Starting over with an established planted aquarium

[E. Mito]

Can anyone give me some suggestions on how to replace the gravel in an
established aquarium? What I want to do is take out the old gravel (which are
large pebbles, not very good plant substrate) so that I can replace it with a
better substrate (probably a mix of plain small gravel with Fluorite).

I have an E. tennellus plant that has spread all throughout the front of the
tank and am most worried about how I'll transplant this guy. Also in the tank
are lots of wendtii crypts that haven't been moved or pruned for over a year
(so the root system is probably a big mess now), one or two apongetons (sp?) 3
amazons, some bacopa, foxtails, anubias, and some other stem plants I had
leftover from my 55 gallon that I am not too concerned about (they're easy to
pull out and transplant).

It's a 20 gallon long tank with 2x18W of light. I want to keep the lighting as
is...I just want to know the safest way (with respect to plant health) to
re-plant in new substrate.

TIA for any suggestions/comments.

Erica
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/mitoem/mitoem/index.htm

[Steve Galupe]

Can't you just add those substrate additives like Root Tabs by aquapharm?
They also have laterite granules that you can carefully add to them bottom
of your tank.

Moving your crypts around might shock them. Unless you're very patient,
tennelus are hard to replant. Aren't they?!

"E. Mito" > wrote in message
...
> Can anyone give me some suggestions on how to replace the gravel in an
> established aquarium? What I want to do is take out the old gravel (which
are
> large pebbles, not very good plant substrate) so that I can replace it
with a
> better substrate (probably a mix of plain small gravel with Fluorite).
>
> I have an E. tennellus plant that has spread all throughout the front of
the
> tank and am most worried about how I'll transplant this guy. Also in the
tank
> are lots of wendtii crypts that haven't been moved or pruned for over a
year
> (so the root system is probably a big mess now), one or two apongetons
(sp?) 3
> amazons, some bacopa, foxtails, anubias, and some other stem plants I had
> leftover from my 55 gallon that I am not too concerned about (they're easy
to
> pull out and transplant).
>
> It's a 20 gallon long tank with 2x18W of light. I want to keep the
lighting as
> is...I just want to know the safest way (with respect to plant health) to
> re-plant in new substrate.
>
> TIA for any suggestions/comments.
>
> Erica
> http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/mitoem/mitoem/index.htm
>

[E. Mito]

In article >, "Steve Galupe"
> writes:

>Can't you just add those substrate additives like Root Tabs by aquapharm?
>They also have laterite granules that you can carefully add to them bottom
>of your tank.
>
>Moving your crypts around might shock them. Unless you're very patient,
>tennelus are hard to replant. Aren't they?!
>

Thanks for the reply, Steve. I have added the Seachem root tabs to the
substrate; I don't know if its
the root tabs or the DIY CO2 I'm injecting, but recently the wendtii's look
fabulous. The original
tennelus plant is in terrible shape, but the plantlets that have spread out
from it look ok.

There's a bad case of what I believe to be BBA on my anubias leaves and a few
Amazon leaves;
this is an old (~1 year) problem though and I thought that I would just prune
everything when I
redid the tank...I've also got some amano shrimp, SAE's, and otos on order from
aquariumfish.net
if they ever process my order...hopefully they will help keep future outbreaks
in check.

I have ben wanting to redo the tank (as far as re-aquascaping) and replace the
gravel just because
I was under the impression that large gravel isn't very good substrate (when I
say large, I mean the
gravel measures approx. 1/2" to 3/4" in diameter) and because it's very
difficult to make the plants
stay put. Stem plants don't stay down...they just float right up becuase they
can't get a good
roothold in the substrate. Right now it's sort of just a holding tank for
extra plants that I plan to use
when my angelfish fry (also housed in the tank) are large enough to adopt, but
I would like to
turn it into something nice to look at.

So do you think I should just keep the big gravel in there and supplement with
laterite balls in
addition to the root tabs? I have an extra bag of Fluorite I was thinking of
mixing in with some
smaller pea gravel...maybe I could just pour this on top of the existing gravel
and try to let
it slip between the bigger pieces?

Again, I appreciate your reply. Let me know if you have any other suggestions.
Thanks!




Erica
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/mitoem/mitoem/index.htm

[Steve Galupe]

Do you have enough containers to hold most of the fish stock and most of
the aquarium water that's in there right now?
I would drain it. Put the biowheel in the container holding the aquarium
water or the fish stock. Make sure that the conatiner holding the fish
stock is suitable for them while you're working on the tank.

I'm wondering if you can seperate the crypts from your current gravel with
only minimal damage to the roots. After you clean out the tank, and remove
all sight of algae on the filter and the tank (by scrubbing), lay the
crypts(roots and all) down and then pour around your flourite/gravel
substrate carefully.

I've read an article in THE KRIB that BBA (black beard algae) thrives in
bodies of water that are acidic, lots of water movement, and very low in CO2
levels (ie streams). And a couple of young SAEs shouldn't bother your
babies.

"E. Mito" > wrote in message
...
> In article >, "Steve Galupe"
> > writes:
>
> >Can't you just add those substrate additives like Root Tabs by aquapharm?
> >They also have laterite granules that you can carefully add to them
bottom
> >of your tank.
> >
> >Moving your crypts around might shock them. Unless you're very patient,
> >tennelus are hard to replant. Aren't they?!
> >
>
> Thanks for the reply, Steve. I have added the Seachem root tabs to the
> substrate; I don't know if its
> the root tabs or the DIY CO2 I'm injecting, but recently the wendtii's
look
> fabulous. The original
> tennelus plant is in terrible shape, but the plantlets that have spread
out
> from it look ok.
>
> There's a bad case of what I believe to be BBA on my anubias leaves and a
few
> Amazon leaves;
> this is an old (~1 year) problem though and I thought that I would just
prune
> everything when I
> redid the tank...I've also got some amano shrimp, SAE's, and otos on order
from
> aquariumfish.net
> if they ever process my order...hopefully they will help keep future
outbreaks
> in check.
>
> I have ben wanting to redo the tank (as far as re-aquascaping) and replace
the
> gravel just because
> I was under the impression that large gravel isn't very good substrate
(when I
> say large, I mean the
> gravel measures approx. 1/2" to 3/4" in diameter) and because it's very
> difficult to make the plants
> stay put. Stem plants don't stay down...they just float right up becuase
they
> can't get a good
> roothold in the substrate. Right now it's sort of just a holding tank for
> extra plants that I plan to use
> when my angelfish fry (also housed in the tank) are large enough to adopt,
but
> I would like to
> turn it into something nice to look at.
>
> So do you think I should just keep the big gravel in there and supplement
with
> laterite balls in
> addition to the root tabs? I have an extra bag of Fluorite I was thinking
of
> mixing in with some
> smaller pea gravel...maybe I could just pour this on top of the existing
gravel
> and try to let
> it slip between the bigger pieces?
>
> Again, I appreciate your reply. Let me know if you have any other
suggestions.
> Thanks!
>
>
>
>
> Erica
> http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/mitoem/mitoem/index.htm
>

[tcbiii@NOSPAMearthlink.net]

(E. Mito) wrote in message >...
> Can anyone give me some suggestions on how to replace the gravel in an
> established aquarium?

I'd remove the mulm with a gravel vacuum. I'd decant off most all of
the water and save the concentrate to add to the bottom layer of the
flourite/onyx sand.
I'd also add about about one handful of ground peat to this bottom
layer. Cap with the flourite etc.
You'll need nothing else for the substrate.

I'd save about 30-50% of the water and leave the filter parts in the
water or keep them moist and wet.

This is also a good time to remove any algae present.
Clean any equipment glass etc well.

Then look at the CO2 set up you have/or don't have and get the range
up to 20ppm-30ppm and keep it there. Change the DIY bottles more
often, like weekly, if you haven't been.

Add some hornwort or other cheap plants for the first week. Trim off
any algae from old plant leaves. The tanks should have no problem
settling in if you take care of the CO2 and nutrients.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[E. Mito]

In article >,
) writes:

>
>I'd remove the mulm with a gravel vacuum. I'd decant off most all of
>the water and save the concentrate to add to the bottom layer of the
>flourite/onyx sand.
>I'd also add about about one handful of ground peat to this bottom
>layer. Cap with the flourite etc.
>You'll need nothing else for the substrate.
>
>I'd save about 30-50% of the water and leave the filter parts in the
>water or keep them moist and wet.
>
>This is also a good time to remove any algae present.
>Clean any equipment glass etc well.
>
>Then look at the CO2 set up you have/or don't have and get the range
>up to 20ppm-30ppm and keep it there. Change the DIY bottles more
>often, like weekly, if you haven't been.
>
>Add some hornwort or other cheap plants for the first week. Trim off
>any algae from old plant leaves. The tanks should have no problem
>settling in if you take care of the CO2 and nutrients.
>

Thank you, Tom!

I'm not quite clear on your suggestions, though:

Are you saying that the big gravel would be okay so long as I mix in some
Fluorite (and/or Onyx) and peat to it, and then top it off with pure Fluorite
or are you suggesting that I remove the big gravel altogether and replace it
with the fluorite/peat mix on the bottom with Fluorite only on top instead?

Also, are you recommending that I use both Fluorite and Onyx, or one or the
other?

Other than adding CO2, should I worry about adding any additional supplements?
I have plenty of Seachem Fluorish and root tabs...

I would tremendously appreciate if you would clarify these minor points for
me...When I am ready to do this I intend to follow your advice carefully.

Thanks again!!!


Erica
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/mitoem/mitoem/index.htm

[tcbiii@NOSPAMearthlink.net]

> Are you saying that the big gravel would be okay so long as I mix in some
> Fluorite (and/or Onyx) and peat to it, and then top it off with pure Fluorite
> or are you suggesting that I remove the big gravel altogether and replace it
> with the fluorite/peat mix on the bottom with Fluorite only on top instead?

I don't like mixed gravels one bit. So I would use the flourite or
onyx sand 100% in this case. It won't cost too much more to doit and
then you never wonder about the gravel ever again.

> Also, are you recommending that I use both Fluorite and Onyx, or one or the
> other?

I'd use just one or the other, no mixing.
Imagine trying to separate them in the future should you not like the
look:-)

> Other than adding CO2, should I worry about adding any additional supplements?
> I have plenty of Seachem Fluorish and root tabs...

The above recommendations will supply all you need for the plant
roots.
I use KNO3, K2SO4, KH2PO4(For the N-P-K fertizer no# you see on the
sides of bags) and Traces dosed directly to the water.
Regular fertilzer has high NH4 which is real bad stuff as it causes
algae blooms if even a trace hangs out in the tank too long.

You can get the KNO3 at a number of local sources and likely the
K2SO4(Sulfur of potash) and for PO4 the Fleet enima's sold in drug
stores are a good source of PO4(sodium phosphate). You can use TMG,
Flourish etc for the traces.

Your light level is moderately low so once twice a week at most dosing
is all you'd have to do.
After a weekly 40-50% water change add:

2-3 mls of Flourish,
1/4 teaspoon of K2SO4
1/4 teaspoon of KNO3
1-2 drops of PO4 if the tank is doing good.
That is about it. You may need to add this once more during the week,
like 4 days after the water change.

> I would tremendously appreciate if you would clarify these minor points for
> me...When I am ready to do this I intend to follow your advice carefully.
> Erica
> http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/mitoem/mitoem/index.htm

There is a lot to be said for good old fashion getting in there and
removing any algae etc and pruning the plants and using a net to
remove any junk floating around. Adding herbivores are good, but I
don't rely on them to take care of the algae, just added insurance.

The rest is keeping the CO2 in a good range, adding nutrients
regularly and doing weekly water changes.

It's not complex and anyone can do it. It becomes old hat after a few
weeks. Being lazy and not pruning often gets everyone at least once
over the years, but a simple repeat and back to the old routine is all
it takes to get things back up to snuff.

Regards,
Tom Barr