# changing substrate



## matt52592 (Jun 28, 2008)

say i wanna change my gravel to another gravel or sand. what would be the easiest way to do it while the fish are still in it??


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

just scoop it out with a rubbermaid container or something. Tank will mini cycle but shouldnt be too much of big deal. Add new stuff carefully, using the container to put back in not just pour it in there.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i am not too crazy about changing gravel while fish are still in the tank..i always mange to scoop somebody up and bury a couple more..lol....
but osiris is right,just use a scoop and be careful...


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## ivwarrior (Jul 27, 2008)

I wouldn't do sand with fish in the tank. I just switched to sand myself, and even though I rinsed (and rinsed and rinsed and.....) the sand before putting it in, and was careful about going slowly, the tank was still cloudy 24 hours later. I had taken about 50% of the water out before starting the substrate change, and ended up doing about a 90% change 24 hours later trying to get the cloudy stuff out. During that 24 hour period, the filter was moved to the tank I had put the fish in, so nothing was stirring the water up. I couldn't imagine the fish being very happy in the environment.

If at all possible, I'd get a different tank (or a tub of some sort) to put the fish in while you make the switch.


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## welchrock (Jan 4, 2008)

i just did a gravel to professional (eco-complete) substrate swap myself, and my suggestion would be to just do it in steps. mine when perfectly smoothly (although of course there was some cloudiness at times) and went something like this:

day 1: removed 40% of my gravel
day 5: removed 40% of my gravel
day 8: removed the remaining 20% of my gravel, put it in a pantyhose and kept it in the tank.
day 9: put 60% of my eco-complete in the tank
day 10: put the remainign 40% of my eco-complete in the tank
day 17: removed the pantyhose filled with gravel.


wow now that i type it out, it sounds a bit lengthy but considering all that stuff takes a good amount of time anyways, it's a good way to break it up for both the health of the fish and the owner. 

my fish were happy and healthy the whole time, and didn't seem any more stressed than when i do a water change.


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## matt52592 (Jun 28, 2008)

i think that since im due for a water change im gonna change like 50% of the water, do the change and then fill up remaining


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## Guest (Aug 8, 2008)

I figure it stresses the fish some either way (leaving them in or catching them), so I just take mine out. Its easier for me and I don't have to worry about scooping one up (like Loha said). Also, its easier to rearrange plants and such for me, without the fish in my way.

You'll probably want to drain less than 50%....probably more like 70-80% (another reason its good to take them out, you can drain alot of water making it easier to take out and put new stuff in).

For sand especially, you'll want to take out like 80% and then refill really slow so hopefully it will settle.



welchrock's post is a good reference if you must leave the fish in though.


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