Well I finally switched the substrate today. I purchased eco-complete yesterday and spent about 3 hours changing out the gravel (I took my time). I must say that it took longer than I wanted but it went well. I took some pictures to show how it went.
I took a clear bin that I bought from walmart (holds a little over 10 gallons) and I drained about 10 gallons into the bin.
Then, I moved the plants, driftwood, and then fish/shrimps/snail into that bin. I had a spare thermometer so I put that in the bin and I didn't have an air pump so I used a cup to disturb the water every 20 min or so.
I drained the rest of the water as much as I can and used a cup to remove the gravel. Since the python couldn't remove all the water, I used paper towels to sop up the rest.
I opened the 2 bags of eco that I bought and dumped it in the tank. I used the sloping technique (more at the back of the tank and slope downwards). I like the look of eco and its pretty soft. I'm sure ADA is better but for a beginner like myself, I figured why not try out with something cheaper. I also noticed that its very soft and easy to move around. I used a bowl to fill up the tank and filled it very slowly. Part of the reason it took so long to change was the filling the tank up. However, i think it was worth it because there was very little cloudiness.
After filling up a little, I added the driftwoods and plants. I'm not sure about this layout but I'm going to let it be for a while until I see how the plants react to the eco-complete. I'm also going to purchase some red plants to help contrast the green. I ended up trimming and removing quite a bit of plants because of the lack of room. After filling the tank, I let it run for about 30 min or so with the filter. Then, I added the fish, shrimps, and snail back in the tank. I turned off the light for about an hour and that was it. It wasn't too bad and at least I gain experience for future tank setups. Here is the final product....hope it looks good. I'd appreciate any comments or advice..thanks
