# what is the best way to change substrate without wiping out BB



## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

After 5 months of wondering why PH stays at 7.0 in my apisto tanks no matter what I do (peat moss, almond leaves) , I found that stupid sand is the problem.. it says PH neutral will not increase carbon hardness.. well i thought it was inert but after the test it indeed makes water PH neutral.. I did test everything in the tank.. driftwood, 2 flower pots.

So.. I would like to change it to pool filter sand which is known not to alter PH at all. what is the best way to do this without killing much of BB in the filter?? 

I'm planning to put fishes/plants/driftwood in 5G bucket and replace it with pool filter sand then put them back in the tank.. also, where can I get pool filter sand?? I think there is one store somewhere near me(cloverdale) that has this but I can't remember the nameand location

any suggestion please?


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## AKAmikeross (Nov 5, 2012)

There are a few ways you could go about this IMO. If it were me, I would find a container to house my fish temporarily that would allow me to hook up my filter and keep it running while I do a substrate change on my tank. 

Go check out on youtube the bottle method for adding sand to an aquarium. Its a technique that allows you to really clean your sand, with almost no effort, and leaves your water pretty clear within minutes. I have tried it and it works very well. 

I got my PFL from langley by-water pool supply. Its an off white colored sand with uniform #20 grain size sand. It was about 18 per 50lbs I think. Its easy to find PFS in the lower mainland just hard to find exact color and grain size. Its nice sand but I still prefer the look of sugar more white color sand.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

What kind of sand were you using? Can it keep pH at 7 all the time?


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## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

It was supernatural sand that I got from petsmart.. like I mentioned, I did the test with sand.. I took some sand out of the tank and put it in the container and put peat moss filtered water (PH 6.0).. yeah it would not go over 7.0.. always stay between 6.8-7.0


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## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

Here is what I would do. 

I would take all fish out, and put them in a bucket with a heater.
Stir the gravel throughly and make your tank very murky thus Seeding your filter as much as possible. Drain your tank, and remove gravel (a clean dustpan is the best tool!). Add sand and water, Buffer your water as required, and drip your fish back into the system. Test water three days from now for nitrates. If high, Clean your filter. Keep in mind, Sand will not host much Beneficial bacteria. No matter what you will be loosing lots of potential surface area using sand. Take this into account!


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## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

thanks AWW and mikeross! 

It has to be sand as these are apisto breeding tanks. I'm not buffering this water as apisto requires very low TDS and PH.. 
this is the reason I'm worried about PH crush or mini cycle after substrate change.. 

However, It drove us( I and chantal) nuts as egges are not hatching due to high PH..


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## AKAmikeross (Nov 5, 2012)

If your worried about losing some of your beneficial bacteria I would suggest dosing with some seachem stability. Some frown on it but in my experience it works and this situation would be perfect for it. With that said though, I don't think you will have any issues just placing the the fish in a container and doing the change. You are going to lose some BB either way you go but it will be minimal IMO, depending on how fast you work. If you can figure out a way to hook up your filter and heater in your temporary holding container you can take your time and do a good cleaning while the tank is empty.

+1 on using a clean plastic dustpan for taking out the gravel... work very well. You can pick up a small plastic one with rubber tip at the dollar store.


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## bonsai dave (Apr 21, 2010)

What is wrong with having your Ph at 7 ? It's not going to hurt the fish you are keeping in your tank.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

If you have a filter which is cycled it will have plenty of nitrifying bacteria inside. You can put a sponge filter inside the tank, wait a few days for it to seed then use that sponge filter in your holding tank for your fish while you rescrape the main tank. After that, put the sponge filter back and you should be good. 
But in my opinion, for a breeding tank, how about just use a barebottom tank with a sponge filter? 
Besides getting pool filter sand, you can also get some white silica sand from Lordco, which will not increase your pH either.
Good luck with the hatching of the eggs.


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## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

these are apisto breeding tanks so PH and TDS has to be low especially one (uaupesi) tank.. thanks fish rookie! i thought about bare bottom but I think it's better to have sand in the tank for 1. look 2. apisto likes sand  I just got silica sand.. not looking forward to washing them but oh well lol


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

The silica sand from Lordco is very very clean. I asked them if they are good for aquarium and they told me they sell this to a LFS which also uses it in their display tank.
Use the bottle trick if you dont want to flush it in a bucket.
Good luck.


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