Borderline rip down - advice needed please!

[LancsRick]

Ok, well this isn't quite a ripdown since I'm hoping to leave at least the substrate intact, but here goes.

- I want to replant
- I need to remove the horrible Juwel textured background
- I need to remove the Juwel internal filter (more on that later)

As a result, I'm intending to empty the tank over the weekend and apply what I've learnt in the last couple of months.

The Plan:

- Water into storage containers, followed by livestock
- Uproot all plants, trim appropriately, into storage containers

- Leave enough water to keep the substrate covered in the tank, so as to avoid killing off the bacteria in the mulm
- Strip out background and filter

- Put in gravel tidy to keep cat litter in place, then gravel cap (gravel cap alone isn't doing the job)
- Replant
- Refill
- Hook up new external filters
- Livestock back in, job done!


Questions

1) Is my plan to keep the substrate bacteria alive sensible/viable/required?
2) I am moving from 1x Juwel internal filter (established) to 2x Eheim 2217 (not established). Given the massive difference in filter media volume, what's the best way to allow me to get up and running with these filters without risking my livestock? Split the Juwel media evenly between the Eheims and leave in for the first month of running? The Eheims have the standard layer of 2x blue sponge at bottom, 1x balls, 1x blue sponge (need to get myself some white fine sponges).

Any and all thoughts/advice welcome!

Thanks.

 

[Alastair]

I'd leave the substrate just slightly damp but not covered. Any reason your capping the cat litter?
Also with regards to the media, you could cut the courser juwel sponges to fit in place of the bottom sponges in the 2217, or give the media from the juwel fikter a good squeeze over the bio media in your new filters.


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[Alastair]

Ps do the 2217 not come with the mech rings at the bottom???
You will also find at the bottom of the juwel filter bacterial mulm build up, tip some of that into the canister bases of the eheims as this will get caught in the eheim sponges helping colonise


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[LancsRick]

These are second hand, hence the filter media mix. I'm capping the cat litter because it's so light, it's a right nuisance!

 

[awtong]

When I seeded my new Fx5 from the juwel internal I chopped up all 3 blue sponges in a bucket of tank water (one coarse and two fine sponges) and put them into my bottom bio media basket with my ceramic rings and a few spare ones in with the pre filter. After a couple of month's I took it out and added some more rings.

I was also using 3/4 mature water and mature sand substrate similar to you as I was upgrading from my Rio 180l to the Vision 450l.

Andy