fish want a better life and new scenery

[philburt]

ok guys and gals
I have been beating around the bush, this is not getting me anywhere so here i go...
i have a 90gal that is full of c.c. on top of a ugf
and from what i understand this is not the best thing in the world..So on this i would like to go with Ls. I have lr and wetdry, protein skimmer at this point.
What i would like to happen
remove cc and ugf put in ls
What i don't want to happen
hurt any of my fish or inverts and keep good guy bacteria
i have a twenty and ten gal that i could put fish and invets into if need be to get this done.. they are empty tanks
would likes
keep lr and most of water in tank during this process and return my friends back to their home
thank you

 

[teresaq]

I have not done this, but have seen other threads about it being done. do a search and you should fine some older threads that may help. one thing i remember was putting some of the old cc in ladies knee highs (clean of course) and just laying them on the sand for a while to get the benifit of the bacteria and for it to spread. you can store your water in 5 gal buckets and return it to your tank when done.

 

[hot883]

Pump out as much water as you can not to disturb the cc or UGF. Remove lr and then fish. Aerate and heat that container until you can get the ugf and cc out. Put lr back and then your new LIVE sand, then the water. If you have some fresh mixed sw (aged 24 hrs) then you will be set. Place some of the cc in a mesh bag and set in the tank so more of the beneficial bacteria can get transferred.
Watch the new tank to ensure water quality does not take a dive. barry

 

[philburt]

Originally Posted by hot883
Place some of the cc in a mesh bag and set in the tank so more of the beneficial bacteria can get transferred.
your thought on leaving cc in a sump for a while or bags be better

 

[symon]

maybe you could put a piece of window screen in the sump and load the CC on it ( for awhile) then you can gather up the corners of the screen after a couple of weeks allowing it to seed, pull the screen out and remover the CC completely! BUT remember that disturbing the CC is likely to release alot fo UN- Benafical things back into your system!
Good Luck !

 

[keith burn]

how much lr do you have in the tank now???
imo you will put water lvls off if you use cc in sump.
if you use (live) sand you do not need cc to help.
and with a lot of lr and ls all will be well.

 

[dragonladylea]

Rubbermaid tubs are great for holding your water and LR, small gladware containers with holes cut into them for flow are great for holding frags while doing a change of this type. Depending on how much live rock you have, you should be able to do this without keeping any of the cc. I switched from a cc with ugf to sand in my 35 hex, kept 2/3 of the water and the of course the LR and added one bag of LS and one bag of reg sand. Kept an eye on my levels for a few weeks and didnt really have any big issues, did regular water changes and put my skimmer on wet skim for a week or so.
You will be so happy with the LS, remember plenty of towels and time. If you have help doing this I recommend having someone hold a dinner plate for you to pour the water on when you are filling the tank. It really decreased the stir up of the sand.

 

[daninct]

Make certain you heat the rubbermaid containers to keep the temp the same. I like the idea of the nylons set into the tank for help with the bacteria in case the old live rock was not enough.