Is it safe to switch out rock and sand

chopper320 · 08/21/2013, 09:42 AM

I have a 40 gallon tank that is about 1.5 years old that I would love to reaquascape with new rock and also remove the sand. The current rock is being overrun with caulerpa and I remove it on a daily basis but I never can seem to get ahead of it. I have about 40lbs of LR currently but I would like to replace it with about half this much rock.

Also, my sand is too fine to have the flow that I would like in my tank. I would like to remove this and either go bare bottom or replace with a larger grain sand.

Would I be losing too much biological filtration if I did all of this, causing a new cycle? Any suggestions on how to go about it? I have a lot of sps corals in my system and I don't want to lose them by doing this.

snulma1 · 08/21/2013, 10:48 AM

I would start with the sand, and when you remove it. Do it slowly. You don't want to lose too much of your biological filter at once

Then when you replace the rock, only do a little at a time. Which will be tough since you are fighting an algae problem.

thegrun · 08/21/2013, 10:58 AM

As for replacng the rock, you will need to completely cycle the new rock in a seperate container before making the swap. Reducing the rock by 50% may cause some problems if you have many fish, as it may not give you enough area for the bacteria to populate and keep up with the bio-load. The sand will have a minimal effect, but I would not remove more than 33% at a time. If you are going to keep sand siphon out 1/3rd and add the new sand, wait a week and change out another 1/3rd. If you go bare bottom, still wait a week between removals.

Ross33 · 08/21/2013, 11:00 AM

I did the same thing recently. Get your new rock cycling in a big bucket or trashcan. Slowly siphon out your sand during your water chages over a month or so. After that month when your sand is all gone and your new rock has been cycling for a month, you should be good to go. Just go light on feeding for a couple weeks.

chopper320 · 08/21/2013, 11:14 AM

If I start with dry rock, would it work to put it in my sump for a few weeks? My rockwork is currently 2 islands with about 50% on each. I could replace 1 island at a time to try to make sure the caulerpa doesn't spread to the new rock.

Ross33 · 08/21/2013, 11:42 AM

Yes that would work. I went with dry rock as well.

08/21/2013, 09:42 AM	#1
chopper320 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 626	Is it safe to switch out rock and sand I have a 40 gallon tank that is about 1.5 years old that I would love to reaquascape with new rock and also remove the sand. The current rock is being overrun with caulerpa and I remove it on a daily basis but I never can seem to get ahead of it. I have about 40lbs of LR currently but I would like to replace it with about half this much rock. Also, my sand is too fine to have the flow that I would like in my tank. I would like to remove this and either go bare bottom or replace with a larger grain sand. Would I be losing too much biological filtration if I did all of this, causing a new cycle? Any suggestions on how to go about it? I have a lot of sps corals in my system and I don't want to lose them by doing this.

08/21/2013, 10:48 AM	#2
snulma1 Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: New York, NY Posts: 2,281	I would start with the sand, and when you remove it. Do it slowly. You don't want to lose too much of your biological filter at once Then when you replace the rock, only do a little at a time. Which will be tough since you are fighting an algae problem.

08/21/2013, 10:58 AM	#3
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	As for replacng the rock, you will need to completely cycle the new rock in a seperate container before making the swap. Reducing the rock by 50% may cause some problems if you have many fish, as it may not give you enough area for the bacteria to populate and keep up with the bio-load. The sand will have a minimal effect, but I would not remove more than 33% at a time. If you are going to keep sand siphon out 1/3rd and add the new sand, wait a week and change out another 1/3rd. If you go bare bottom, still wait a week between removals.

08/21/2013, 11:00 AM	#4
Ross33 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Texas, Lubbock Posts: 374	I did the same thing recently. Get your new rock cycling in a big bucket or trashcan. Slowly siphon out your sand during your water chages over a month or so. After that month when your sand is all gone and your new rock has been cycling for a month, you should be good to go. Just go light on feeding for a couple weeks.

08/21/2013, 11:14 AM	#5
chopper320 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Indianapolis Posts: 626	If I start with dry rock, would it work to put it in my sump for a few weeks? My rockwork is currently 2 islands with about 50% on each. I could replace 1 island at a time to try to make sure the caulerpa doesn't spread to the new rock.

08/21/2013, 11:42 AM	#6
Ross33 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Texas, Lubbock Posts: 374	Yes that would work. I went with dry rock as well.