"Soft Reset"

I use the term "Soft Reset" when I have a tank that is in need of a reset for whatever the reason may be. But instead of tearing down the tank and starting a fresh cycle, I do a fast cycle that takes about 24-48hrs.

When I do a Soft Reset I will:

• Drain about 1gal of water into a food safe container and transfer all of the shrimp that are in that tank into the bucket.
• I then pull all of the objects out such as cholla wood, mosses, and large rock, and place them in the bucket with the shrimp.
• I add an air stone to the shrimp bucket.
• I then cap the old soil with about 2-3 liters of new soil. I simply dump in the soil and try to smooth it out best I can with my hand.
• I drain about 50% of the water and add back in new water.
• I let the tank cycle for 24hrs to clear up the cloudiness. 
• After 24hrs I will rinse/squeeze out the sponges as they are usually full of dirt/dust from adding the new soil.
• I will double check water parameters and if all good I will start acclimating the shrimp back into the tank at 1-2 drips per second.

This method has worked well for me and I generally use it when I have a tank that is starting to lose its buffering capacity (~6.4+). When I do this "Soft Reset" I get another 6mo-1yr out of the tank with only losing 24-48hs.