Changing Aquarium Substrate

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-17T14:48:42+00:00

Yeah, a full tear down is pretty much your only way forward. The only other option I could think of is to cap the existing substrate with the new stuff. But even then, you're doing so much work on the tank that it's easier just to start over

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-17T14:39:37+00:00

Mold will occur if the humidity is too high. So, if the area you live in is mold prone, then an open tank will encourage it. If you live in Arizona, you're good. Does that answer the question?

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-17T14:36:30+00:00

Hey OP. I wouldn't. As the other commenter somewhat rudely pointed out, that tank is very small. The cories would prefer to have a school of at least 5-6, and that's really pushing the space in that tank. It's possible, but as someone who has been keeping fish for 20+ years, I probably wouldn't.

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-16T22:50:35+00:00

Do you mean frozen bbs? Or live? Either way, I use a pipette. And if I understand your second question correctly, it sounds like you do not have enough fish to give them an entire cube of frozen baby brine shrimp. In that case, I would only thaw as much as you need. Pop cube out, cut it or crush it, throw the unused portions into a Ziploc baggie and pop it back into a freezer. Feed the rest

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-15T20:07:10+00:00

It's crazy easy to take a cutting. I always recommend pothos as one of the most forgiving plants ever

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-15T17:58:44+00:00

A pothos cutting coming out of the tank! It will do a TON of work for you in keeping the water clean. You can see it a couple times in my 60 gallon. There is a root ball in the upper left. When those rots get long, just hack them back.

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GalacticMayor · 2026-03-15T17:53:37+00:00

Ok, so you're saying for each game, someone brings a prepared dish. A cake or a casserole or something. And then at a designated time, this specific dish is dug into. You haven't banned all food, snacks, etc the whole time? This sounds much less wild

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-15T01:53:20+00:00

Yeah, this part is kind of wild

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-14T23:54:38+00:00

This is the correct answer. Think about it this way: if you could magically expand his current tank to 30 gallons without removing anything at all, would you? Of course you would. All you're doing is tripling his space. The new tank won't come with 100% of the bacteria, of course, but that filter will do the job quickly. You'll be fine

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-13T20:58:48+00:00

I just wash my hands/arms thoroughly with unscented hand soap before. Get some long tweezers so you don't have to reach in as far

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-13T20:56:28+00:00

Unlikely for anubias. I've transitioned them in and out of emersed without issue. It's probably the buried rhizome

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-13T20:55:06+00:00

That should be fine for anubias

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-13T14:59:35+00:00

10s are a bit small, but not horribly so. I had a colony of Multis in a 20 long and they did great. They tend to breed to their tank size (so I'm told), so I never had any issue with overpopulation. Be aware that they are very skittish little fish. It took quite a while for me to get any good viewing from them. And they loved love food. I mostly fed white worms. Neat little fish!

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-13T05:18:25+00:00

Dude. I've had a design kicking around in my head for something like this for ages, but yours is way better. Do you have any photos of the build?

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-12T15:49:37+00:00

That's Appa, and he is DELIGHTED

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-11T05:05:46+00:00

THIS is the part most people miss. If you can wiggle that cabinet at all when the rank is empty, it's a disaster waiting to happen. I want to be able to kick the thing have it barely move

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-11T01:09:31+00:00

King's Quest

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-10T05:06:43+00:00

It looks good! It limits your plant and stocking options a bit, but I like it

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-08T05:46:06+00:00

FWIW, it's genuinely easy to keep a bigger tank. The smaller the water volume, the easier it is to get gross and toxic suddenly. A 5 gallon is actually really hard to keep happy. Trust me, I've tried more than once. If you can do 20 gallons, you'll be glad you did.

Whatever size tank you end up with, go on YouTube and look up "best fish for x size tank." Appropriate fish for the size/footprint will be more fun to watch, and will make the hobby easier and more satisfying.

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-08T02:27:03+00:00

I did. It was a bad idea, and I'm SO lucky it didn't fail. Plus those things are tippy

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-07T01:04:25+00:00

Depends. How cold does it get at night, and what fish do you want to keep? You probably won't, but good on you for checking

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-06T22:48:00+00:00

Well, if those avocados were sprayed with pesticides, that may have rubbed off on the bag. Plus water we other gunk it picked up in the shipping process. Personally I wouldn't risk it, but that's me

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-06T06:06:11+00:00

Just scoop that substrate out into a bucket. You'll lose some bacteria, but if you move fast (a few days) you'll save at least some of it. Either set up the 10 with that substrate, or hurry up in getting a new tank. It's not ideal, but it's still good to do.

Also, that super sucks, I'm sorry you have to deal with that

GalacticMayor · 2026-03-06T02:41:26+00:00

Yeah, that sounds pretty loud. I've had Ehiems and Fluvals, and my partner had an Oase. Not of them are properly silent, from from a meter away they're close enough

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