my aquascape journey so far

[lentoa]

i've decided to change direction with my tank's aquascaping, been using ocean rock and coflake sand since march but i'm moving to sand and boulders now.

My tank's status as of today is...

I'm not a fan of playsand, it doesn't look natural, my current favourite is kiln dried sand but my wife isn't keen on it so any advice would be great.

I picked up 50kg of atlantic paddle stones from a reclamation yard for 38pence a kg + vat, the guy said they were from northern ireland.

I'm thinking of getting another 50-100kg of these stones.

I'm planning a full rescape, removing all fish, substrate, egg crate etc, but i can only save around 100 litres of my tank water from my 260 litre tank. What's the best way to do this, i've got a 3ft tank to hold my stock while i work on the aquascaping.

Will i need to keep an eye on my water parameters after the rescape, like ph, gh, kh, over the coming weeks, since i won't have any limestone in the tank?

Do i need to think about adding salts and buffers, i'll fill a small empty tank with water, add an air stone and leave it for 24hrs, then do ph, gh and kh tests to get my true tap water results.

[oceanix_10]

I'd say it's no more complicated than setting up a new tank, if you plan it out properly. Losing 160 litres of water isn't a big deal, it's basically like a 40% water change. As long as your fish are happy during the changeover, you're golden.

You'll probably need to add some buffering to maintain a higher pH, but that's something you'll figure out through trial and error.

As for the actual process of removing everything from the old tank, do you plan on completely draining it? If so, remove as much as you can with a siphon, then get a bag of nappies - they're brilliant for soaking up that last bit of water that's always a pain to mop up.

Personally, I'd remove as much substrate as I can by hand, with the water still in the tank. Let it settle, then siphon out the rest until it's clear. After that, just add your new substrate, followed by the rocks, and you're good to go.

[lentoa]

I'd say it's no more complicated than setting up a new tank, if you plan it out properly. Losing 160 litres of water isn't a big deal, it's basically like a 40% water change. As long as your fish are happy during the changeover, you're golden.

You'll probably need to add some buffering to maintain a higher pH, but that's something you'll figure out through trial and error.

As for the actual process of removing everything from the old tank, do you plan on completely draining it? If so, remove as much as you can with a siphon, then get a bag of nappies - they're brilliant for soaking up that last bit of water that's always a pain to mop up.

Personally, I'd remove as much substrate as I can by hand, with the water still in the tank. Let it settle, then siphon out the rest until it's clear. After that, just add your new substrate, followed by the rocks, and you're good to go.

cheers for the info, i've got a high ph from the tap, around 7.8. my aquarium stats at the moment without adding salts and buffers are looking like this, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 20ppm, PH 8.0, KH 8 drops 143.2ppm, GH 17 drops 304.3ppm.

[lentoa]

I've decided on kiln dried sand, picked up a bag today. Also grabbed another 55kg of the Atlantic Paddle Stones, a couple of the bigger ones weigh in at 20kg each. Spent most of the afternoon and evening working on the tank's aquascape. Got all my stock temporarily housed in one of my 3ft fry tanks, added two extra filters to handle the bio-load. The tank's a bit cloudy at the moment, but with four filters running and three heaters, I'm thinking of waiting till morning before transferring the fish into their new home.

[oakleyride]

I'd say it's no more complicated than setting up a new tank, if you plan it out properly. Losing 160 litres of water isn't a big deal, it's basically like a 40% water change. As long as your fish are happy during the changeover, you're golden.

You'll probably need to add some buffering to maintain a higher pH, but that's something you'll figure out through trial and error.

As for the actual process of removing everything from the old tank, do you plan on completely draining it? If so, remove as much as you can with a siphon, then get a bag of nappies - they're brilliant for soaking up that last bit of water that's always a pain to mop up.

Personally, I'd remove as much substrate as I can by hand, with the water still in the tank. Let it settle, then siphon out the rest until it's clear. After that, just add your new substrate, followed by the rocks, and you're good to go.

Gone with kiln dried sand, got a bag today, also picked up another 55kg of the Atlantic Paddle Stones, couple of the bigger ones weigh in at 20kg each. Spent most of the afternoon and evening working on the tank, aquascaping and whatnot. Got all my stock in one of my 3ft fry tanks with 2 extra filters in it to cope with the bio-load. Tank's a bit cloudy at the moment, but I've got 4 filters running and 3 heaters, so I might just wait till morning before transferring the fish to their new home.

[lentoa]

Well guys i've completed my aquascape.

This is my chosen sand - kiln dried. I've got to say, I'm really pleased with how it looks.

I spent a lot of time rinsing the sand to get rid of any impurities. I filled a large container with water and added the sand, then I gave it a good stir. I left the hose running and let it rinse for about an hour.

While the sand was being rinsed, I started removing my ocean rock from the tank. It was a bit of a challenge, but I managed to get it all out.

Next, I moved all my fish into one of my 3ft fry tanks. This was a temporary home for them while I worked on the main tank.

With the fish safely relocated, I began the process of removing the old substrate and egg crate from the tank. I used my sypLion to clean the bottom of the tank, making sure to get rid of any remaining debris.

Once the tank was clean, I added the rinsed sand. As expected, it clouded the water a bit, but I wasn't too concerned. I then placed the rocks into the tank, trying to get a sense of how everything would look once the water cleared.

A couple of the rocks are massive, weighing in at 20kg each. I was a bit worried about how they would fit, but they look great in the tank.

To help clear the water, I've added some extra filtration. I've got 4 filters and 3 heaters in the tank, which should help to speed up the process.

Here's a photo of the tank with the blue light on. I'm really pleased with how it's looking.

The next day, I transferred my fish back into their new home. They seem to be enjoying the new environment, and I'm thrilled with how everything has turned out.

Here's a photo of my fish in their new environment.

[floriks]

That scape is absolutely stunning, love the way the kiln dried sand and Atlantic Paddle Stones complement each other, and your fish are thriving in their new environment.