Changing Gravel

[Ishmael_]

Hey Guys,
After reading around the forum I've decided to go with a bare bottom tank. I was just hoping to get some tips as to how I should go about it. I have 6 juvies in my tank, should I remove them while I'm removing my gravel and decorations or leave them in the tank? Unfortunately I don't have a second tank to place them in while I do this. So how should I do this? Any help would be great thanks.

[atitagain]

Pick up a plastic tub or trash can and run your heater and air in while you remove the gravel from the tank. If you have sponge I would toss that in there too.

[Sean Buehrle]

I think the best way to go about it is to have a large diameter hose to suck it out with.
Maybe even buy a cheap cat littler scoop and remove a large majority of it first.
Have a lot of water ready so you can scrub the tank and refill a couple times to make sure you get all the gunk out.
You don't want any bacteria or whatever floating around in there.

Go for it :)

[Ishmael_]

I think the best way to go about it is to have a large diameter hose to suck it out with.
Maybe even buy a cheap cat littler scoop and remove a large majority of it first.
Have a lot of water ready so you can scrub the tank and refill a couple times to make sure you get all the gunk out.
You don't want any bacteria or whatever floating around in there.

Go for it :)
OK thank you, when scrubbing the tank should I use simply water or would soap be ok as long as I rinse it out well?

[Ishmael_]

Pick up a plastic tub or trash can and run your heater and air in while you remove the gravel from the tank. If you have sponge I would toss that in there too.
Ok, thanks. How long should I let my bin run for before transferring my fish for the cleaning?

[zimmjeff]

no soap

[atitagain]

Pull water from the tank into you barrel, I used a 32 gallon Brute trash can when I did mine and they were in there for a couple hours with no problems.

I run a canister filter so it was running in the can while I cleaned out the gravel. I didn't go BB though, I added a real fine Michigan flint gravel because the stuff I had in there was to large.

I let everything settle to the bottom and just siphoned it out real good. I didn't scrub the tank down all that well, I figured there is beneficial bacteria that would help the stability of the tank.

[DEBaker]

I've siphoned gravel out with a hose into a 5 gal bucket and used the python to pull the water from the bucket at the same time. The gravel would drop to the bottom of the bucket. It takes a few water changes to get it all but it works if you are not in a hurry. An extra set of hands can help avoid a spill!

[Ishmael_]

Pull water from the tank into you barrel, I used a 32 gallon Brute trash can when I did mine and they were in there for a couple hours with no problems.

I run a canister filter so it was running in the can while I cleaned out the gravel. I didn't go BB though, I added a real fine Michigan flint gravel because the stuff I had in there was to large.

I let everything settle to the bottom and just siphoned it out real good. I didn't scrub the tank down all that well, I figured there is beneficial bacteria that would help the stability of the tank. Hmm what if I don't have a canister filter. Mine hangs outside the tank. Will it still work?

[Sean Buehrle]

Your putting way too much thought into this.
Remove the gravel,clean the tank,keep the water clean.:)

[Ishmael_]

Your putting way too much thought into this.
Remove the gravel,clean the tank,keep the water clean.:)
I guess I am, but I just want to do it right and keep my fish safe. I'm new to discus and I just want to take any precautions necessary is all.

[JenTN]

Im removing mine slowly over a couple of weeks..take a bit out every wc in an old tupperware container...easy peasy! BTW Sean isnt it in fishkeepers dna to overthink everything??? Took me a month to plan out mu very first stocklist lol.

[Ishmael_]

Im removing mine slowly over a couple of weeks..take a bit out every wc in an old tupperware container...easy peasy! BTW Sean isnt it in fishkeepers dna to overthink everything??? Took me a month to plan out mu very first stocklist lol. I think I'm gonna do that took a bit out Friday. Probably gonna take out more tomorrow.
Thanks for your help everyone. :)

[stenchx]

wont this be killing most of the beneficial bacteria since your cleaning the tank thoroughly making the tank go through a mini cycle?

[Sean Buehrle]

wont this be killing most of the beneficial bacteria since your cleaning the tank thoroughly making the tank go through a mini cycle?

It won't be a problem with water changes.

[stenchx]

It won't be a problem with water changes.
So your saying it will go through another cycle?

[Sean Buehrle]

So your saying it will go through another cycle?

It could go through a small one, sure.

Just don't pack your fish with food constantly. Keep the tank clean and do your daily water changes.
Do some tests for ammonia and nitrIte.

You have removed substrate and along with it some of the biological organisms responsible for the nitrogen cycle.
Not to worry, they multiply at a alarming rate. Something like doubling in a 24 hour period, it's fast.

Change water and test, no biggie.