Wondering how easy it is to change substrate in freshly matured tank any advice would be greatly appreciated.

what type of substrate do have right now? and what kind are you going to put?
considering it is freshly matured, i won't take the risk as of now. you could wait a little bit later.

just my 2 cent opinion.

That two cent opinion matters greatly to someone like myself who is very new to fish keeping. I have blue gravel rocks as substrate at the moment but i want to change to black sand or gravel and add some wood and such.

I agree with Paul, I would wait at least a couple weeks!

ha ha ha...that is normal...we just used to put that phrase....

gravel is much easier to removed. gradually scoop them out while running
everything. gunk and solid particle will make the tank murky but will clear
after wards. once gravel had been removed, you can gradually introduce the
new substrate, using a plastic bag filled with the substance, submerge
in the tank, invert and slowly lift leaving the substrate under. that is the
trick.

To easy but the process of changing the substrate is what im really worried about.

Probably a dumb question but do i remove O's first or leave them in there I think common sense has just kicked in.

woldog wrote:

when i removed my substrate, all fishes remains in the tank. what worry me is
the new substrate....it might alter water parameters after putting them in the
tank....that is why it is also suggested to pre-soak the new substrate in a bucket
with the existing tank water.

Not such a dumb question after all then.

woldog wrote:

according to cris and i quote: unquote.

and i agree on that.

Very true, good point. Thanks for the advice.

what about the risk of the new sand getting in the filter? I would think even if you carefully placed the sand; alot would stir around and get sucked in by the filter.....not sure if that is an issue or not; I'll let the experts chime in - just bringing it up as a potential issue to be prepared for