Rescaping: Things to do?

[taikiat]

I have had my 1.5ft for around 2 yrs now, and I feel that there are various improvements to make as well as a new scape to try out, new plants etc. I'm delaying my rescape till a time when my fauna pass away, or when I manage to to set up a another holding tank. But till then, I would like to find out what are the things to do when one wants to start over. The order of things to do, including taking out of the old substrate etc.

[Shadow]

I guess first you have to find out what kind of scape you want to achieve. From there you start collecting the material, mainly for the hardscape such as rock, wood and substrate/gravel. It is not easy to get the right rock or wood, it is limited in Singapore. Once everything collected you can start you scaping.

Don't wait until fauna pass away becasue that can take forever

[newtank]

Depending on the condition of your scape now, I would say dismantle the scape now and run the tank empty until you have got all your material ready. Break the dismantling and scaping into 2 sessions, I find that easier to manage.

[vinz]

Sounds like you're going for a complete re-scape?

For a small tank like yours', you can probably do it over a day or two.

I would:

• Get a CLEAN pail or spare tank (or borrow one).
• Transfer part of your existing tank water to the holding tank/pail. Transfer enough for running the filter and keeping the fauna in the holding tank (see next step).
• Move the filter over to run in the holding tank/pail. We do these 2 steps to maintain consistent water conditions for your filter bacteria and fauna. Also by removing the filter from the existing tank, any dirt/debris/etc stirred up during the netting and uprooting process does not get into the filter.
• Remove some more water... till about an inch high. This will give the fauna less places to run... easier for you to net them. If you have a sloped substrate, you can drain till there's no water at the high areas and they'll all move to the front of the tank.
• If plants are in the way, uproot those with small roots first. Leave the monster plants (usually the Lotuses and Echinodorus) with monster root networks intact. You can easily lift their leaves out of the way.
• Net the fauna, and move them to the holding tank.
• Run a small aerator and air-stone in the holding tank. The aeration will benefit the filter bacteria as well.
• Remove the rest of the water. Doing this will prevent the stirred up mulm (i.e. the dirt that comes up when you move the hardscape and uproot the plants) from floating all over and dirtying the upper layer of gravel.
• Remove hardscape (wood, rocks, etc).
• Uproot the plants with smaller roots first.
• Use your hand to scrap the top cleaner layers of gravel to the side of the tank. Scoop these out, but be careful not to scratch the glass. These will be easier to clean.
• Slowly uproot the plants with the large root systems. For plants with thick roots, you can use your fingers to pull each one out to prevent breakage. Or dig around the plant then cut the roots with a scissors. Leave enough root length for replanting. (I'm assuming you might reuse some of the plants.)
• Scrap the rest of the gravel aside. Place into a separate container for washing.
• Remove base fert. Do not reuse.

[beetroot]

very useful detailed steps !
thank you vinz.

[taikiat]

that is a very comprehensive guide, giving me an idea of how to go about things. i just realised i DO have a pail, maybe it can act as a holding tank ^^ just that i have a lot of baby cherries, and its not a good time to transfer them, the shock may killl them. oh and im using ADA amazonia, so i supposed all of it has to be thrown away, maybe in my next scape ill be using base fert + gravel, i dunnoe, it's all so exciting! gonna plan properly first ^^

[vinz]

After rescaping, you should transfer the water from the pail/holding tank back to the tank. Then your fauna and filter will have less acclimatisation to go through.

[taikiat]

i understand that the fauna can only last a limited time in the holding pail (unfortunately i cannot afford a holding tank in terms of space). My pail has a max capacity of 7L, and i need to have a rough idea how long 1 oto 5 h.rasboras, and 70+ shrimp are gonna last in those 7L. sounds pretty inhumane but thats all i can do right now. (i do have a filter though)

[vinz]

That's why you need to filter the pail and keep it aerated.

Frankly, it'll be good if you can get a large pail to store the old tank water (also as holding tank) to reuse in the re-scaped tank, especially since you'll be putting the fauna back. Old tank water, at least 70% in my opinion, will help reduce the cycling period and keep the filter healthy.

What's the capacity of your tank?

[taikiat]

my tank is 1.5ft X 1 ft X 1 ft which translates to around 40+ L i guess, ill try to get as many containers as possible to store the tank water.

[vinz]

Toss some plants into the holding pail to provide cover (keep the fauna calm) and absorb ammonia/ammonium. Put the pail in a fairly bright place so they will photosynthesise.

Don't forget your tank will probably loose 3 inches from substrate and the gap from surface to tank lip. So, maybe 30litres. A couple of new mid-size pails would probably work. For storage, they fit into each other, so they'll take up only slightly more than one pail.

If you re-use house stuff... well, the home ministers tends to not like fishy water in their "clean" containers and the "dirty" containers are not clean enough for our fish.

[beetroot]

Could you make this a sticky, so that beginners like us can refer again when we are ready to re-scape?

Thanks Vinz.