I want to change the gravel because it is too sharp for my betta and my tank is cycled so how do i do it?

Question

I have a tank with one male betta(filtered.heated,6 gallon,planted) and i want to change the gravel because:
a) it's bright blue
b) its quite sharp and i think he has damaged a scale on it
So what i was thinking was that i could get all the blue gravel in a sandwich bag and put loads of holes in it and then place the new gravel in and everyday I could take a but of gravel out of the bag(to preserve the bacteria).
Will this work?
I also have 3 amazon sword plants so i need a smaller gravel.
Could you suggest any better ideas?
Thanks in advance

Answer 1

Well, beneficial bacteria grows on every surface in the tank, not just the gravel. So you can remove the gravel, ans still have some bacteria left behind. Don't rinse the plants, any other ornaments, tank and especially the filter. I'd also recommend doing this around a time that you don't have to or have not recently changed the filter media, as this removes a large portion of your bacteria colony.

If you do need to rinse something for any reason, rinse and scrub it in tank water, so as not to kill the bacteria.

Keeping some of the old gravel in the tank will be helpful,as it'll be less stressful than recolonizing the entire gravel bed all at once.

Keep an eye on the water quality for the next month or so and you should be settled down. You'll probably need to step up tank mainance for awhile, to allow the tank to to re-grow it's colony.

As for the swords, I will zip tie or use sewing string, to attach my plants to a river rock, to help hold them down into the gravel bed.

Best of Luck!

Answer 2

When I changed gravel in my tank I went to petsmart and bought a filter media bag. It's a cloth mesh type bag. It cost 99cents. I put in as much of the old gravel as I could and tied it shut. I rinsed the new gravel and put it in. I set the mesh bag with the old gravel in the corner of the tank and put the decor back in. I did this and waited a week before doing a water change and 2 weeks before changing the filter. I left it in 2-3 weeks and that was it. You have a big enough tank for 1 betta and bettas don't have a big bioload. As long as you don't change out everything at once or clean everything at once you should be fine. Just keep an eye on things. After the 3 weeks I took out the bag and tossed it in the trash.

Answer 3

if your tank is truly cycled: http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm



then do this:



get pantyhose that have never seen soap. basically brand new. rinse them in old aquarium water really well. cut them half way so you don't put all the pantyhose in the aquarium. take a hand full or more of gravel and put it in the pantyhose. Just keep the pantyhose in the aquarium with the new gravel for about 2 months. also when changing gravel drain 3/4 of the way and tank out the old gravel out and then put in the new gravel. keep the filter media wet during this whole process.



when changing filter media in the future replace the carbon but lightly rinse the sponge and other media in old tank water and put it back.



GOOD LUCK!

Answer 4

That's the stupid-est thing i ever heard!