switch to sand as substrate

marybeth1975 · 07/06/2007, 03:36 PM

ok, when I started my tank over a year ago, dumb me put in crushed coral. now I want sand. is there a good way to do this? is it possible? right now I don't have much in my tank. I moved a few months ago and lost most of my babies. any ideas would be great.

jon99 · 07/06/2007, 03:40 PM

Hmm.. I can give you a good idea on putting new sand into an existing tank without causing too much of a dust storm...
rinse it well in tap water first, then pour it down a 2 or 3 inch pvc pipe onto the bottom of your tank. Do it slowly and a little at a time and it will minimize the dust that normally comes off new substrate... as far as getting the old stuff out, I'm not sure.

Mare100 · 07/06/2007, 03:50 PM

Hi Marybeth....

Not an expert here....bu

XSiVE · 07/06/2007, 03:51 PM

i made a real mess getting my crushed coral out, used a fish net.. lol.

my BTA, coral beauty, and powder brown tang all survived.

marybeth1975 · 07/06/2007, 04:00 PM

I wonder if I could take "most" of the crushed coral out and then just put sand over it? I was worried about making a huge mess when I add the sand (cloudy water). So I like the pipe idea. I also worried about it messing with my bacteria and all that stuff since it is an established tank.

jon99 · 07/06/2007, 04:03 PM

Right. So you want to add the new sand slowly over the course of a week or maybe even longer. If you put it over some of the old substrate, don't add more than maybe a half inch or so at a time.

Mare100 · 07/06/2007, 04:34 PM

Sorry about my last post....the power went out here and lost all of what I typed.

Anyway....we did the crushed coral to sand conversion and it went rather smoothly. We did it over time, taking a little bit of the coral out each night.....ran extra filters and an extra skimmer...waited until the water cleared....did some more.

We then reversed the process for adding the sand. A little at a time...allowing for tank clear up before adding more.

We did leave a little bit of the coral down on the bottom, to save bacteria to seed the new sand.

I love the idea about using a pvc pipe to add sand though. We didn't do it....and we had sandstorms.

Happy to say everybody made it through the transition smoothly though! I think the key is to go slow.

Good Luck!
M

marybeth1975 · 07/07/2007, 07:27 PM

Thanks guys. So I think I read on here somewhere on another thread about not "wasting" money on live sand. That I could just use regular sand? What did you do with the crushed coral? Just toss in the trash? Did you move all your rock too?

ServantSoldier · 07/07/2007, 07:43 PM

I've moved my sand and rocks around in my tank many times generating a massive amount of sand throughout the water. I've not had anything die or seem stressed due to this.. ocean currents produce these same events during rough seas. As far as removing the old sand, I can see this bacteria concentration causing problems, but I wouldn't worry too much about adding your new sand.

ThaNgBOm321 · 07/07/2007, 07:46 PM

i did the same switch from cc to sand a good wile back... i think this is the beast way to do it... get the sand.. put them in bucket and set them in the tank for about 2 weeks.. ( you are trying to get your tank bacteria into those buckets) then get some fresh sw mixed and ready to go.. next to vac out the old cc via a syphon .. about 1/4 of it.. then you have to wait to let the bacteria build up in the sand... after about 2 / 3 weeks most of the cc should be out ... next you lay your sand out via the pipe way and your done... you want to do it as slow as possible because you need bacteria to build/grow enough so that they can handle your bioload...unless you only have like 1 or 2 fish.. if thats the case then id just catch them and QT them for 2 weeks... then take all the cc out at once and add the sand... recycle the tank like and add the fish..

YzGyz

loves saltwater · 07/07/2007, 08:34 PM

I removed all my CC about 6 months ago. I removed 25% of the CC and replaced with the new sand(washed well) thru a 4 " PVC pipe. I did this every week for 4 weeks until all the CC was gone. I checked the water quality twice a week while this was going on and never have anything get out of wack during the change out.

IMO opinion if you try to remove it all at once you will have problems as your bio filter in the sand will be gone and while it is rebuilding you will get ammonia and nitrate spikes. I STRONGLY disagree with removing it all at once..

**** Remember only bad things happen quickly in this hobbie !!!

marybeth1975 · 07/08/2007, 07:22 AM

Thanks for the advice. I would never change it all at once. Did you put in "regular sand" or "live sand"?

Dubbin1 · 07/08/2007, 08:39 AM

Take everything out of your tank including the water and put it in rubbermaid tubs. Now simply scoop the CC out, put the sand in, cover it with a trashbag (to eliminate a sand storm), put the water back and everything else back in. One trick I did was put some of the old CC in pantyhose and lay it behind the rock work to help seed the new sand and help with filtration. I have done that with two different tanks and all turned out well with no losses.

07/06/2007, 03:36 PM	#1
marybeth1975 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Oak Ridge,TN Posts: 64	switch to sand as substrate ok, when I started my tank over a year ago, dumb me put in crushed coral. now I want sand. is there a good way to do this? is it possible? right now I don't have much in my tank. I moved a few months ago and lost most of my babies. any ideas would be great. __________________ Disguised as a responsible adult Current Tank Info: 46 gal bow front tank,Florida crushed coral,45 lbs of Fiji live rock, 2 maroon clown fish, 1 citron goby, 2 peppermint shrimp, unidentified star fish

07/06/2007, 03:40 PM	#2
jon99 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Atl Ga Posts: 817	Hmm.. I can give you a good idea on putting new sand into an existing tank without causing too much of a dust storm... rinse it well in tap water first, then pour it down a 2 or 3 inch pvc pipe onto the bottom of your tank. Do it slowly and a little at a time and it will minimize the dust that normally comes off new substrate... as far as getting the old stuff out, I'm not sure. __________________ Current tank: 210 gallon mixed reef 2x250w radium, 1x400w radium, 2x vortech mp40, 2 seaswirls. 40 gallon frag tank 250w radium, vortech mp10, seaswirl. 55 gallon sump w/ remote DSB, turf scrubber, SR Current Tank Info: 210 in the works

07/06/2007, 03:50 PM	#3
Mare100 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Becket, MA Posts: 382	Hi Marybeth.... Not an expert here....bu __________________ "No, no, yes, no, I tried that, yes--both ways, no, I don't know, no again. Are there anymore questions? Good." - Xena Current Tank Info: 55 Gal. FOWLR; 120 Gal. Reef - since 1/07

07/06/2007, 04:00 PM	#5
marybeth1975 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Oak Ridge,TN Posts: 64	I wonder if I could take "most" of the crushed coral out and then just put sand over it? I was worried about making a huge mess when I add the sand (cloudy water). So I like the pipe idea. I also worried about it messing with my bacteria and all that stuff since it is an established tank. __________________ Disguised as a responsible adult Current Tank Info: 46 gal bow front tank,Florida crushed coral,45 lbs of Fiji live rock, 2 maroon clown fish, 1 citron goby, 2 peppermint shrimp, unidentified star fish

07/06/2007, 04:03 PM	#6
jon99 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Atl Ga Posts: 817	Right. So you want to add the new sand slowly over the course of a week or maybe even longer. If you put it over some of the old substrate, don't add more than maybe a half inch or so at a time. __________________ Current tank: 210 gallon mixed reef 2x250w radium, 1x400w radium, 2x vortech mp40, 2 seaswirls. 40 gallon frag tank 250w radium, vortech mp10, seaswirl. 55 gallon sump w/ remote DSB, turf scrubber, SR Current Tank Info: 210 in the works

07/06/2007, 03:51 PM	#4
XSiVE Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Waterford, MI Posts: 790	i made a real mess getting my crushed coral out, used a fish net.. lol. my BTA, coral beauty, and powder brown tang all survived.

07/06/2007, 04:34 PM	#7
Mare100 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Becket, MA Posts: 382	Sorry about my last post....the power went out here and lost all of what I typed. Anyway....we did the crushed coral to sand conversion and it went rather smoothly. We did it over time, taking a little bit of the coral out each night.....ran extra filters and an extra skimmer...waited until the water cleared....did some more. We then reversed the process for adding the sand. A little at a time...allowing for tank clear up before adding more. We did leave a little bit of the coral down on the bottom, to save bacteria to seed the new sand. I love the idea about using a pvc pipe to add sand though. We didn't do it....and we had sandstorms. Happy to say everybody made it through the transition smoothly though! I think the key is to go slow. Good Luck! M __________________ "No, no, yes, no, I tried that, yes--both ways, no, I don't know, no again. Are there anymore questions? Good." - Xena Current Tank Info: 55 Gal. FOWLR; 120 Gal. Reef - since 1/07

07/07/2007, 07:27 PM	#8
marybeth1975 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Oak Ridge,TN Posts: 64	Thanks guys. So I think I read on here somewhere on another thread about not "wasting" money on live sand. That I could just use regular sand? What did you do with the crushed coral? Just toss in the trash? Did you move all your rock too? __________________ Disguised as a responsible adult Current Tank Info: 46 gal bow front tank,Florida crushed coral,45 lbs of Fiji live rock, 2 maroon clown fish, 1 citron goby, 2 peppermint shrimp, unidentified star fish

07/07/2007, 07:43 PM	#9
ServantSoldier Moved On Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Rocky Mount, Virginia Posts: 382	I've moved my sand and rocks around in my tank many times generating a massive amount of sand throughout the water. I've not had anything die or seem stressed due to this.. ocean currents produce these same events during rough seas. As far as removing the old sand, I can see this bacteria concentration causing problems, but I wouldn't worry too much about adding your new sand.

07/07/2007, 07:46 PM	#10
ThaNgBOm321 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Tx, houston Posts: 792	i did the same switch from cc to sand a good wile back... i think this is the beast way to do it... get the sand.. put them in bucket and set them in the tank for about 2 weeks.. ( you are trying to get your tank bacteria into those buckets) then get some fresh sw mixed and ready to go.. next to vac out the old cc via a syphon .. about 1/4 of it.. then you have to wait to let the bacteria build up in the sand... after about 2 / 3 weeks most of the cc should be out ... next you lay your sand out via the pipe way and your done... you want to do it as slow as possible because you need bacteria to build/grow enough so that they can handle your bioload...unless you only have like 1 or 2 fish.. if thats the case then id just catch them and QT them for 2 weeks... then take all the cc out at once and add the sand... recycle the tank like and add the fish.. YzGyz __________________ YzGyz = Wise Guys ohhh and cows go MOOO!!! 2nd best way is to learn from ones own mistakes but the best way to learn is from others... thx to Randy and so many other for making reefing that much easier

07/07/2007, 08:34 PM	#11
loves saltwater Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Katy,Tx Posts: 945	I removed all my CC about 6 months ago. I removed 25% of the CC and replaced with the new sand(washed well) thru a 4 " PVC pipe. I did this every week for 4 weeks until all the CC was gone. I checked the water quality twice a week while this was going on and never have anything get out of wack during the change out. IMO opinion if you try to remove it all at once you will have problems as your bio filter in the sand will be gone and while it is rebuilding you will get ammonia and nitrate spikes. I STRONGLY disagree with removing it all at once.. **** Remember only bad things happen quickly in this hobbie !!! __________________ Does anyone have the number to Reef Keepers Anonymous! AM- 0 Rite- 0 Rate- 0 Phos- 0 PH- 8.0 SG- 1.026 Cal- 420 KH- 8.0 dKH Alk- 2.51 meg/L Mag- 1350 Temp-78-80 Current Tank Info: 125RR/30 gal DIY sump-fuge/100 lbs of LR/PM Bullet Skimmer/1000GPH Closed loop/T5 4X54 Watt HO

07/08/2007, 07:22 AM	#12
marybeth1975 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Oak Ridge,TN Posts: 64	Thanks for the advice. I would never change it all at once. Did you put in "regular sand" or "live sand"? __________________ Disguised as a responsible adult Current Tank Info: 46 gal bow front tank,Florida crushed coral,45 lbs of Fiji live rock, 2 maroon clown fish, 1 citron goby, 2 peppermint shrimp, unidentified star fish

07/08/2007, 08:39 AM	#13
Dubbin1 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Findlay, Ohio Posts: 11,540	Take everything out of your tank including the water and put it in rubbermaid tubs. Now simply scoop the CC out, put the sand in, cover it with a trashbag (to eliminate a sand storm), put the water back and everything else back in. One trick I did was put some of the old CC in pantyhose and lay it behind the rock work to help seed the new sand and help with filtration. I have done that with two different tanks and all turned out well with no losses.