Redoing a fish only tank to a planted tank possible?

[PeterGwee]

Hello experts! Any idea how am i going to do a planted tank with the current 2ft tank with fishes inside? My gravel size seems kinda big as compare to those usually mentioned in the forum..about 1cm per gravel. Do I need to change that? Must i add in base fertilizer which means digging up my current gravel and then redoing the whole tank? Will redoing the tank affect my fishes (Scare that they die..don't want such things to happen cause they are happy and lively in there now). Any more suggestions and tips are most welcomed.

Current setup
1)2ft tank
2)hiem Ecco 2233
3)1x36W light (Guess need to add in another one huh)
4)Gravel of size about 1cm each
5)Pressurised CO2 tank with solenoid (Bought last time but planted tank fail cause of large amount of BBA and lack of time)
6)SAGA pH controller
7)Current occupants in 2 ft tank are 3 corys and 8 neon tetras..
Tank is fully cycled

[Simon]

well, if u doing everyone within an hr, I'm sure yr fishes r fine.. u can drain out the with, put the fishes in with a air pump and redo yr tank.. I supposed yr existing gravel is too big so suggest u change them and add a layer of base fert, since u oredi have an established bio filter.. I think shldnt be a prob.. jus drain and keep as much water as u can.. and add the water back after u complete the setup

[David Loh]

Empty out your tank together with the fishes. Do not throw away the water else you will have to re-cycle your whole tank again. Take out the gravel and replace it with base fertilizer and smaller sand. Now pour back the tank water and start putting in your plants. For your filter, do not thoroughly rinse the filter media. You can then put back the fishes into the tank. For plants to thrive, make sure you have sufficient lighting and CO2. Happy planting

[NinjaFly]

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7)Current occupants in 2 ft tank are 3 corys and 8 neon tetras..
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Wah .. dun think most people can tahan a 2 ft with only that much fish. []

BTW, can share where you got your 2ft 36w lights?

[PeterGwee]

I got my lights from a fish store in the market near the Queenstown NTUC area. Basically there are 2 store inside selling aquarium stuff..one old man and an auntie. I got it from the old man as he is trust worthy with his stuff and he give good discounts with the stuff...in fact he opted to help me out when i told him i wanted to do a planted tank by giving a contact...properly ppl at Lim chu kang area. However in the end i opted for self-service by going to C328 though....

[NinjaFly]

Oh good. Maybe one day I will drop by Queenstown area. Coz me living in the west area, so when pple recommends me to Chan at Nature, I find it too far. Somemore, those LFS shop around the West area doesn't really know much about planted tank. All they care are to sell their fish.

Thanks Peter[]

[PeterGwee]

Ninja...actually the uncle knows only a bit about planted tank..but he has 20 over years of fish rearing and selling experience..should know something lor..plus he can give you contacts on ppl selling plants or planted tank stuff in Lim Chu Kang area..but about variety of fishes not much cos its only a small store lah..mostly Lou Han..want fish go C328..more variety....if you want plants can go C328 also..but can ask the uncle in the market store for contact regarding planted aquarium..the ppl should then be able to advice you on what type of plants to use for the size of your tank.