Total Betta Tank Revamp- Natural Tank

[Morphkid03]

I'm kind of getting tired of my tank's current gravel situation... But I don't know how it's best to change it due to having rooted plants, and the beneficial bacteria would be bad to lose.. What ways have any of you changed your gravel? Also what do you think is better: natural gravel or black gravel?

This is what I figure I will do- take my fish out, put them in a temp. container, siphon out all the water into a large bucket, dig out all the plants and float them in the water that was siphoned, put the filter and heater in the siphoned water, remove all the gravel and rinse it out, scrub the tank a bit to clean it up nice, then rinse the new gravel and put it in, pour half the siphoned water in, then replant the plants, fill the tank and put the filter and heater back in, then after letting it filter for a bit put the fish back in.

Does that sound right?

 

[Honeythorn]

You won't kill the bacteria by removing the gravel. Your main stock of bacteria is in your filter sponges/media. So you don't need to worry about that.

Wash your new gravel or sand BEFORE you start doing this. That way your fish will have to spend less time in the bucket being stressed because you can put the new washed gravel straight into the tank when you've cleaned it.


Switch everything off, syphon out half the water into a clean bucket ( make sure this bucket has only ever been used for fishtanks and water changes ) or a big plastic storage tub .

Put your heater and filter in the bucket , switch them back on. Since the filter is in a bucket of the same tankwater and is running, your bacteria will stay alive .

Catch all your fish and carefully add them to the bucket , then dig up the plants carefully, and add those to the bucket . This will keep them wet and give the fish somewhere to hide and calm down a little while you work.


Remove your current gravel , set it to one side ( you can deal with it later ) and wash the tank out with plain hot water.

Add your new clean gravel ( that you cleaned earlier ) , re-plant your plants, put any decor back in, and put half your tank water back in.

Switch off your filter and heater, put them back in the tank and switch them back on.

Add some more tank water so the tank is 3/4 full .

Add your fish and leave them to settle for an hour or so with the lights off.

Top the tank up to full with fresh dechlorinated water. ( Effectively you've done a 25% water change )

Done

 

[Morphkid03]

Awesome! Thanks!

Also, does anyone have any suggestions for home made/inexpensive small huts for fish? I was thinking of either chipping a nice nook into a medium-sizedpiece of rock and making a hut, or getting a coconut cave... Not sure, I'm trying to convert to a completely "natural" look.

 

[lilfishie]

coconut caves work very well, theres some on ebay cheap at the moment

 

[Morphkid03]

Cool, cool.

So when I put in the new gravel I decided I'm going to rearrange everything in the tank. This is what I am thinking of doing....

What do you guys think?

 

[loraxchick]

i wouldnt discount the gravel for holding lots of bacteria. i dont know why folks think it is only found in the filter in large quantities. its all about surface area. wherever it can establish it will. i wouldnt expect a drastic die-off but be prepared for a mini cycle and extra water changes. adding more or fresh fast growing plants will help keep the ammonia lower while the bacteria have a chance to catch up. also, sont wash your decorations as they will have some bacteria on them as well.
i have a little rock cave in one of my betta tanks and he loves swimming though it and sometimes naps in there.
have fun! say hi to oliver.

 

[Honeythorn]

Cool, cool.

So when I put in the new gravel I decided I'm going to rearrange everything in the tank. This is what I am thinking of doing....

What do you guys think?

Looks good but the air stone is not nessecary and your plants may not grow as well as they could, due to the surface disturbance from the airstone causing the CO2 to gas off more quickly. Other than that it looks fine. A small new, unused terracotta plantpot laid on it's side can also make a fine cave for a betta.

 

[Morphkid03]

Hmm, ok. So here's what I've got so far:

I would break the pot in 2 so it would be a nice arc thing going on.. Should it stay closer to the plants or dragged out a bit, I think out maybe 2 more inches would look nice..

 

[Honeythorn]

It's entirely up to you. If it were me I'd put some plants around it to hide it a little more.

 

[Morphkid03]

Yeah, as soon as I can scrounge up the cash I'm gonna work on getting some more plant bulbs I think..
I'm gonna keep it lurking in the plants I have I suppose.

Can't wait to pick up the gravel today and get this done!

 

[LionMom]

"i dont know why folks think it is only found in the filter in large quantities. its all about surface area. wherever it can establish it will."

ABSOLUTELY! It grows on any and all rough surfaces in the tank.

 

[Morphkid03]

Will putting some of the established gravel in a stocking and keeping it in the tank for a bit help?

 

[Morphkid03]

Oh my god, am I worn out.

I switched everything out, taking as many measures as I could to preserve the good bacteria I had...

The natural gravel I got looks fabulous, I broke a terracotta pot into a nice triangle and added it, replanted everything... Took about 2 hours.

I'll post pics tomorrow, I put the fish back and turned out the lights, don't need them any more stressed for today. I'm in love with my now all-natural tank!

 

[Morphkid03]

Ugh, I just *have* to show you guys.. I'm so proud of my tank. I took a quick snapshot so you could take a look, give me suggestions, etc.. Any comments are appreciated.

BEFORE:

Crazy color gravel, only hiding areas were the bottom of the wood and the plants..

AFTER:

Natural gravel, plants no longer banded together but planted apart, terracotta pot hut. I'm in love.

 

[mollymae12]

Looks really nice and the pot is a good idea. I might have to try it out.