[pgallagher]

I'm moving in a month and am in the planning stage for how I'm going to deal with the tank. So far I've found a ton of threads on here that have been incredibly helpful and the long and short of it comes down to plenty of buckets and even more patience! The fun part comes in the thought that I then get to set up the tank from fresh!

With all of that in mind, I'm debating on keeping the current Fluval Stratum substrate. It's been a little over a year since it was added so it doesn't really have any more nutrients besides when I add root tabs to it, and it is in most areas broken down to a thick mush. My thought was that I could keep it, maybe mix it in with some plain gravel and wide grain sand. I'm hoping it could keep a lot of the beneficial bacteria, provide some nutrients as it slowly breaks down, and create a solid base for the new setup. Plus, then I wouldn't have to buy as much sand for the top layer., I'm thinking ADA Colorado.

I'm curious about people's opinions on the idea, and if it's worth it, or if would it be harmful?

 

[Plinkploop]

From my minimal experience with stratum after its prime is it doesn't mix that well and the mulm it caused was too much to handle (I mixed with pfs). I didn't try it with gravel which might make it less compacted. I wound up getting rid of it and using a sprinkling of inert sand from a mature tank underneath aquasoil. If your filters are mature and kept in a bucket of tank water when you move then set right up again (no dry out period) you shouldn't have too much of a start up problem. Just my 2 cents, though. I've rarely moved set ups so I'd take my advice with a grain of salt.

 

[sudhirr]

The grain size of stratum does not mix well with other Sandy substrates. Reuse stratum solo or mixed with fresher stratum. Use root tabs or a fertilising base layer.


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[minorhero]

I've been reusing my stratum substrate for over a year now (redone the tank its in... I think 4 times?) Anyway just scoop it out, put it in a bucket, leave enough water in there that its damp. Move to new location and put it back in the tank. It will not look pretty when it goes back in since there is mulm (but this is the same for any aquasoil substrate I have used thus far). So after you put it in the tank you will want to cap it with something else. I use it as a base layer and put sand on top.