Breaking down tank

[u/GarbageCanCrisis]

My tank is... hideous. There's no other word for it. It's got a ton of hygrophilia triflora and it's just butt-ugly (sorry if you like this particular plant).

Id like to rescape it and add some prettier plants and a few more nanos (shrimp, rasboras, tetras) but I've never broken down a tank before.

Whats the easiest way to go about this? If I keep the water I take out will the cycle still crash because I'm removing/adding plants? How long does everyone wait after a heavy rescape before adding new critters?

Thanks!

[u/twibbletrouble]

Most of your cycling bacteria is in your filter and your substrate. They are also on plants. It's not really in the water. (I would still keep the old water and only change what you normally would during a water change, this is mostly so you don't accidentally change the water chemistry too much ph etc. Especially with tap water because tap water isn't always exactly the same everytime)

Exactly how broken down do you want to do? Like do you want to change the substrate? Or you just wanna take out the plants and replace them?

If its just removing the plant you don't like and moving things around you should be fine.