Crushed Coral/Sand Switch, 15 gal w/fish and inverts

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chrismcshane

Registered Member
Oct 21, 2008
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So I'm pretty new with running a fish tank, but I've got a saltwater tank that's been running for about 3 months now. Its current inhabitants are:

2 Cardinals
2 Blue Damsels
1 Peppermint Shrimp
1 Turbo Snail

I've got crushed coral at the bottom, but I'm starting to wish I had started off with sand in the first place.

Is it possible to make the switch at this stage? If so, any advice?

Thanks.
 
You could...but need to watch parameters and be cautious. Moving and messing with substrate can cause your parameters to go outta whack. I to had to do this on my 75 when i switched from brackish to marine. I went to walmart and bought a 19 gallon tote. Washed it well. I filled it with water from the tank, moved my liverock, powerheads, and heater over to it, and then the fish. I then removed the cc from the tank and replaced it with sand. I let the water clear for about 24 hours tested my parameters to make sure everything was settled, put my live rock back in then the fish and the water.
 
Right on, thanks. I may start the process of trying this out tonight, so I'll let you know how it goes if I do.
 
personally I wouldn't do it that fast. I'd remove about a quarter of the crushed coral and replace that section with sand. Leave it a few days, test parameters and if everything testing OK do the next quarter and so on.
 
You should definitely swap to sand. You can learn alot about Marine/Reefs through this site: www.reefcentral.com
 
catpicklesdog said:
personally I wouldn't do it that fast. I'd remove about a quarter of the crushed coral and replace that section with sand. Leave it a few days, test parameters and if everything testing OK do the next quarter and so on.
Click to expand...

I did it all at once, because I had a place where I could keep my fish until everything was sorted out. I think doing this process slowly will just add to stress on the livestock. Better to remove them to a safe place, swap it all out, and then move them back instead of clouding and moving around all of that stuff every couple days. JMO though
 
I went with the all at once approach. Moved everything into a temporary bucket while I made the swap, and put it all back in once it looked moderately okay. So far, so good. They all look happy and well, and since I have sand now, I added two Nassarius snails to help keep it clean.
 
chrismcshane said:
I went with the all at once approach. Moved everything into a temporary bucket while I made the swap, and put it all back in once it looked moderately okay. So far, so good. They all look happy and well, and since I have sand now, I added two Nassarius snails to help keep it clean.
Click to expand...

Glad the swap went well.:) We're going to want piccies you know;)
 
I'll see if I can get a good shot of these guys, but it might not be for a while because I'll be away for most of November.
 
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