# Best way to redesign tank



## Romungus (Sep 28, 2008)

Over time I've gone having a gourami tank to a cichlid tank. I now have 4 malawi cichlids in there and... sadly... no rocks. I know! I'm a terrible person for not setting the tank up first, but like I told one of my old girlfriends, "It just HAPPENED!" 

I still have the same 75gal tank I've had for about 15 years now, so I have the classic roman-ruins-with-fake-plants setup going on and REALLY want to swap it out for big rocks, as well as mix sand into the rocky bottom there now. I have one cave there, but no real place for the fish to hide like I know these like to do. Not to mention my crayfish is gettin pissed from all the new squatters. :chair:

My real question here is, would it be okay to take the structures out that are in there now (two are pretty large) while the fish are in it? The fixtures have been there for about a year and I can imagine the mess that is going to be floating around. If not, what's the best way to change the tank layout without completely freaking the fish out? I'm crazy nervous about this.  If anyone has had experience doing this let me know how well it worked out for ya.


----------



## mmseng (Oct 13, 2008)

I'm no expert, but if there's going to be THAT much debris and mulm floating around when you move this stuff, then it should have been done a long time ago.

From what I've picked up, fish aren't going to be hurt much by debris floating around, even if it's a lot of little bits. However to reduce the crazyness I'd probably be in there with a siphon the second you pull the stuff up, to catch it as soon as possible. If you really have all that stuff under one bit of decor, then I can't imagine what's in the substrate Xo


----------



## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

You're going to have to change your gravel anyway if you want to convert your tank to an african cichlid setup, so you might as well set up some temporary housing for your fish and THEN re-do your tank all the way at once.


----------



## Georgia Peach (Sep 23, 2005)

TheOldSalt said:


> You're going to have to change your gravel anyway if you want to convert your tank to an african cichlid setup, so you might as well set up some temporary housing for your fish and THEN re-do your tank all the way at once.



personally, I would remove the fish like TOS suggested above. If you plan on redoing the substrate, theres going to be alot of stuff floating around and while it wont hurt the fish - they really could do without the stress of breathing in all the pollution.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Malawi cichlids are tough, if you need to do it fishy you can. But if you tank has been set for over a year with no breakdowns, I would suggest a complete breakdown. You can put the fish in a couple of 5 gallon buckets for a couple hours. A 100% water change will let you start with 0 nitrate and you can adjust the pH/hardness if you need to.


----------



## Romungus (Sep 28, 2008)

Thanks everyone. 
I thought about doing a complete water change but wouldn't that cause the tank to go through a cycle again? 

I'm not gonna be able to find a temporary home for 8 fish and a crayfish. I've checked under the structures and the tank is cleaner than I thought. I don't think a terrible amount of debris will float around when I remove the structures like I thought... My biggest worry will be laying the sand substrate with water in the tank. Seems like it would just spread and float everywhere, taking forever to settle.

Good thing I'm in no rush... I really gotta think this through. I'm sure there's a way to do it safely.


----------



## Guest (Oct 17, 2008)

As long as you keep the filter media wet, you should have enough bacteria built up so you won't have to cycle the tank again....especially if you have a lesser bioload than you had in the past. But, that isn't always the case. You could put in a couple of the old decorations for a couple weeks to get the bacteria from there. Or you could save some of the old gravel and put it in a mesh bag so that it seeds the new substrate.

I've done substrate changes and not had to recycle the tank because the filter media stayed wet.

Don't change the filter media for about a month after the swap....just to be sure.


----------



## Romungus (Sep 28, 2008)

Great idea! I'll be changing it out that way.

Thanks everyone. This forum is full of smarts


----------



## LittlePuff (Jan 17, 2005)

Do you vacuum under the stuff in your tanks? That is usually where the gunk accumulates.


----------

