Crushed coral to sand

M

mr.geronimo23

AC Members
Dec 23, 2004
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West Palm Beach , Florida
I have had my tank for about 2 years now , when I first set it up I got bad advice from the LFS and was told that crushed coral would work best for me. After a couple months I knew they lied to me but it was too late I was afraid to have to start the whole cycle process again , but now after a couple years I really want to change to sand .

My question is , How can I change from coral to sand with out doing to much damage or having to start all over again , I know theres a lot of good bacteria in the coral and what not but just wanted to know whats a good way to handle this.
 
Are you running a UGF? If not, there won't be too much of the bacteria in the substrate. You can remove it, replace with sand, and seed from it by having it in nylon bags in the tank for a few weeks. I would completely empty the tank to swap--otherwise, you end up with an unstable bed, and cloudy water--not to mention the stress on the occupants.
 
Okay, then you will have to use nylon bags and have the CC in the tank for more than a few weeks to allow the bacteria to develop fully, gradually removing the bags.

A large tupperware tub works for short term storage of fish and rock.
 
Ok , so I can put all my critters and rocks in a tub while I replace the crush coral with sand , ok .

Three questions , Do I leave the filters on while Im taking out the crushed coral and replacing it with sand ? How long can my critters and live rock stay in a tub ? Would it be Inhumane to put the puffer and lion in my 10 gallon while Im working on the main tank ? Ive done it before but the lion wasnt this big hes was maybe 6-7 inches back then . 10G is my quarantine tank.
 
turn the filters and everything else off while you empty the tank....
dont put the lionfish and puffer in the 10 gallon together. Put the puffer in hte 10gallon and get yourself a rubbermaid bin or something similar for the lionfish.
you can also put some of your live rock and other stuff in the same bin and 10gallon tank to save space...

iv'e done this a few times, and everything is always fine. I put the heaters and powerheads in the smaller tanks or bins, and i make sure the bins are temporary (less than 1.5 hours max).....

good luck!
 
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