changing substrate???? multiple questions

[hrdfrntr95]

thinkin bout changin the substrate in my 30 gallon. right now i have a crushed coral/sand mix that im not happy with. the tank has been setup since jan. this year. and has 4 damsels,scooter blenny,CBShrimp. shunk shrimp,some hermits and 2 clown gobies.
1.....i want to go with just a sand bottom, maybe black but not sure, is it possible to just chane the substrate like that or not a good idea?
2.....what will be the concearns in doing this? what about my fish?
i would be keeping the water thats in it and the live rock and just re adding it to the tank once done.
3....if i go to a sand substrate how long before i could re-add the fish,water,rocks and everything else?
4....the other problem i have is i dont have another tank to house anything in other than my 75 and a 10. will the fish be ok in a 30 gallon tube?
thanks for all the info on this matter
dj

 

[hrdfrntr95]

well i guess its not a good idea since everyone here seems to be ignoreing the question.
thanks anyways...........

 

[del_rn]

I did it without any difficulty. I didn't have any fish at the time but I had tons of shrimp, brittle star fish, hermit crabs, snails. I have a 70 gallon tank. I kept the water that I took out and took out the live rock, I scooped out 90% of the crushed coral and added sand. I didn't get all the shrimp out of the tank, but they all made it just fine. I put in the sand, it was really cloudy but I put the rock right back in and all the shrimp and things. They did just fine, since I put all the same water back in the tank. I would say go for it. I would think your fish would do just fine. My tank cleared up mostly by that night and it was very clear in the morning. My tank has been healthier since I did that. Good luck!! I just did this a couple of weeks ago and my tank has also been up since Jan too.

 

[heatheryjoy]

The trick is to add dry sand. That way you don't have to worry about an ammonia spike from any die off. I just recently did this too. I did wait a couple of days because after adding the sand the tank was so cloudy. But it cleared up within 4 days.

 

[hrdfrntr95]

thanks.........i wouldnt be worried bout my crabs or shrimp but the damsels,gobies and the blenny i wouldnt want to drop right back into it due to the sand particle in the water........
just wondering if they would survive in a small 10 gallon tank for a day or 2?

 

[emilaya101]

I'm pretty sure the sand will not hurt the fish.... I haven't done this myself , but I have heard from many people that It won't affect them. As far as the 10 gallon goes, if you can't get a bigger tank, you could go woth a temporary rubbermaid container. Wish you luck.