Changeing from cc to sand is not as hard as it sounds, rince the sand before will help with the tank becomeing cloudy, just get the fish out first, a rubbermaid bucket will work fine for the amount of time that it takes to make the change. Just put an airstone in the bucket. Once the sand is in the tank and everything settles down put the fish back in, I helped a friend do this and it was not that hard. Good Luck