Major help needed

[junkhead92]

I have 55g sw FO tank I been running for about four years now and I want to increase my water quality and possibly convert to reef tank. I have the dreaded crushed coral and an undergravel filter with two powerheads on either side with two HOB canister filters with bio wheels. The crushed coral is a total eyesore and hassle. I want to use sand and been reading alot on how to use play sand and a little live sand. I have a big chunk of LR but not nearly enough of what I should. My question is what should I do with my fish when I remove the crushed coral and put down sand? Will they be alright in the tank? Also I searched the web and can't seem to find a decent explaination on how to make a sump with an old smaller tank without any holes drilled in my main tank. What kind of skimmer should I buy? Any info or feedback would GREATLY be appreciated.

[Max]

Hey junkhead welcome to ac! Well to answer your questions
1. live sand "just buy plain old play sand and let your live rock turn it into live sand. Most live sand out there only has bacterial cultures no critters and the live rock will introduce both for you.
2. removal well you are in a bit of a sticky wicket mate. When you remove the c.c. it's going to toatally zap the filtration in your tank as you have a ugf. It's going to be a big pita but, what I would do is get some cloth bags and save a portion of the substrate. Remove about 1 bag per week to give your sand bed time to build up some bacteria.
3. Add your live rock at the same time that you do the sand bed switch out. I would make 100% sure that any live rock you add to a stocked tank is completely cycled to avoid losses of your fish. If you purchase it pre-curred I would still verify that it didn't have any nitrite or ammonia prior to addition to your set up. Put, the rock in a large plastic tub stress with a bit of pure ammonia and see how long it takes to 0 out. Just use enough to detect on a test kit and see how long it takes to go away ,"should just take an hour or two max for cycled rock."
4. The sump I'm not at all handy post in the marine diy.
cheers
Max

[junkhead92]

Thank you so much for your advice. Will get it a shot soon. Any help is awesome.

[Germanman]

you can get a hang on overflow for the sump.

[junkhead92]

I took out half of the UF. And my tank turned to milk. It's clearing up now, but there is tiny film of what looks like volcanic ash on the half I left alone. Got the canister filters running now, but I'll try to get the rest out in a day or two. I don't want to over stress the three fish i do have so I'm gonna take it slow. I checked out hang on overflows on ebay and now I'm more confused.

http://cgi.ebay.com/PS3-Aquarium-Filter-Wet-Dry-Overflow-Portein-Skimmer_W0QQitemZ290077891107QQihZ019QQcategoryZ46 310QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Do I still need a container to fill with water with this gadget?

[junkhead92]

Success!! I got all the crushed coral out and the sand bed in. A shop vac works great and my old Magnum H.O.T water polisher cleared everything up in about three hours. I decided to go with a Fluval 405 in stead of a sump. Will try to go that route in June when I get my 265g running. Thanks for all the help.

[Germanman]

cool nice job! i love my 405 it works so well for all my needs it can be altered to do so much!

[junkhead92]

Just to show how big a difference it made, here are some before and after pics.

Before
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/215/1000018ui5.th.jpg (http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1000018ui5.jpg)

After
http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/3237/picture217sv7.th.jpg (http://img404.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture217sv7.jpg)
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/1899/picture218ma2.th.jpg (http://img300.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture218ma2.jpg)

[junkhead92]

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/1205/picture221ho5.th.jpg (http://img171.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture221ho5.jpg)

[yothereyo]

before and after. Wow it's like one of those makeover shows. After wins hands down. Looks very nice. Could do with little more rock though.:dance2: