I was wondering if I can switch my live sand?

nissan577

nissan577

Active Member
Hey guys and gals. as you may have seen or not seen my 29g reef thread. but i was wondering if i can put Black LS. i currently have white LS but i really fell inlove with the black sand. so i was wondering if i can leave the white sand in and just add the black sand on top? or should i take off all my sand and add brand new black LS?
will it affect my water?
iam gonna do a water change.
please get back to me
 
nissan577

nissan577

Active Member
lol i realized its a bad idea. so im wondering now if theres anything out there that can clean my sand. not a goby but something else. my sand is kinda dirty and every time i clean it it gets dirty

 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Nassarius, Cerith and Fighting Conch. Also helps to take a turkey baster and blow the rocks off at water change time to get the detritus up in the water column for removal. Otherwise it ends up on the sand too.
You can add black sand to what is there but I don't think you will like what it looks like. White and black mixture is pretty ugly IMO.
You can take everything out of the tank into buckets with tank water, try to save as much water as you can, take out all the sand and junk. Then rinse the new stuff real well, put the rock back in, then the new sand, then the old tank water and everything else and top off with new saltwater. IME I did not have a problem doing it this way. But that was me, take it for what it is worth.
 
nissan577

nissan577

Active Member
they told me this. to take out the LS like syphoned it out. since i only have a half an inch in my tank. i have a 10lb of LS in there. so the sand doesnt even past the top of the bottom black trim. and that there wouldnt be a problem. and add the new black LS in cup and pour it down slowly. it was only gonna be 10lb as well.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Could work then. A large pc. of tubing to use as a siphon so it does not get clogged up. Get as much as you can get to out of the tank. Be careful not to stir it up while you are doing it. Take the new sand, get it wet with some saltwater, put it in a zip lock bag and sink the bag in the tank then open it and pour out slowly the new sand. Could work Carlos.
Oh yeah and enough new water made up and ready to add to replace what you take out siphoning the old sand out.
 
nissan577

nissan577

Active Member
i know. im get 10g of brand new SW and 10lb of the black sand. ima use it like that. and make sure i dont stir it up alot.
now i get what you mean about the zip lock bag. but when i sink it to the bottom i open it and pour it slowly right? how much of the bag do i fill witht the sand?
also henry, i have a 30g with black sand as well. its an aggressive tank. im wondering if i can take out the sand from there and pour it in to the nano. the 30g has been set up for 10 months.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Fill the zip lock maybe half full. Enough so you can manuver it without sending up a sandstorm when you pour it out. I would not use the sand from the 30 gallon unless I washed it out thourghly first. Don't want to stir up all the gunk you know..
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Finally a post I can read without my glasses!

After what happened to lil.guppy I'm glad you changed your mind. I know you are thinking black won't show dirty, however black shows it even worse.
Try the snails mentioned in the previous posts. Why do you not want a goby? Just curious.
 
nissan577

nissan577

Active Member
im glad you dont need your glasses
well i dont want a goby cause its always moving the sand around. i had a diamond watchman goby not in this tank but in a 55g and it will get the sand swim to the top and let it go. i will buy any goby but one that doesnt do that. do you know any? and ima get the fighing conch. hope it works great!
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Yep, those gobies do drop sand right on the coral too. They also dig under the rock. But I haven't found anything that cleans the sand like they do.
Keep us posted on the fight Conch, if it works to keep the sand clear I may well try it.
Good Luck!
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Fighting Conch is an incredible sand cleaner. Always on the bottom, never the rocks or glass. That snout is like a litte vacuum cleaner. Here is a couple of pics of mine.

 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Originally Posted by nissan577
http:///forum/post/2983971
thanks spanko! how much did you pay for him? may i ask. also how big is he?
I paid around $20 for it up here in Michigan. Maybe cheaper in Florid IDK. Mine is about 1.5" right now.
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/2983975
Yes and how long have you had it? What is the life span, do you know?
I have had it since January 4th or so. Life span of the Strombus alatus which by the way is a member of Family Nassariidae and Genus Nassarius is about 15 years.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Your profile says you have a 29g tank, how many fighting conch would I need for a 90g with a deep sand bed?
Also will hermit crabs kill it?
 
nissan577

nissan577

Active Member
wow man. ima try my best to get it. so its a fighting conch! got it. hope my lfs has it. thanks henry your a good help! like always! got any pics of your tank yet?
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/2983980
Your profile says you have a 29g tank, how many fighting conch would I need for a 90g with a deep sand bed?
Also will hermit crabs kill it?
If it were me I would put in two to start with to see how it went. Hermit crabs will not kill them the have some mechanism to avoid this.
Originally Posted by nissan577
http:///forum/post/2983984
wow man. ima try my best to get it. so its a fighting conch! got it. hope my lfs has it. thanks henry your a good help! like always! got any pics of your tank yet?
No new pics right now but just picked up an Ora Plum Crazy and Ora Voodoo frag at lunch so will have some pics soon in my thread.
 
skadwick

skadwick

Member
Lol I kind of want to do this also. I don't think i will ever end up doing it with my current tank, but if I ever get a new tank I will for sure!!!
 
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