Changing a substrate

[ekd]

Thanks. All done.

[TropicalFishForums]

[ekd]

Should you leave the lights off for a time afterwards?

[Adamvickery]

I wanna change my substrate to sand I will do it nice and organised although I only wanna do half of it but has the sand ever broken or blocked the filter also I have a plecostomus so I no its gunna be harder to keep it still but I want plants so it'll be worth it

[plankton]

If you're worried about sand getting in the filter, either put the sand away from the filter, leave it at least an inch below the filter, or put a piece of slate under the filter.
I've never had a problem with sand in a filter.

[lurch1000]

And regular checks on your filter for debris in the impeller drive is part of you maintenance hopefully.

[Jools]

A great post with some good advice and ideas. I'm changing from gravel to sand very shortly,  thanks the tips.

[adamdunkley]

This will really help me as I'm doing this in a few weeks..but not just the substrate, everything. lol.

Few questions though..
1) If a mini cycle starts, how do I tell?

2) I am changing to sand and noticed someone above is concerned about it breaking the filter, does that actually happen surely the sand just filters through being fine?

3) I'm changing the background to a polyresin 3d rock background and an ornament, I presume these still need to be washed before?

And Finally 4) One reason I'm doing this is to completely clean the tank to remove the mini snails that keep appearing out of the filter box, are there any other tips anyone has to remove these dam things? either while the clean is in progress or afterwards.
My concern is they are breeding in the filter sponges? (juwel internal filter) but I cant change every sponge otherwise most of the bacteria will disappear, wont it? or can I?

Thanks Everyone

[Vale!]

1) If a mini cycle starts, how do I tell?

You'll be closely monitoring in-tank ammonia for a period following the operation and presence of it could indicate a mini-cycle (there could be other reasons too, though).

2) I am changing to sand and noticed someone above is concerned about it breaking the filter, does that actually happen surely the sand just filters through being fine?

I haven't read the thread but I don't understand what this means. Ah! It's to do with abrasion, yes?  So long as pipe on the filter's inlet side is positioned above the substrate a couple of inches, there shouldn't be any problems in that regard. Or, as Plankton suggested upthread, put a piece of slate under the inlet pipe.

3) I'm changing the background to a polyresin 3d rock background and an ornament, I presume these still need to be washed before?

To be on the safe side - yes.

And Finally 4) One reason I'm doing this is to completely clean the tank to remove the mini snails that keep appearing out of the filter box, are there any other tips anyone has to remove these dam things? either while the clean is in progress or afterwards.

A Lancaster or two should do it.

I regard snails as a friendly and beneficial component of a tank's mini-ecosystem, so I can't advise on any 'nuke' options that you may be considering.  Sometimes I tend to remove bigger snails by hand and plonk them where they'll be less intrusive to the eye (usually in my bath outside) but normally I just leave them be.  Putting a few Assassin Snails in with them - as I have done in one of my tanks - would eventually offer a discernible measure of control for you, maybe, if that wouldn't be exacerbating the 'problem'!

[adamdunkley]

Thanks Vale.

I get all the questions bar one but will stick with the advice as from my own research as this is what I had planned anyway, seeing this thread just made it clear that its the correct way

The one I don't get is about the sand going into the filter 'inlet' as I thought the inlet was at the top of the filter, I have attached a picture of the flow of the internal filter on juwel aquariums.

I'm just a tad skeptical as I have heard the filter pumps do break easily, touch wood mine has been fine since purchased new and always maintained.

[adamdunkley]

Also one thing I forgot, do you think the snails are living in the filter sponges/box? If i clean and change all of this but put the filter media back in and have snails again I'm going to be annoyed. So is it safe to change all media or will that create a new cycle?

[Gingerlove05]

If you swap all the media and remove your old media the tank will be starting an entirely new cycle.
Cant guarantee cleaning it all will get rid of them, if you can remove them but dont crush the snails as this will just spread eggs around the tank.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[adamdunkley]

If you swap all the media and remove your old media the tank will be starting an entirely new cycle.

That's what I thought, so would you just give them a clean in some of the tank water?

[Gingerlove05]

Yeah thats all i'd do is swill them in tank water, if there are any eggs it will help displace them. Getting rid of snails can be a long process, my parents had it years ago, dont know how, but it took a while to get rid of them


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Vale!]

Sorry, AD - I missed the bit about it being a Juwel filter!  Sand getting into it shouldn't be an issue, so long as it's not piled right up to the level of the lowest intake grille(s).

Snails are probably partying in the filter because that's where (in your tank) they find the greatest concentration of food.

If you change all the sponges you'll have to re-cycle almost from scratch. And even if you were to squeeze the old sponges out into the new, you'd also transfer some/most/all of the snail egg-masses that will inevitably be in there.

I would (very gently) clean your existing filter sponges a bit more often than you do now, to reduce the amount of snail nosh in there ; and provide them with a more attractive source of food nearby. A snail trap (a home-made one) filled with - for example - parboiled spinach should gather enough to enable you to remove quite a few at a time. Then rinse and repeat.

And Assassin Snails - they're fascinating creatures and will adore your sand.

[adamdunkley]

Ok Guys thanks for the advice. I think the sand situation will be fine with the filter.
As for the snails, what I'll do is clean the sponges more than I currently do, set some traps etc and try slow down the snails before I re do the tank if that makes sense. lol.

I heard clown loaches are good for eating up small snails, these ones I have are tiny, lol. I just don't like snails so don't want them in my aquarium :p Annoying thing is I know where they came from (I think)