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Re: [APD] Re: Substrate



George Booth wrote:

>> I have a well-established tank (i.e. 10 years old) that is leaking
>> water. It is time for replacement glass. I'm using laterite in the
>> bottom inch or so of the gravel. I'm looking for ideas about how to
>>  move the old substrate into the new tank.
>
> Remove the top 1/3 of the gravel and do NOT use it in the new tank.
> Use the bottom 2/3 of the gravel as is in the new setup. Add new,
> clean gravel on top of the old gravel to keep the laterite from
> clouding your water (for at least a month, in my experience).
>
>> Or should I just rinse out the old stuff and add some more laterite
>> to the new digs?
>
> You will be hard pressed to get the laterite out of the old gravel.
> You could try, but I have never been very successful at that. The old
> gravel is well aged and very beneficial. Re-use it. But "seal" the
> old stuff with a layer of fresh, clean gravel.

Thanks for the suggestion. Time was of the essence, so I had to act quickly. The leaks were worse than I feared, and the tank had to be moved so new carpet could be installed (incidentally, the carpet was due to be replaced anyway).

The tank was only 30 gallons, so the replacement of the substrate wasn't a big issue. I couldn’t find any new gravel of the same colour to cap the old stuff, so I elected to start from scratch. However, I added some mulm from the old tank with the laterite.

Just a word of warning: the laterite slurry in the bottom of the old tank was slopped on the floor by accident. It left some nice rusty stains on the carpet that I imagine would be near impossible to get out. It's a good thing that the carpet was being replaced anyway. However, my spouse has now insisted that all the aquariums must live in the basement :-(


-- Andrew Roberts, Richmond Hill Ontario royalwulff at sympatico_ca http://royalwulff.dyndns.org/ ICQ 130453482



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