Regular Member enesta Posted October 23, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 23, 2010 Now that I think my tank is cycled or at least close, I decided to replace my small gravel that I didn't like (the color). I put in larger river stones and pebbles. These may end up proving too difficult to clean though, if so I'll have to replace with something. It's still half or 2/3 bare bottom, but my fish seem to really like having something at the bottom. Here it is, And bonus shots of my betta's 10 gallon, 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member number20121 Posted October 23, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 23, 2010 Looks nice! But I just did the same mistake with removing the gravel, since a lot of beneficial bacteria is IN the gravel. I recently removed half of the gravel over the course of two weeks, but then first the Nitrite and Nitrate started going up and now Ammonia is spiking to 0.5 while Nitrite and Nitrate are finally back to 0. So keep an eye on your water parameters! Right now I am testing daily, and I have to do big water changes every other day to keep the ammonia down. I like how the tank looks though and the river stones are very nice. They are not difficult to clean if your gravel vacuum is big enough to sort of fit around the rock. The problem in your tank is that it is a PILE of stones and waste might slide all the way down, so you will have to destroy this pile every time you clean the tank and put it back up, unless you want to spread the stones around the tank. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member enesta Posted October 23, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted October 23, 2010 Yeah that's true, maybe I'll destroy the pile until I think it's safe to stick to one or two water changes a week. Right now it'd be a pain with how often I'm cleaning up. I'll keep an eye on the fish - I had just handful of gravel before so I'm hoping it won't make too much difference. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member dogsbykat Posted October 23, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 23, 2010 Both tanks look lovely I agree that the pile of stones may prove to be an issue, though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member number20121 Posted October 23, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 23, 2010 Well, if you removed all the gravel that's shown in the before pictures, then it may become an issue. :-/ I had only a thin layer of gravel, like 1/3 of an inch, and removed only half of it within two weeks and it changed the water params. But I'm sure it will work out if you keep taking care of them If your cycle bumps you could always add some bacteria starter. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member enesta Posted October 23, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted October 23, 2010 Thanks buggy! Well those second pictures are my betta's tank, not the goldies. It really was barely any, wouldn't even cover half of the bottom. But yes I'll keep an eye on it. I added this white paper for a background, I like it, but hate that I can see the filter media tubes so well. I'm going to try black maybe. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporter Helen Posted October 23, 2010 Supporter Share Posted October 23, 2010 very cute set up.. but yes, the pebbles will cause you some dramas to clean in a pile like that.. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member number20121 Posted October 23, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 23, 2010 Oh I see! Sorry. I like the bright background, but the filter tube sure shows. I wish they'd come in different colors. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member shellbell4ever Posted October 23, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted October 23, 2010 Oh I really like what you have done but like Fang said just keep an eye out for a cycle bump And I really like the light background It's better than seeing all the wires and hardware 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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