Taking out UGF and CC

I set up a little 20 gal. long aquarium about 8 months ago. I did not do any research beforehand, so i just set it up like i did 25 years ago with an UGF and CC. I am not having any problem with it, but i have decided i want to try sand.:
I plan on using 2" of sand. What is the best way to change it out?:-[

What i am thinking is to put all my live rock and corals in a bucket of fresh salt water, then siphon the water out of the aquarium into a bucket. Take out the UGF and CC. Pour the water i siphoned from the aquarium back in, put in live rock then sand and let settle. Then finish filling with fresh water and put back livestock.

What do you think? Is this going to cause my tank to cycle again?

Thanks

 

It might try to cycle. At a minimum you will probably get an alk spike.
Last time I did this I moved most of the CC to one side and removed with a cup one or 2 cups at a time and added sand to the empty side in about equal amounts. In a tank your size you could do that each day until you have it all changed. It would probably take about a week.

 

Everything has to come out to get the under gravel filter out, so i can't take a little at a time. That is why i was worried about a cycle. Thanks

 

Remove all but the yop 1/2 in or so of C.C then cap the plate with 4 inches of custom seaflor and leave a riser tube in a corner and put a cop on that and just make it a plenum system .. You will only need to get a section of air line in under the plate to pull off some bio sludge every few yrs .. like a pint or so.. as indication in water test would dictate

 

Reading about the plenon thing is what made me decide to remove the UGF. I had several tanks 25 or so years ago. When i took those tanks down it was horrible what was under there. I am just afraid the tank will cycle and kill everything.

 

I had a UGF with my fresh water tank and it came in two sections (I dont have a fresh water anymore).. Is yours like this?? If it is then you can take half of the cc out and take that part of the UGF and replace with sand then wait a week or longer if you wish (long enough to let the sand grow bacteria).. Then do the same thing to the other half.. I am in the process of switching from cc to sand right now... but we dont have a UGF.. You may experience a small cycle but nothing to serious.. If you go slow you shouldnt experience anything to bad.. At least that is what I have been told threw out this process.. Best of luck!!

 

Nope, not that lucky. Mine is all one piece.

missionsix66; I only have one red lip blenny, one green chromis and a coral banded shrimp with one tequil snail several astrea snails and about 5 blue leg hermits.Corals i have 2 monti cap frags, 2 monti digi, one curley q aneneme a kenya tree, some zoas, clove ployps, star polyps,and daisy polyps. All are fairly small. I also have 2 feather dusters that are pretty big.

 

Maybe you could cut the UGF in half... or brake it in half... You could take a section of cc out and then take a nife and cut the part of the UGF and add sand.. That may work... Good luck to you..

 

Thanks for the idea. I think luck is something i am going to have to have for this to work without killing everything in there. I am pretty sure the fish will make it through a mini cycle, but i don't know about everything else.:-/

I guess we'll see.