 5 ember tetras, countless chili rasboras, nerite snails, 5 pygmy cories, 7 celestial pearl danios), plants, and driftwood.
> 
> I used shrimp Stratum as a new substrate because I was sick and tired of the gravel( couldn't grow much, stems plants would just die). I didn't rinse the Stratum, and placed it right into the new tank. Put driftwood and plants back in, adding the old tank water, and new tap water. I then connected the established canister filter to the new tank, and finally placed the fish in there.
> 
> ...


Glad that i chose right! for some reason my american elodea is melting. hopefully the new substrate will change that. did you take out the plants first and then the fish? that seems like that would be the best way.


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## MichiganMan (Apr 18, 2011)

Great thread, I'm planning to do this on my 30g high. I mixed eco-complete and river gravel type substrate that I had with the tank; Now that I see it, I think it looks like <donkey>. Wish I would have gone with straight eco-complete. 

Ah well, live and learn.


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## chiefroastbeef (Feb 14, 2011)

10galfornow said:


> Glad that i chose right! for some reason my american elodea is melting. hopefully the new substrate will change that. did you take out the plants first and then the fish? that seems like that would be the best way.


Yep, I took out plants, rock and driftwood out, lowered water to 1/4 level, and netted the fish. Even with the tank tilted, and nothing else in the tank, the fish were still surprisingly hard to catch.

I also added some root tab fertilizer into the stratum, the plants are doing great. They are growing extremely slow, due to low light and no co2, but they look healthy and not melting and dying.


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## chiefroastbeef (Feb 14, 2011)

MichiganMan said:


> Great thread, I'm planning to do this on my 30g high. I mixed eco-complete and river gravel type substrate that I had with the tank; Now that I see it, I think it looks like <donkey>. Wish I would have gone with straight eco-complete.
> 
> Ah well, live and learn.


haha, can you take a photo so we can see how donkey it looks? I imagine pretty donkefied.


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## 10galfornow (May 13, 2011)

well i got 4 wpg 6500k on a 10 gallon with excel so i think they should do fine, i just got it today! just went and looked at it when i got home, looks like soil balls it's gonna look good :hihi: i'll change it tomorrow, will the fish be good if i don't keep the filter on the bucket? or should i leave it on the bucket? i'll take out the 1/3 water, then the plants, then another 1/3 of water, then the fish, then the rest of the water i can get, and leave the remaining water to de chlorinated water with prime in it, plant the tank with the bottom moist, and once i fill back up the tank add enough prime for 10 gallons, let it sit for 20 min, and then add in the fish. there will be some redecorating going on, tank is gonna look good as fack after this. Thanks people


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## 10galfornow (May 13, 2011)

changed it. check my sig if you wanna see.


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