Ideas / Suggestions On Changing Substrate

In my 75 gallon setup couple of months back , I have 2 substrate zones - gravel area was setup as layer covered by a layer of Top Fin premium and a wall of 2 layers of slate stones separates the white sand area zone which is National Geographic aquarium sand.

Eco complete has started disintegrating into small black pieces and getting over to sand area as you can see in the pic. I am bit peculiar about not having the 2 zones mix and have come to realization that wish bottom feeder fishes (cories and bn pleco) moving stuff around it is impossible to keep it super clean.

Over last month or so I have been stocking my sunsun 304 b canister filter and Emperor HoB with tons of media to build up lots of bacteria so it allows me to re-scape my substrate without risking cycle or low risk to it.

My fishes are Pearl Gourami, BN Pleco, Serpae tetra, rainbows, albino cory and DenisonI barb.

I am looking for suggestions on black gravel that I can have to rescape my whole tank with - I would prefer 4-5 inches deep at the back to 2-3 inches in front. Low tech setup with anubias, amazon swords and easy rooted plants.

Please suggest on some gravel ideas and how to go about changing the substrate without harming my fishes. Pic of my current setup is attached.

 

Not gravel, but what about black diamond blasting sand? Beautiful and cheap.
As for how to change, you can either keep the fish in and just be slightly more careful on removing things/adding things or put them in a bucket while you change. First remove the decor and plants, move the plants to a bucket with water in it. Scoop up all the gravel with the minimum amount of water possible and move it to a bucket so you can more easily dispose of it. Next bring the rinsed off substrate up(I suggest rinsing off the substrate a day beforehand or more so you can quickly put it in) and use a cup or tubberware to slowly pour it in. Next put everything back in(if fish are out, put them in last).
Here’s a good video for rinsing it off/putting it in-

 

Thanks the video was helpful!
I meant a fine black gravel or black sand - can you post the link to the blasting sand? I am assuming the black sand is going to be good for the plants as well.
Is siphoning the only way to get sand out from my tank?

 

Here’s the link-

You want the 20/40, but most tractor supply like stores should have it.
Siphoning does help when you want to remove it from a tank, but you can also just scoop it up with a cup, sometimes I ge true majority out via cup and finish it off with the siphon.
It’s not going to give your plants that root feed much nutrients, but that can easily be fixed with a few root tabs.

 

I don't know about any subtrates, but when you are chaning it, I would place the place in a bucket and move quickly. Add them back in the tank when you're done. For removing sand, use a siphon to suck it up into a bucket.

 

Looking for some help here guys - my 2 main questions:

1. Looking for a black substrate that is like a fine gravel / very coarse sand - for cories and low tech plants; should not cloud the water when vacuumed - I do not have any idea of blasting sand suggested above and not sure if that fits the bill
2. How to remove gravel & sand mix form current setup - scoop and siphon?

 

I have black diamond sand blasting sand in 10 different tanks. Several of which have cories and all of which have live plants. It is much more affordable than actual aquarium sand. You could buy black aquarium sand if you want to spend more money. But filling up a 75 with aquarium sand will be expensive!!!

 

My set up is very similar to yours with gravel and sand separated by slate. My sand is also BDBS from tractor supply....medium grit.

A word of warning. The 50lbs bags you buy (under $10 bux per bag) are inconsistent. My sand had tiny beige/gray color grains as well. If you zoom in the photo you may see what I'm referring to.

 

Here's a close up view of the BDBS I got. However, I know other folks purchased bags that were completely black without the beige/gray grains.

 

My set up is very similar to yours with gravel and sand separated by slate. My sand is also BDBS from tractor supply....medium grit.

A word of warning. The 50lbs bags you buy (under $10 bux per bag) are inconsistent. My sand had tiny beige/gray color grains as well. If you zoom in the photo you may see what I'm referring to. View attachment 412138

beautiful setup! I am going to borrow some ideas

 

Also when we talk of blasting sand, I see reference to 20/40 , 30/60 is 20-40 more coarse recommended? I don't want to end up with a very fine sand that flows all over the tank!

 

beautiful setup! I am going to borrow some ideas

Thanks! Feel free to borrow away. I know I got this scape idea from someone here myself =)

Also when we talk of blasting sand, I see reference to 20/40 , 30/60 is 20-40 more coarse recommended? I don't want to end up with a very fine sand that flows all over the tank!

I have the 20/40 size. 30/60 is more fine - it's similar to the carib-sea tahitian moon black sand, which has really fine grain.

If you want to see what 30/60 looks like, check out jenmur 's build thread. She used the 30/60 grit.

 

Also when we talk of blasting sand, I see reference to 20/40 , 30/60 is 20-40 more coarse recommended? I don't want to end up with a very fine sand that flows all over the tank!

Get the medium grit. 20/40.

 

I would cover your eco-complete with the BDBS. I did this in one tank and no root tabs but great growth from root feeders.