Nitrates Still High

[djcanis]

My tank finished cycling last week, everything is at 0 except for the nitrates which are at 80+, I vacumed my CC last night and did a 25% water change and the nitrates are still high. I don't have a cleaning crew yet, afraid to add them with the nitrates that high. Any suggestions?

 

[salty cheese]

I would wait a few days and do another water change, then re-test the water.
IMO remove the CC now and go BB or sand.

 

[djcanis]

will I have to re-cycle my tank if I switch to live sand, I am moving 2 hours away in a couple of weeks (school), so my tank will be diassembled for a day. I've been thinking about switching to LS, but I already have live stock in the tank. If I have to cycle again, how much is the LS gonna throw off my levels?

 

[salty cheese]

Wait until you move to change it.
Unless you plan on taking most of the cycled water in the tank when you move, you will have to re-cycle the tank and you most likley will go through a mini cycle even if you do use the old water.

 

[djcanis]

how much sand will I need? I have a 30 gal wit 22lbs LR, adding another 20-25 in a week or so.

 

[salty cheese]

That depends, are you going DSB(deep sand bed) or SSB(shallow sand bed)?
An equation to find out how much sand you need. Not exact but close enough.
tank length (in inches) x tank width(in inches) x desired depth(in inches) x .0579 = lbs sand