changing substrate

[antwon]

how do u change substrate in an aquarium??

 

[deejeff442]

you meant like taking out cc for sand in a tank that is running?whats in the tank?

 

[dmanatee]

+1 is the tank in ocupation or is it empty and needs to be redone. There are methods for both.

 

[antwon]

ok i dont know what kind of sand it is it is way less coars than CC but is definately not fine sand. it looks like really small rocks like smaller that pebbles, and the tank is in occupation. it is a 72 gallon with four fish, and about 50 lbs. if live rock(FOWLR) oh and nems thats it and a sea hare

 

[deejeff442]

what do you want to replace it with?can it be sucked up with a syphon cleaner?

 

[antwon]

i want to replace it with fine argonite live sand, it looks more attractive, and my is sooooo dirty, i dont know why, so i want to replace it

 

[deejeff442]

if you can suck it out with a syphon it would help with the mess plus help not creating a n ammonia cycle.i know cc can be sucked out.putting the new sand is no big deal but getting the old out could be tricky.i would put the fish in a separate container and suck out the sand like doing a water change and of course have new water ready.turn off the powerheads for the new sand .maybe put the new sand in small cups to the bottom.when your done putting in the sand add the new water.make sure the new water is a temp.not too hard but time consuming.the fish wont be bothered by a cloudy tank.

 

[mkroher]

get a clean-up crew.

 

[deejeff442]

the op is going to add a ray to the tank.cuc will be his lunch.he is trying to switch the coars sand for fine sand for the ray.