Help - changing substrate

J

jdragunas

Guest
ok,
i never was told that crushed coral is not a great substrate. I wanted to go with something different. Someone please help me out. How do i change the substrate? i already have my LR set up (about 90 lbs), and i have fish, a starfish, and a shrimp. Should i just cover the CC with another substrate, or do i need to take out the CC and put something else in there? i only have about 1" of CC.
Also, what kind of substrate is the best to use? i wanted to get a jawfish, but i don't want him to get all scratched up from the CC. any suggestions would be well appreciated!!!
:notsure: :notsure: :notsure: :notsure: :notsure:
 
jgterrywv

jgterrywv

Member
I recently changed from CC to live sand. I removed parts of the CC over about two weeks and then when it was almost all gone, I put all of my rocks in a trash can with some water from the tank and added the sand. After most of the cloudiness was gone, I put the rocks back in along with some fresh water. The appearance of LS compared to CC was amazing.
 
trainfever

trainfever

Active Member
Take the CC out. Chances are that if you are going to replace your substrate, you're going to replace it withsand. If you put sand over top of the CC, the sand will eventually sink to the bottom and the CC will make its way back to the top again. You'll be sorry if yo don't take it out. You'll be kicking yourself later when you're faced with having to separate the CC from the sand. Take it out now while it's easy.
 
plumbjohn

plumbjohn

Member
do a search in this forum for changing CC to Sand as it is very helpful and informative. Let us know how it works out.:D
 
turningtim

turningtim

Active Member
Take it out before you have trate problems. I did in the same size tank. Took everything out in buckets. Drain water (in buckets) down to the substrate. Remove CC and place sand. Everything back in. No sand storm. Took about 3hrs. Your LR will carry the Bio-load. If you use LS check for spikes everyday. I didn't have one but, it never hurts to check.
Good Luck :)
Tim
 
J

jdragunas

Guest
will changing to live sand cause a new cycle or anything? i have 2 clowns, 2 lawnmower blennies, yellow tail blue damsel, brittle star, and a coral banded shrimp. What should i do with them? should i put them all in a bucket together? should i put the LR in a few buckets, and kind of make little aquariums, and divy up the fish? I don't want to kill anyone.
When i change to LS, how do keep it clean? i see my CC now, and i have to vacuum it about every 2 weeks to keep it from looking brown and dingy, how do i do that with LS?
 
cowfishrule

cowfishrule

Active Member
if you go dsb (deep sand bed, 4" +), you do not touch it. all the nasties will sink down into the bottom, where it is converted into harmless nitrogen gas.
 
turningtim

turningtim

Active Member
No need to worry about sand. That's the great thing about it. Your clean-up crew should do the job. The waste does not wriggle into the substrate like CC. If you still see waste on the top you can vac it up by holding the vac just above the sand but I have not had to vac since I put the sand in.
I put everything in separate 5g buckets, fish and lr. I just put the snails and crabs in with the LR. Save most of your old water and put everything back. I did a 20% WC so I wouldn't need that many buckets.
Don't rush but, work quickly so you don't lose a lot of temp in the water.
It's not that hard and it's NOT fun but well worth the effort:D
I tested the water everyday for 2 weeks and did not see a cycle but again it doesn't hurt to check and see what's going on.
 
J

jdragunas

Guest
should i get dry sand, and then some live sand to throw on top? my lfs carries live sand in a bag... is that stuff ok?
 
jonny bolt

jonny bolt

Member
Yes it is. When I did my tank, I refused to do CC. My friend had done a tank last year, and the guy at one of the LFS had convinced him to use CC. I was like no way, not me. I got a 20# bag of Arag-Alive in Fiji Pink, and a 30# bag of Aragamax. I put down approx. 20 pounds of the Aragamax, then dumped in the 20 pounds of Arag-Alive and mixed it together to seed it. My sand bed ranges from anywhere between 2-4". It looks natural with waves and little mounds in it around the tank.
Good luck, you will like the sand much more than CC, especially if you do the finer sized sand. I wouldnt trade mine for anything :)
 
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