Changing substrate
 

Does any one know if your sustrate should be replaced at anytime? Mine is 3 years old. Should I scoop out the old and replace it? Will this have an effect on my water quality?
Thanks

It is up to you whether you would like to change the substrate, but after 3 years I would be inclined to. It can trap lots of nasty stuff like phosphates.

Be very careful replacing it though, because disturbing it could release harmful gases into the aquarium.

I would reccommend replacing small portions at a time, maybe 1/3 at a time. If its fine enough to siphon out I would do it that way, since then you minimize the release of gases. And then just scoop in the new stuff. I would wait a couple weeks in between substrate removal sessions. :D

-Diana

I thought a deep sand bed acts like a filter system of its own, I didn’t realize someone would want to replace it..isn't it like wine, only gets better in time?


When I first bought my 90g tank I added really fine sand and even after a few months of it running, it would blow up into the water very easily so I bought larger sand to throw on top of it ones, and I had to add like a cup a day, made such a mess of my tank - now I have like a 4-5”sand bed

Mine has been in my tank for about 4years now, I am not worried about it, if you want to keep it clean get a fish that filters the sand or sand shifting star fish, something that moves it around and finds food in it to eat, but I hate those guys…once I bought a horseshoe crab :redface: that I got rid of rather fast since he threw so much sand on my rocks.