Impossible i geuss

wocka

Active Member
everyone keeps telling me its impossible for me to replace my sandbed without it crashing, but i want to so bad.
is there any way i can make a switch to aragonite live sand
 

promisetbg

Active Member
Sure you can,people do it all the time with success.Do a search on replacing sandbed..there are lots of threads on the subject.You will need rubbermaid tubs for your tank inhabitants...with powerheads and heaters.You will need all the water from your present set-up..and enough water premade and ready to replace any lost.You may experience a mini-cycle,but if done correctly it should'nt crash.
 

nm reef

Active Member
Sure.....you can change your substrate.
Depending on what you have in your display it can be easy or it could be a complicated process. I recently emptied out a 220 display that has been established for several years. The sand bed was worthless due to a pair of engineer gobies keeping everything turned over. My goal was to remove all the LR...remove and redo the sand bed. Took the biggest part of 4-5 hours but the effort was worth it. I didn't actually toss out the old sand....basically added to it and redistributed it in the display. But the disruption was about the same to the system. Everything made it just fine.
In your case you could maybe remove what you have in place (which is what?) and replace it with a new sand bed. You may need to relocate your livestock until it settles back down...and you'd need to insure everything was stable and safe prior to returning your livestock. But...with care...patience ... and attention to detail removing and replacing a sand bed can be done.
At least I think it can be...sure... there would be cause for concern and like I said you'd need to closely monitor the system for problems...and have a plan for the process from start to finish... but it's possible.
:thinking: :thinking: :thinking:
 

wocka

Active Member
i dont kno what kind of sand i have right now, but it started of as a dead sand bed,
its pretty gross, i was planning on taking all the sand out, and replacing it with aragonite live sand.. that sand should cause a big sandstorm should it?
and also another question :
aragonite live sand grain size seems like its crushed coral, should i just go with southdown with the grain size of sugar? or will it cause problems since its dead
 

promisetbg

Active Member
I notice you live in West Palm Beach..you should be able to find some Florida Keys live sand.You cannot purchase southdown in Florida.
 

promisetbg

Active Member
No..aragonite live sand is just bagged sand with beneficial bacteria.The live sand I am talking about is actually taken from the ocean...abot 100 ft. down,and miles off the coast of the Keys.It is full of beneficial LIVE creatures,such as spaghetti worms,etc.You will not experience the problems associated with the gulf,such as mantis,crab,and isopod larvae.
 

wocka

Active Member
i woudlnt mind a mantis, i never heard of florida keys live sand and dont kno where to get it, would aragonite be good enough?
 

wocka

Active Member
i cleaned out my friends tank and hes restarting his, hes using some carribean live sand and i like the size of the grains, when we were buying it the lady at the counter said it would make my nitrites go real high.. is this true
 
Top