Changing to live sand

[momof12]

What do I need to do to change to live sand? Will this cycle my tank again? Would my fish be hurt by this? (clown fish, yt damsel, firefish)

 

[blemmy_guy]

Well this is what i did, there is some difference in opinion though. I had Crushed coral for about 6 months, then i changed it over to Live sand. First i scooped out all my crushed coral in one day, like 1 hour, lol. let the tank settle about 24 hrs, then i added my Live sand. I had No spikes or really no changes at all with any of my water parameters. Best of luck to ya Todd

 

[momof12]

Thank you! I will try it soon. Just need to find a reliable source for live sand and am working at right at this moment!:joy: Would it be O.K. if I did just part of the tank one week and the rest a week later?

 

[blemmy_guy]

im sure it would be, some people even say its better to add the sand over a period of days. But you can wait. Todd

 

[billr70]

I heard that the sand was hard to clean because it would suck up in the siphine hose unlike the crushed coral. Has anyone heard of this problem.

 

[momof12]

I heard that also. But I think you would just stir up the top layer of the sand to loosen debris and then vacuum up that. I wouldn't want to put the siphon in the sand because I wouldn't want to disturb the beneficial stuff too much. If any of that makes sense!

 

[blemmy_guy]

Nicely put momof12... do you really have 12 kids..man i have 5 and thought i was busy!!! you should get you some sand sifters, any kind of critter than lives in or burrows around in the sand also,after your sand is well established. todd

 

[momof12]

:yes: We have 6 boys and 6 girls. The oldest is 18 and the youngest is 17 months. They are alot of fun and it's exciting seeing them all excited about the sw tank. :cheer:

 

[mbrands]

momof12 - You've got your hands full now . . . 12 kids and this new hobby!!
Like Blemmy, I started with crushed coral. Unlike him, I removed mine over a few weeks time. I'm not saying his method won't work. I was just worried about causing an ammonia spike by disturbing all that gunk. I did mine with 2 clowns, a chocolate chip star, and several cleaners. Everyone survived.
I don't see why you couldn't add the sand in sections versus all at once. You might also consider that most hobbyists don't add 100% live sand, but rather aragonite based sand, then top it with live sand. The live sand will seed the rest over time, making it all live.
Good luck!

 

[mbrands]

I just thought of this, but with so many kids, maybe you could assign them each tasks leaving youself nothing to do but supervise. Just the mind of a manager I guess.

Oldest gets to do water changes.
Next oldest gets to do feedings.
etc, etc.

 

[momof12]

:notsure: That would mean another chore chart.

But, so far, since it is mostly the 14yr olds, he does most the work. I get to feed the fish once in awhile. Since he is still eager enough to do all himself, (I help with water changes also.), I think I will let him do it and eventually have HIM make the chore chart for the tank. Gotta put the responsibility where it belongs! If he keeps excited enough, soon the others will want to help and the chore chart will be a big necessity!

 

[momof12]

About the sand, I could just use a little bit of live sand, and the other and eventually it would all be live?! So, by adding gradually, would the crushed coral also become live? Would this be a problem?

 

[mbrands]

It would take 6 months to a year for your other sand to become live. I wouldn't make the removal of crushed coral take more than 4 weeks or so, therefor the CC becoming live isn't a concern. I took out all the CC in mine (55 gallons) over about 3 weeks time. Others using this forum (I know BlemmyGuy for one) removed all of their CC at once.

 

[mudplayerx]

I would switch the sand and coral out in sections over a period of time. Also, I have a 30 gallon freshwater with layered substrate of peat moss on the bottom, clay in the middle, and white play sand on top.
The answer to the maintainance question is: No, the sand does not get sucked up into the siphon. You get a tiny amount of sand, but so little its almost unnoticable.