changing substrate

So umm...how does one go about this?
I have this dorky blue gravel that my son (who was then 3) picked out and I'm ready for something the plants will like more. I've got a lot of fish, a lot of snails, some plants (I need more - who's gonna send me plants? You? K thanks) and some lovely little mussels and clams that I've had for years. I'm gonna need to move these dudes, right? The other tank is a 10gallon that I haven't set up yet - they'll all fit for a bit but they'll be MAD! It just sounds like such a daunting task. I need a man for these things, one who takes to the whole helpless kitten look.
Any helpful hints here?

When I used gravel and had to remove it, Just use a hose and siphon out. You'll have to use a large enough hose to get the gravel out. You can siphon into a bucket , very easy to do. Hope this helps.

I have a siphone and hose...would need to make some uh....adjustment sinces it made in a way that prevents sucking up rocks. dang simple solutions that I can't come up with.

Yea it;s very easy once you get the siphon going. You won't have any problems.

this is exactly why I'm not lettin my son pick out the substrate next time - I do NOT want a repeat of this post in a couple of years lol

OR you can can always have a siphon available ready when the gravel needs a change. this will allow him to be involved with the fish tanks. Don't listen to me ,i don't know what I'm talking about!

psh I LIKE my fish too much to make him do that - the kid has ADHD, I can just see how he could kill fish with that adventure. I barely let him feed the fish because he manages to screw it up dramatically lol like I dunno....giving the fish a full can because "I thought that was one meal!"

What size tank are you replacing the soil in? I just did a 29 and a 50... scooped it out of the tank with a plastic colander.. (My wife was out shopping AND it's my kitchen anyway). Scooped it into a 5 gal bucket.. Took it to the tub in the guest bath grabbed a smaller 2 gallon bucket and put about 1/10 in the bucket and kept it under a wide open tap. Stirring it up with my hands.. Emptied it into yet another 5g bucket. (They ended up raw!).. kept doing that till got it all done!
So when ya restart are you going to put soil down first? Covered by sand or gravel?

williemcd wrote:

scooped it out of the tank with a plastic colander.. (My wife was out shopping AND it's my kitchen anyway).

LOL, that is totally something I have/would and will do.

I used a large fish net to scoop out my rocks becuase the poo and gunk is what the plants will use for nutrience so i removed half the water and started scooping out with a net. Then i let all the gunk settle while i washed and washed and washed my sand (used a sand called "all purpose sand" which is pretty much silica sand i got it from lowes for like 3 bucks for a 50 pnd bag) and as i rinsed and when i thought it was done i rinsed some more then i started pooring it in. If you use sand, dont forget to turn off your pumps and what not the sand will destroy your filters. you can keep your fish in the tank while you do all this it doesnt hurt them.