i need a little help...

i was wondering what the easiest way to change my tank from stupid crushed coral, to live sand would be. Right now there is about a 1.5 inch base of CC. I would like to get about the same depth of live sand going on in my 55 gallon. Any suggestions on what type of sand and the best way to move everything around would be greatly appreciated. THANKS

 

Finest grain argonite you can find is what I like to use.
How long has the tank been set up? Has it cycled?

 

tank is very cycled, been up and running for years now.

 

could he suck out the cc with a large hose and then put in dry sand?

 

i was kind of thinking about siphoning the CC out into a bucket with a screen set up on it, to keep most of the water.. what should i do with my coral/fish during this time. i know it's going to take a little while to settle.

 

yea you will have to ask the pros on that i dont know if it will cause a mini cycle or not, i would think it would i dont know?

 

wow, i figured i would get more help than this.

 

Mix up enough water for a 50% water change. siphon the water and crushed coral out. use the 50% water change water to replace the water taken out. You do not want to reuse the water that comes out with the crushed coral. Will most definitely cause a mini cycle, but a large cycle if you were to use the water siphoned out. Once completed removing cc and 50% of water, put the sand into small trash bags. lower the trash bags to the bottom of the tank, then rip the bag and let the sand out.

 

I'm no pro by any means but i would think that you would need to change it out little bits at a time so you don't disrupt the bacteria and such that is in your cc. I think you're gonna have a spike in nitrate no matter how you do it. I'm sure one of our fellow reefers will chime in soon but that's my 2 cents...good luck!

 

patience dude

That's right. Break it up into at least 3 segments. Use some sort of divider. You'll want to wait at least a week, if not two, between each segment. Remove the CC from one segment and add in the sand.

There is a ton of beneficial bacteria in the CC. If you do it all at once, you'll have a major cycle as that rebuilds. Doing it in segments, gives the bacteria a chance to reestablish.

Yes, it takes a long time and yes, it is major PITA.

Doing it in this way, you probably don't need 50% Water Change, but have it on hand to be safe. I would recommend scooping it out, not siphoning. There really isn't no need to lose as much water as you would by siphoning.

It will cause stress. Just make sure everything is healthy before you start and you should be fine if you take it slow.

Good luck!