How can I start over on this tank without destroying my cyle?

[bettaballistic]

I've had this 55 gallon set up as a sorority tank for quite a while now. But after this most recent one not working out and getting more educated on why those tanks aren't a good idea in the 1st place. I'm going in different direction with things. 

I have a ton of fake plants because I needed ground cover. I want to take them all out and slowly replace them with live. I only have a Java fern on an arch and a little bit of water sprite. I have a ton of floating plants though. I need deeper substrate to accommodate for for the new plants and I'm wondering if removing all the fake plants and putting new substrate on top will crash my cycle.  I also want to replace my HOB filter with 2 spong filters. But I'm thinking I should do those 2 changes at different times.

Currently my girls are still in there, but I'll be rehoming them 1 by 1. Ideally I won't have any left a month from now. I also have 4 blue danios, 3 xray tetras, and 9 black skirt tetras.  I really like my black skirts but I'm not set on keeping the danios or x-rays.  I for sure want Cory cats I love those little guys, And I'm thinking angel Fish. But I need to do more research on them. Any recommendations appreciated

 Also I'm going to be getting into plants! What should I know? What kind of substrate do I need? Is plant substrate really necessary currently I have sand but only 2" to a 1/2 inch. Are CO2 and root tabs really necessary? What kind of plants should I get? I can look into it but I'd love to hear recommendations.

TLDR how can I add new substrate and get a new filter without crashing cycle.  As well as new plant and stocking advice

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Substrate: You could totally add gravel or whatever you want on top of the sand. The part that makes me nervous is the sand being on the bottom. Plants don’t really do well in sand, but it’s not impossible. I capped sand with gravel and plants have done well but I consider myself lucky. A couple Amazon Swords and an Aponogeton. Here’s a picture showing the gravel on top of the sand:

 

Filters: Either A) add the two sponges and run them in conjunction with the HOB and then after 3 or 4 weeks take off the HOB. Or B) Just get one sponge and use it in conjunction with the HOB. My 55 gallon Angel community has a sponge filter on the left, and a HOB in the top right. I like that combo. 
 

Fish: Angels and Cory’s are a great combo! I have 6 Angels, 13 Cory’s, and 20 Cardinal Tetras in my 55. I love it. 
 

Plants: The sky is the limit. You’ll have to try plants and see what does well in your water. Easy Green and Root Tabs are essential in my opinion. Some plants feed from the water column and some feed from the roots. You’ll have to research the plants you like and understand their needs. 
 

Changes: I personally would do the substrate first. I prefer just normal gravel, but that’s just me. I’ve grown insane amounts of plants without aqua soils and the like, but that’s where root tabs come in. Figure out what you wanna do with the substrate and make that change first. Capping the sand shouldn’t disturb your cycle. Completely changing the substrate you should be careful and go light in feeding while the bacteria stabilizes again. Once you’re satisfied with that, then change your filtration. For real, I think just adding 1 sponge and running it in conjunction with your HOB should give you no issues whatsoever. Then, start working on the fish and getting the tank that you actually want. 
 

On top of that, don’t be afraid to holler if you have questions! I’m always happy to help 
 

Edited December 23, 2022 by AllFishNoBrakes

[nabokovfan87]

On 12/21/2022 at 4:55 PM, bettaballistic said:

I need deeper substrate to accommodate for for the new plants and I'm wondering if removing all the fake plants and putting new substrate on top will crash my cycle.  I also want to replace my HOB filter with 2 spong filters. But I'm thinking I should do those 2 changes at different times

Substrate, no. Plants, no.

You would want to stagger removing the filters, changing bioload, and making sure that you do so gradually.

If that isn't an option and you need to use the current filtration for where the Bettas are being moved to then you'd want to take a few precautions.

A. Add in new ceramic. media so that you can start getting it filled with beneficial bacteria.

B. Remove half of your current ceramic media when you remove the filters and then take that and place it in the 55G resting on top of your sponge filter near the flow. (The other half stays with the filter and goes to the new tank)

C. Add on your fish slowly, give the tank time to adjust to the new regime. If you have 5 Bettas in there now then I would recommend only adding 5-8 fish to start.

D. Once your new tank is "solid" then you can remove the used ceramic media and use it elsewhere.

Optional, use bacteria in a bottle in both situations. Especially after adding new fish to the new tank and adding the new fish to the 55g.

[bettaballistic]

@AllFishNoBrakes All great advice, I don't know why I never thought of just using both filters at the same time!  I think I'm going to cap my sand with a pretty thick layer of gravel. That way it'll take them a long time to get down to it, and gravel is a lot cheaper than plant substrate. 

 I'd love to see a picture of your tank, if you don't mind

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Here she is! I took this pic on Wednesday after a water change. Amazon sword in the back, Amazon sword in the front right. The crypt in the middle front grows well, then melts off, then comes back. The Java Fern mess on the left needs to be taken out but I just haven’t done it yet. This tank also runs c02

Edited December 23, 2022 by AllFishNoBrakes

[bettaballistic]

On 12/23/2022 at 10:00 AM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

 That's gorgeous! What are the floating plants that you have? I love their roots

[AllFishNoBrakes]

@bettaballistic They’re Dwarf Water Lettuce. I enjoy them too! The roots get crazy