Big mistake?

I thnk i might have made a mistake , i have a 55 gallon with 40 pounds of cc and 55 pounds lr , my lfs told me i can chage from cc to sand buy just removing all of the cc except about enough to cover the bottom and then dump 30 pounds of aragamax (not live) right over the top. Then afterwards i noticed th bag said it could be bad for my livstock( which are currently waiting it out in my 10 gallon qt). How bad didi mess up and how long till i can put my fish back.

Thanx

 

I'm guessing the manufacturer was referring to the ensuing dust/sand storm that would temporarily cloud your tank.

If your livestock is in a different tank, and your LR is still in the 55, you'll be fine. Just wait until the "smoke clears" before you add them back.

No damage done.

 

if you have a skimmer it might pull out some dusk

 

No skimmer yet but my canister and powerheads are running. Or should they be off till everything settles? How long until it clear?

 

Usually by 48 HRS, it will be sparkling. You can add them sooner though. Would wait till you can see through the longest path of the tank.

 

why no skimmer? its a god send


i have a small fluval type hang on powerhead / canister that i use for times like this,

just throw some media/pollypad in there drop it in power up and it will help pull that crap into the filter


HTH

scaff

 

I wouldnt reccomend any changes in your system as fast as your trying. Any time you change something you should do it in small increments. Specially something as vital to your bio filtering as your live sand.

 

Just to vent a little here about one of my pet peeves. I do not understand why some are against crushed coral. I have read all the false notions about CC such as; it "creates" or causes Nitrate. With a good clean up crew along with sand shifters and if necessary
(depending on your bio load) vacuuming, CC is fine. I used it for years with no adverse effects at all. Many, including LFS employees simply chant the "CC is bad" mantra with no real scientific backing. Any substrate sold is just fine. I liked the more ocean looking CC which is what I see when I go to the ocean. I see no difference in sand, argonite or less dense CC.

 

Agreed. If neglected, however, it does become a haven for detritus and if allowed to accumulate, will contribute to nutrients in the tank.

But your statement above is dead on.

I've always felt that sand was more representative in appearance of the actual reef, but that's just one guy's opinion.

 

if other sand bed was old disturbing it too much might have stirred up some nitrates and nitrites. do some test to make sure and maybe you might have to do water change. but as far as the small sand particles i would worry too much about that.