Planning a substrate change

[fish_r]

p.s. the way i would do the change is to get all the clean water out u can without disturbing the substrate. then take all the plants out and put in a bucket, then siphon all the sand out, then take the wood out. and then clean the tank with just fresh water and elbow grease then start filling the new substrate.

[DiscusEden]

Thanks again guys!

Fish_r, you're a lifesaver - and I just may take you up on that - if you think you can handle the 40kg puppy helping. I'll post again when the substrate arrives & maybe give you a call. Thankyou!

[DiscusEden]

Yay! It's here!

I'm getting a list of available plants tomorrow from the LFS, will get some new ones & just you wait, little fishies, paradise awaits! (Or chaos, we'll have to see how it goes.)

Thanks again for your halp guys - especially fish_r - get ready to roll up those sleeves - puppy's already been chewing on the boxes the substrate came in & the courier was too scared to come in the gate. I know how he feels some days.

Oooh - and I saw some albino kribs yesterday - they'd look good against the black substrate, don't you think? Or should I hold out for some apistos.....

You know, I saw Dr Harry on the TV a few weeks ago, saying that keeping fish as a pet costs $100 to set up & $20 a year to maintain. Amatuer.

[Robdog]

Sounds like you're getting the buzz again DE! Hope it all goes smooth for you

[fish_r]

looking forward to it DE, i'll bring my tazer for Sampson too lol
"only joking" hehe...

[DiscusEden]

Not funny. No WAY am I explaining that to the breeder. "Oh, I know his coat was wavy last time you saw it, but he got a fright..."

Thanks Robdog for the wellwishes. Yes, I can leave it alone for awhile, it seems like I'm happy with it as is, but then I wander in to pick up some fish food & just see one thing.... Have you guys noticed how pretty those marines are?

[ILLUSN]

Have you guys noticed how pretty those marines are?

not you too, discus are much prettier

[DiscusEden]

OK, leaving aside winding up the marine-a-phobes for a minute...

When I put the new eco-complete in, do I drain the black water first? The tank is currently running on 1 eheim filter, which I can keep running in the w/c barrel, but the overhead aqua-one filter is too heavy to shift & will have to be turned off for the duration, so do I treat it like a new cycling tank & leave the blackwater with the eco-complete in, or drain it?

When I go to clean the plants after chopping off the visibly affected leaves (there's currently a BBA issue), is it possible to wash them in something? If so, what? I've read about bleach solutions, but I'm not sure what brand or strength. I'll be wanting to do the same to the new ones I've ordered too.

Thanks again!

[DiscusEden]

Please?

Drain the eco-complete or not?

[fish_r]

what i think, i'm not 100% sure though is we get everything out, give the tank a good clean and then pour all the substrate in "including the black water" put the wood back in and fill it up a little with fresh water direct from the tap approx 80-100ltrs and see what it looks like conditioning it with prime, if it's not too murky i think leaving the black water in would be good too do cause if it's a black water extract it will probably settle ur fish when they eventually go back in. if it's looking ok. time to put all the plants back in and start the cannister running in the tank again. if u dont like the black water u will be able to do water changes over a few days to get rid of the tea look, but i honestly think it will be a good thing for the time being.
if u havn't cleaned the cannister since the last time i cleaned it for u there should be plenty of bacteria in there so the time ur trickle system is off i dont really think it will have a big impact on ur tank cycle wise. but it will pay to keep an eye on ur ammonia levels for a few days to make sure u dont have any spikes. if anything u might go through a mini cycle but nothing to be too concerned about imo.
if it was me i wouldn't be too concerned with bleaching the plants, but thats up too u.

if we can take the trickle system of the top of the tank it will also make it a lot easier to get the wood out, if not i cant promise i "can" get the wood out.