Changing gravel/substrate help

Hi Guys ,

I wanted to know how to go about changing my gravel , currently looks unsightly with lots of algae.
I did see see som posts on youtube that the gravel holds alot of valuable bacteria ,
so do i just remove old gravel and put new one ?

its a 4ft tank and currently has internal filtration built into the tank .
Tank has been running for 3 months
Can a pro help a beginner with some advice .

Thanks ,

 

not a pro..
You would have to drain the tank , take out old gravel and put new one in.. maybe put a thin layer of the old substrate under the new one to keep some of the bacteria.
thats what i did with no issues

 

Thanks byron
Drain 250liters ? what about the fish ? Wont they die , will i have to recycle ?

 

Hi @mono me too I am not a pro but @Byron is correct and he is more of a pro then I am. You should see his planted tank. What fish do you have in the tank? We need to establish why you are getting so much algae on the gravel. If some thing is going on in the tank then adding new substrate will not be the solution. What substrate do you want to change too?

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

If you keep some of your water and keep all filtration media wet and aerated you will not kill the fish. Just make sure the new water you add in to the tank has been treated. As @Byron said, you can keep some of the old gravel.

 

The old gravel is more like small stones/pebbles. Its only 3 months old.
I have too many fish as per my piost in the beginners sections
3x parrotfish,6dollars , 1 hifin pangasius , 1xcompressiceps, 2xgolden deacon, 2 plecos,1 synodontis catfish , 2 x oscars , 1xthreadfin acara ,1 angel, 2 x tinfoils , 1 malawi ?
I want to put in some of the fine sand that looks awesome and perhaps some live plants ,
I am willing to get downsize some of the fish but no takers as yet. fish are in awesome condition. and i will sell them at practically a loss.

 

Another option instead of removing all the water is to remove the easily accessible gravel with a clean container and the rest can be removed with a fish net. This is what I did and had no problems.

 

The majority of the bacteria will be in your filter. You don't have to worry about the bacteria in the gravel.

 

I would get rid of many of those fish first if you are going to have live plants. Many of those fish are plant destroyers.

 

What is your current maintenance regime? In other words, how much water are you changing and how often? Are you vacuuming the gravel? Do you feed only as much as your fish can eat in a few minutes? How often do you rinse filters.

You need to establish why you're left with an excess of nutrients in the tank, or they will just build up again after the gravel change, and you'll be back to square one.

 

Bacteria cling to every surface available to them, so if you are going to change your substrate, remember to do more frequent water changes for the first few weeks after the change, to give the colonies time to repopulate.

 

I do water changes once a week about 40liters , ido only feed the fish once a day , but the Oscars mess like you cant imagine.
My tank has built in filtration. Limestone / Filter matting / Charcoal not the usual type/than filter wool . My water is crystal clear all the time
And i only use aquarium salt nothing else . getting rid of the fish is gonna be a huge problem i know

 

Ps : vacuum once a week with the water changes , filter media changed every six weeks as per LFS

 

That is true, but bacteria need oxygen to survive as well as food. There is some oxygen in the substrate and some bacteria, but there is way more oxygenated water flowing through the filter and, therefore, way more bacteria in the filter. (After all, the purpose of the filter is to keep the filter media which is made up of mechanical filtration as well as biological filtration.) I previously replaced my substrate - all of it. I didn't need to do more frequent water changes afterwards. If you have a UGF and that is your only method of filtration, the substrate IS the filter. Then you may need to do more frequent water changes. But I don't think that's the case here.

 

Now that is a problem. You should be changing a minimum of 50% once a week. With your fish load you could do a 50% water change every day. You should never replace all your filter media at the same time because that is where the bacteria live. Every time you replace your filter media the filter has to cycle again. Remember, it's not the tank that cycles, but the filter. Semantics, I know, but it can avoid misunderstandings.

 

Sounds like your maintenance regime is fine. You should the filter wool in the water that you remove on a weekly basis at least as well. Sounds like you have a heck of a lotta fish though. Let's see what the experts say. Maybe you can post a pic?

Sorry Jen.... I just realised that I was contradicting you. My bad... didn't mean to do that. I'm still learning here as well.:embarrest:

 

I havnt ever changed the filter wool or the matting at the same change. i will post some pics tonight.
Bare in mind this is a novice

 

And some picks of the fish.

 

Ok, weighing in here - I'm guessing from that that your tank has a built in filter at the side or back - but Limestone? That's not a standard filter media - also, I'm not sure what charcoal not the usual sort means. I totally understand that you're a novice and have been relying on LPS advice (not a great idea really, but we all learned that one the hard way... so don't feel alone please, or that we're grilling you.)

I would like to explain that water that LOOKS crystal clear isn't really an indication of anything - you cannot judge water quality by its appearance alone.

I can think of another dozen questions to ask - so instead, would you take the time to copy and paste our questionnaire when you have some pics to load? That might help us get a more complete picture of what's happening and then perhaps someone can really help. Here is a link http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?6393-Identifying-Disease-Questionnaire

 

General
Where do you stay? Johannesburg , Bruma
How long have you been keeping tropical fishes? 3 Months and previously very long ago 15yrs ago
How long has the tank been running before you added fish/this fish? 3 Weeks
What fish do you have in your Tank (type, number and size)? Cichlids SA/Various / 24 in total
When did you last buy any new fish? 2 Weeks ago
Which food are you feeding and how often do you feed? Once a day , Tetra Flakes/wafers/bloodworm/cichlid sticks


Disease
No diseases at present,had white spot which has been eliminated a month ago

Your aquarium & Maintenance
How big is the tank. (L x b x h)? 122x42x42
How many litres of water? 250l
What type of filter do you run?Built in
What is IN the filter?Bottom some kind of stone/Matting/charcoal small stone type/filter wool
How many litres per hour is the filter rated for? not sure , has submersible pump
How often do you clean your tank? Once a week , 40 liters
How do you clean your tank?Gravel Vac , add salt to new water and refill
How much water do you take out for Water change?40 liters
Do you prepare your water for water changes? How and what do you add? see above
What water do you use. (Tap, bore hole, RO)? Tap
What substrate do you have? small stones/pebble around 1cm round
What else is in the tank (Rocks, plants, fake plants, shells, anything else)? Rocks and arteficial plants

Water parameters in your aquarium
Describe the water (smell and colour)? Clear / Clean , smells like fish a bit
Temperature of the water? 28 degrees
How did you test these? LFS they used 6 in 1 strips
Have you checked the expiry date on the test kits? Dont have

Lights
What light do you have? Usual old fashioned grey ballast / 1 Blue globe / 1 x pink globe
How long is the light on for? 8am morning till around 9 at night
Do you have lots of plants in the tank (real or fake)? only fake
How do you fertilize the plants?n/a

If possible, can you post some pictures of
(1) The sick fish
(2) A close up of the sick fish, and/or effected area
(3) the full tank.