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i currently have regular cheap o substrate from petsmart, and i really need to swap out for some flourite or onyx, or somethinh else besides just rocks...

i have read several websites, many suggests that use potting soil, and mix with cat litter, clay, and some fert tabs from regular garden stores... while other people say that'll cause diseases and unwanted stuff in aquarium...

i have been looking at onyx sand, and flourite, i really dont like the color of flourite, but i heard there is a greyish type of flourite available?

does anybody know where to get onyx or flourite for a reasonable price? arizona garden, anybody know how much they charge for shipping per bag?

i have a 29 gallon tank with 30x12 bottom area, how many pounds do i need?

and finally, the tank is established already, i really dont have much time to swap out a portion of the substrate every week. can i just take out all the fish and stuff, dump the old substrate, put new substrate and add fish back in??

thank you for your time, and any replies will be appreciated

I just recently purchased flourite from Drs Foster & Smith and with the shipping (I think it was $4.50 a bag) was actually cheaper than I could purchase it locally. There were 2 colors available - brown and then reddish.

Here's a site for a calculator that will determine how much you will need. I believe I stole it from one of Franks posts.

http://www.plantedtank.net/substratecalculator.html

As far as replacing all of the gravel at once, you could do that, but you're going to be removing all of your bacteria and possibly cause the tank to have to cycle again. If doing this take an old nylon stocking and place a good size portion of the old gravel in it and place this in your filter for a couple of weeks as this will help to seed the new substrate.

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

if i have a biowheel working right now, does that make any difference?? plus the basteria inside of my filter already??

It does help, but the fact of the matter is a massive ammount of your biofilter will be present in the substrate of a tank. Tossing all of it at one time will remove a huge quantity. If the fish stock were to proportionally be reduced at the same time this wouldnt be such a big issue.
Use pair of clean nylons or a shallow 2" or so dish that can be hidden behind decor for 3-4 weeks.

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