How to separate fertilizer from gravel

[krabbie]

I intend to revamp my tank ... however, I have a layer of base fertilizer in it. What is the most efficient way of removing/separating it from the gravel?

[vinz]

I don't know about efficient... but here's how I do it.

Drain ALL the water. Then scrape the top few cms of gravel to one side of the tank and then remove the mound of gravel. You might want to drain some of the water that seeps out of the mound of gravel as you go along. Use an air hose to do this instead of the normal water hose.

Then scrape the last cm of gravel just above the base fert to one side, remove and keep seperate from the other gravel.

Do what you want with the base fert.

Some of the base fert and gravel will mix due to past planting and uprooting, and of course, this process. So wash the first lot of gravel and reuse it as the top layer of your new layout. You might need to top up with some new gravel.

For the second lot of gravel, don't bother washing, it's too dirty. Instead, use it as the layer between your new base fert and the clean layer of gravel. While setting up your new tank, keep this lot moist to keep the substrate bacteria alive... they will help in conditioning your new substrate.