Changing Substrate in an Established tank?

fretfreak13

fretfreak13

Active Member
Well, I wouldn't nessicerly call it "established" per say, but it has been up since august. I got the tank from a friend and it came with crushed coral. Over time I've learned that it's one of the most irrataing substrates you can have and I was hoping to change it out if that was possible. I really love the black sand look, too.
Here's what I got:
29 gallon tank
20 galon sump (fuge with skimmer)
3 inches of CC sub
about 30 lbs of lr
two percs
royal gramma
yellowtail blue damsel
CUC (narci snails, 1 turbo, 1 SLF crab, 1 cleaner shrimp, 1 pep shrimp, about 15 hermits)
And some corals
If I could change out the substrate, how would I go about doing it?
 
9supratt4

9supratt4

Active Member
I did the same thing in my old 55....It's not easy since when you add the sand....no matter how you do it....it clouds up the tank.
All I did, was remove all of the crushed coral, and then put the sand in. As long as you have a strong enough bio-filter you should be ok. And I left my fish in there....I couldn't see them for about 24 hours unless they were against the glass but they are still alive and tat was about 2 years ago.
I didn't have any corals at the time though.
 
fretfreak13

fretfreak13

Active Member
Sooo, how about I take my corals out and throw them in the fuge that's in the sump with the light over them, add a little powerhead there, too. I kinda want to move the fish too...I'd feel bad for them being in a cloud and would be terrified if I couldn't see them.
I might throw the damsel in my five gallon and move the other three to the bottom tank with the corals. @.@ She's the mean one, so hopefully the other fish wont kill eachother in the fuge.
'Nother quick question. I'm guessing you should rinse black sand before puttng it in. Can I rinse it in freshwater?
 
9supratt4

9supratt4

Active Member
If you are thinking about moving your fish and corals....If it were me, I'd go out and buy a 10 gallon tank...Should cost all of $12. Throw everything in there with some of your rock for a couple days until the cloud settles.
And yes you can rinse in freshwater, unless you are buying Live Black Sand.
 
fretfreak13

fretfreak13

Active Member
I have a spare 10 gallon, I just think it would be easier to throw it in the sump. My fuge is basically LS, LR, and Cheato. There's already a heater in the sump (I have two running in the tank) and at the moment the actual sump is disconnected and running...itself? I don't know how to explain it exactly, but i"m having overflow problems (wet floor, yuck) and at the moment the actual sump isn't connected to the tank. Can't see a better time to do this.
Is there any actual reason you woulnd't put stuff in the fuge? I don't think I have any pod eaters. o_O
 
fretfreak13

fretfreak13

Active Member
Yeah, lol maybe I can convince my dad to let me do this SOON cause I"m kinda in trouble with grades. His punishment was not buying me anythign for my tank until the next report card. xD
 
9supratt4

9supratt4

Active Member
Originally Posted by Fretfreak13
http:///forum/post/3173196
Yeah, lol maybe I can convince my dad to let me do this SOON cause I"m kinda in trouble with grades. His punishment was not buying me anythign for my tank until the next report card. xD
I remember what that was like
 
fretfreak13

fretfreak13

Active Member
Haha I don't nessicerly wish I was older, I jsut wish someone would hire me. I've been looking for a job for a long time and I have a work permit but this economy....*sigh*
 
chaseter

chaseter

Member
You can rinse the new sand with salt water before you add it to the tank. That removes a lot of the really fine particles that cloud up the water. Use a regular fish net, put the new sand in it, and rinse it!
What I would suggest is sucking out the old sand with a large plastic tube instead of scooping it out and creating other problems. Then, I would add the rinsed sand with a cup at the bottom of the tank to help it settle faster.
 
xcali1985

xcali1985

Active Member
Question: You said that you the tank is established since August on your end, however did your friend have it up longer?
If so then you need to be really carfeul when removing the crushed coral as it will probably cause a bacteria bloom. I you can I would put as much of the CC into a filter sock and stick it into the sump for a while you wont lose the bioload that way and give the sand time to take. Just shake it in saltwater before putting it in the sock.
 
fretfreak13

fretfreak13

Active Member
Originally Posted by chaseter
http:///forum/post/3173287
You can rinse the new sand with salt water before you add it to the tank. That removes a lot of the really fine particles that cloud up the water. Use a regular fish net, put the new sand in it, and rinse it!
What I would suggest is sucking out the old sand with a large plastic tube instead of scooping it out and creating other problems. Then, I would add the rinsed sand with a cup at the bottom of the tank to help it settle faster.
I can't syphon it out, it's Crushed Coral. And is there a reason I can't jsut rinse it with Fresh tap water? It would cost me a lot to just make and then dump saltwater down the drain just to rinse sand.
And Xcali, the tank was a freshwater that was torn down before it was givin to me, but he scooped some of the substrate out of his 125 and put it in the tank (keeping it wet with saltwater of course) until it was given to me. Is putting it in the sump nessicery?
 
fretfreak13

fretfreak13

Active Member
Also, what's a good, cheap brand of sand and where can I get it other than my lfs? I just went to my LFs and they had five lbs of black sand for 8 bucks. That will REALLY add up.
Also, how many lbs should I get for a two inch sandbed?
 
xcali1985

xcali1985

Active Member
Originally Posted by Fretfreak13
http:///forum/post/3173859
I can't syphon it out, it's Crushed Coral. And is there a reason I can't jsut rinse it with Fresh tap water? It would cost me a lot to just make and then dump saltwater down the drain just to rinse sand.
And Xcali, the tank was a freshwater that was torn down before it was givin to me, but he scooped some of the substrate out of his 125 and put it in the tank (keeping it wet with saltwater of course) until it was given to me. Is putting it in the sump nessicery?
Putting it in the sump isn't a must have but will aid in preserving bacteria and other life forms until the new sand bed is ready. By keeping your current sand in the sump in a large filter sock should allow you to by dead sand cheaper. There's a tool on swf.com that let's you know how much sand you need for depth wanted. I'll find the link and update.
 
fretfreak13

fretfreak13

Active Member
Thanks. Instead of using it all, since I have about three inches of CC atm, could I just throw some of it in the fuge? I have a little LS in there, but not even enough to make an inch of substrate. Could I just throw it on top of that?
 
chrisnif

chrisnif

Member
Originally Posted by Fretfreak13
http:///forum/post/3174581
Thanks. Instead of using it all, since I have about three inches of CC atm, could I just throw some of it in the fuge? I have a little LS in there, but not even enough to make an inch of substrate. Could I just throw it on top of that?
What I'd do is move the fish to a bucket with tank water,heater, some live rock and a power head, if the corals are softies I'd probably just put them in the bucket too, they can survive a day or so without light (think of what they deal with when shipped). I'd take the bigger live rock and put it in the sump then scoop out the crushed coral. Run a HOB or canister filter to get any of the leftover poo out of the water (just like an hour or two in the bare bottom/empty tank). I'd then add dead sand of your choosing to the tank after a good rinse in fresh water (ill go over that in a sec). After a day or so the now "virgin" tank will be ready to have the live rock put back in and the sump/fuge pump turned back on, thus re-establishing the bacteria from the rocks into the sand. Once this is done you can add the corals and fish back into the main tank probably about 8-12 hours later once the sand is a bit more settled so that you don't bug the fish's gills with the cloudy sandy water.
For rinsing, i'd put 3-4 inches of sand in a bucket, hit it with the hose or kitchen faucet and just let the water overflow the bucket for a few minutes until it runs nearly clear. Then you can pour off the fresh water and put the sand in the tank.
Once you have all the sand in check your specific gravity and adjust as needed (the sand will carry some fresh water thus lowering the SG a tad).
I'm not an expert, but this is how I have done it before and suffered no losses.
Best of luck, I remember what it was like having fish at that age and trying to convince people you knew what you were doing (especially parents).
 
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