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Re: Same type of gravel question-sort of

Posted By: Martin Thoene <martin.thoene@lakenheath.af.mil>
Date: Wednesday, 1 September 1999, at 5:58 p.m.

In Response To: Re: Same type of gravel question-sort of (Vicky)

Vicky, I'd go with putting the new gravel under the old, my reasoning being that essentially, the new gravel once properly washed will effectively be biologically inert. The old gravel will of course contain millions of bacteria, and some will inevitably be lost or killed during the move. IMO it's better to have the bacteria that have died closer to the top of the gravel bed, and therefore in a more aerobic area, preventing any possible problems with die-off pollution.

If you can not clean the old gravel too much during the move, the better. Try just rinsing it in tank water through a sieve to remove some of the old crud in it. The new tank will inevitably be clouded by disturbed solids for a while, but will soon clear, and give you a quicker cycling up to full bacterial efficiency. Basically, I did this the other week when I moved a tank from one room to another, but didn't add any new gravel.

Martin.


 

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