On Mon, 09 Jun 2003 22:52:02 GMT, wrote:

I'm curious, and I was planning to post the question to the list, when
one does a major cleaning/re-design of a planted tank it is necessary
to remove the fish in order to do so?

It really depends on what you are doing. In my case, I wasn't
removing substrate, just pulling all the rocks/wood/plants. I left
all the fish in the tank.

I did completely replaced the substrate in my 29g tank without
removing the fish. I had to work slowly, to avoid scooping up any
fish and or shrimp, and to avoid burying them when dumping in the new
gravel. Frequent water changes were required to keep the water
survivable.

I'm asking because I have a 120g 24x48x24 inch tank and I would like
to re-design it by moving plants and building and installing a slate
landscape. I cannot move the fish because this is the only tank I

If possible, do one half of the tank then the other. Keep the
filtration running, and plan on changing/cleaning the filter several
times during the renovation. Messing with the substrate kicks up a
lot of junk in the water, and it will clog filter pads very quickly.

Also, All the junk that gets kicked up can cause a big spike in the
tank ammonia level. Adding Ammo-lock or Seachem Prime will
neutralize the ammonia.


Chuck Gadd
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua