General Questions

[M4R13Y]

How would you change the gravel in an aquarium?

What is the best type of rock to put in an aquarium e.g. That won't affect warer parameters.

 

[fluttermoth]

Changing substrate is best done by completely stripping down the tank, IMO. I've tried doing it fish-in once and it was a total nightmare! There was soo much crud trapped in there (and I'm pretty good about gravel 'hoovering'!) I literally couldn't see what I was doing It was also stressful for the fish, as I had an outbreak of whitespot the next day, which I hadn't had in any of my tanks for years before that.

There are loads of safe rocks; granite and slate are usually the easiest to get. Avoid limestone, marble and anything that has metallic veins.

to the forum, btw

 

[hensonc4098]

If you're unsure as to what rocks are safe or not to use, put a few drops of vinegar on a few different parts of the rock for about 30 seconds. If there's no fizzing or bubbling after that time, they will be fine to put in the tank. Just make sure that any rocks that you find outside and plan to put in the tank you wash throughly to stop you getting things you don't want in the tank.

 

[fluttermoth]

I've been told that vinegar is not a strong enough acid for testing rocks and that, if you want to test them that way, you should use rust remover.

 

[M4R13Y]

flutter mouth: thanks for the great advice. I have heard changing the gravel causes new tank syndrome could you combat this by leaving the old gravel in the tank but in nets until the new gravel was 'cycled'. would rocks from the beach be ok ???

Hensonc4098: awesome trick will try that out







THANKS GUYS !!!!!!!!!

 

[fluttermoth]

There is very little bacteria in the substrate, so there's no reason to expect new tank syndrome after changing. As always with any major tank upheavals it's wise to test for ammonia and nitrite and feed sparingly (or not at all) for a couple of days before and after.

Rocks from the beach might be ok, but you need to know what they are and be able to soak them in fresh water, changing it every day, to get rid of any excess salt. I feel I ought to point out that taking rocks from beaches is illegal in many places, so do bear that in mind!

 

[M4R13Y]

Oh thanks for telling me before I went and got a load from the beach

Would you reccommend coloured gravel because I am converting my community tank into a cherry red shrimp breeding tank and have heard they do better on darker substrate

 

[fluttermoth]

I don't think they 'do better', as such, but they do look better with a darker substrate. For shrimps it doesn't matter too much so go with what you like best, although nothing too large as you don't want food getting stuck in the gaps and rotting; shrimps are very sensitive to poor water quality.

 

[hensonc4098]

Cherry shrimp tend to look good on dark sands, where they feel safe enough to display their full colours. On pale sands and gravels, it is too bright for them to feel totally at ease and so you don't get the full colours out of them.

 

[M4R13Y]

Cherry shrimp tend to look good on dark sands, where they feel safe enough to display their full colours. On pale sands and gravels, it is too bright for them to feel totally at ease and so you don't get the full colours out of them.

Should I change to a darker sand/ gravel when I convert my tank then ??

 

[fluttermoth]

What have you got at the moment?

 

[M4R13Y]

What have you got at the moment?

I have natural Coloured gravel a resin no fishing sign and 3 plants

 

[M4R13Y]

What have you got at the moment?

I have natural Coloured gravel a resin no fishing sign and 3 plants ?..?

 

[hensonc4098]

It's up to you what you like the look of to be honest. At the end of the day, you're going to be the one looking at it all the time, not us!