20g Rescape From Gravel To Sand For Plants

Wow. Changing substrates from gravel to PFS and potting mix is a pain in the butt. I’ve literally went store to store looking for sand. At first I was going to use play sand. And when I got there I decided to search it up of Fishlore and saw tons of people saying PFS is better so now I’m on my way to a different store to buy PFS. Lesson learned do things right the first way. Especially the people that are just beginning their aquarium journey. Don’t be like me and get gravel then want a planted aquarium. I’ll update this thread when I remove my fish and change substrate and add plants

 

lol what? you can have a planted tank in regular gravel. That’s what I did.

 

Yeah same here bryangar...why do you think gravel doesn't work Fanuel?

 

lol what? you can have a planted tank in regular gravel. That’s what I did.

I want to grow a carpet and other plants I doubt that would work in gravel

 

WOW! That took longer than expected. And while adding water it just made everything cloudy I could barely see through it. But this is the tank about 2 hours later. I’ll be adding more plants tomorrow because I’m currently working and won’t be off for another 4 hours.

 

****, changing from a gravel like that would be a serious pain! Our tank went a big change just from rocks to sand and that was a “fun” experience, and I didn’t wash the sand properly so it looked horrid for days, but it pays off!

Since our tank was well established I’ve had to leave a low level of rocks still under the stand to there’s still some pre-established substrate that didn’t throw any levels off

If you have something like kuhlis in it they’ll appreciate the heck out of you!

Before substrate change:





After substrate change:

 

, changing from a gravel like that would be a serious pain! Our tank went a big change just from rocks to sand and that was a “fun” experience, and I didn’t wash the sand properly so it looked horrid for days, but it pays off!

Since our tank was well established I’ve had to leave a low level of rocks still under the stand to there’s still some pre-established substrate that didn’t throw any levels off

If you have something like kuhlis in it they’ll appreciate the heck out of you!

Before substrate change:

View attachment 474134


After substrate change:

View attachment 474135

It’s mostly because of the potting soil I added and my fish are just sitting in a bucket until it settles I don’t want them to try and eat the stuff floating in the water.

 

lol what? you can have a planted tank in regular gravel. That’s what I did.

Goats eighth?

 

, changing from a gravel like that would be a serious pain! Our tank went a big change just from rocks to sand and that was a “fun” experience, and I didn’t wash the sand properly so it looked horrid for days, but it pays off!

Since our tank was well established I’ve had to leave a low level of rocks still under the stand to there’s still some pre-established substrate that didn’t throw any levels off

If you have something like kuhlis in it they’ll appreciate the heck out of you!

Before substrate change:

View attachment 474134


After substrate change:

View attachment 474135

That looks awesome

 

That looks awesome

Woah

 

Goats eighth?

What?

 

It’s mostly because of the potting soil I added and my fish are just sitting in a bucket until it settles I don’t want them to try and eat the stuff floating in the water.

I’ll be honest, I’ve never heard of using potting soil as a substrate, how was your water changes/syphining? Would of been a mess right?

 

I’ll be honest, I’ve never heard of using potting soil as a substrate, how was your water changes/syphining? Would of been a mess right?

Actually not really I got the wrong kind of soil so I had to change it this morning and add plants and a rock. This is what it looks like now. Keep in mind it’s a little cloudy because it was just added.

 

Actually not really I got the wrong kind of soil so I had to change it this morning and add plants and a rock. This is what it looks like now. Keep in mind it’s a little cloudy because it was just added.

Ignore the piece of moss that decided to sit right next to the Anubias. Here’s another picture

 

Actually not really I got the wrong kind of soil so I had to change it this morning and add plants and a rock. This is what it looks like now. Keep in mind it’s a little cloudy because it was just added.

You didn’t get the wrong soil. It’s the potting mix that you got, that’s the one that everyone uses.

 

You didn’t get the wrong soil. It’s the potting mix that you got, that’s the one that everyone uses.

Does it matter I didn’t like how it had perlite in it so I got a different one that is organic.

 

Update I tested the water about an hour ago and I’m in what I believe to be a minI cycle. I tested and saw nitrites for the first time ever. Which is weird because I never saw it while it was cycling with TSS. Hopefully a couple waterchanges will do some good.