Switching substrates?

Kinection · 01-15-2013, 05:22 AM

My Petco finally ordered the Eco-complete and
I'm deciding on if I should start fresh by blasting my
gravel, so all the previous Turtle waste will be completely
be removed. (siphon'd 6 times, never got all of it out)
I'll let my new CRS settle in for about 1-2 more weeks since
I've already killed 2 through my mistakes. If I do this,
I'll lose a lot of beneficial bacteria, but I'll keep
the filter running the whole time. The shrimp will be
in a bucket for about 1-3 hours max.
If I do this, would this process be ok?
1. Blast/ clean tank
2. Add substrate (by cups, do I take the water in the bag too?)
3. Add water from bucket
4. Add shrimp?
If I do this, will there be any pH or spikes
that might kill the shrimp?

randyl · 01-15-2013, 02:07 PM

What's your current PH? I'm not going to say CRS won't survive/breed in high PH because there are successful cases, but I'll tell you my eco-complete raises my PH from 7.6 (tap) to 8.0+, even after 10 months. Not everyone has this issue so it might be different depending on the batch you get. Perfect for my PFRs though, they keep breeding in the tank.

mdmartin7 · 01-15-2013, 03:32 PM

I just traded out my inert gravel for Floramax this weekend. My advice would be to wash the new stuff pretty thoroughly first. I think Floramax and Ecocomplete are pretty comparable as far as water clouding goes.

I emptied the 12 pound bag into a 5 gal bucket and ran water over it constantly in my basement sink for about 30 minutes, mixing it up with my hands intermittently, dumping and refilling and that seemed to get most of the cloudiness out.

I ended up keeping about 1/3 of my old gravel in the tank and just mixed in the new stuff. Cloudiness was still present but it cleared 2-3 hours after running the filter and using the clearing agents that came with the Floramax.

I had my fish and plants in buckets for about 6 hours (being bubbled with an airstone) during all of this changeout and they were fine - I don't have experience with shrimp.

I'm really happy with the change - the plants are already looking perkier and I don't have to think about adding root tabs any more.

Good Luck!

Kinection · 01-15-2013, 10:44 PM

Thanks, and my current pH is 6.8....
I know its not perfect for my Fire reds, but
they seem to adjust to it and are getting berried
quite quickly. Any other suggestions?

01-15-2013, 05:22 AM	#1
Kinection Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (2/100%) Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Anaheim, CA Posts: 929	Switching substrates? My Petco finally ordered the Eco-complete and I'm deciding on if I should start fresh by blasting my gravel, so all the previous Turtle waste will be completely be removed. (siphon'd 6 times, never got all of it out) I'll let my new CRS settle in for about 1-2 more weeks since I've already killed 2 through my mistakes. If I do this, I'll lose a lot of beneficial bacteria, but I'll keep the filter running the whole time. The shrimp will be in a bucket for about 1-3 hours max. If I do this, would this process be ok? 1. Blast/ clean tank 2. Add substrate (by cups, do I take the water in the bag too?) 3. Add water from bucket 4. Add shrimp? If I do this, will there be any pH or spikes that might kill the shrimp?

01-15-2013, 03:32 PM	#3
mdmartin7 Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 11	My experience with Floramax I just traded out my inert gravel for Floramax this weekend. My advice would be to wash the new stuff pretty thoroughly first. I think Floramax and Ecocomplete are pretty comparable as far as water clouding goes. I emptied the 12 pound bag into a 5 gal bucket and ran water over it constantly in my basement sink for about 30 minutes, mixing it up with my hands intermittently, dumping and refilling and that seemed to get most of the cloudiness out. I ended up keeping about 1/3 of my old gravel in the tank and just mixed in the new stuff. Cloudiness was still present but it cleared 2-3 hours after running the filter and using the clearing agents that came with the Floramax. I had my fish and plants in buckets for about 6 hours (being bubbled with an airstone) during all of this changeout and they were fine - I don't have experience with shrimp. I'm really happy with the change - the plants are already looking perkier and I don't have to think about adding root tabs any more. Good Luck!

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01-15-2013, 02:07 PM	#2
randyl Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,017	What's your current PH? I'm not going to say CRS won't survive/breed in high PH because there are successful cases, but I'll tell you my eco-complete raises my PH from 7.6 (tap) to 8.0+, even after 10 months. Not everyone has this issue so it might be different depending on the batch you get. Perfect for my PFRs though, they keep breeding in the tank.

01-15-2013, 10:44 PM	#4
Kinection Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (2/100%) Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Anaheim, CA Posts: 929	Thanks, and my current pH is 6.8.... I know its not perfect for my Fire reds, but they seem to adjust to it and are getting berried quite quickly. Any other suggestions?