Ok i think i have this figured out but need some opinions on this

[corvettev12ttnos]

I'm gonna take all my LR out of my tank and put em into a clean bucket then I'll take my 2 damsels out and put em into my QT then I'll take as much gravel out as posible with my fish net then vacume the rest up then add my play sand then add the LS (on top the play sand right?) then put the LR back in and let it sit for about 30 min to let everything calm down in there then add my 2 damsels back into the tank
and my question is....is this a good plan when I put my LS in the tank?
BTW I'm doing this gravel to LS change either tomorrow or sunday

 

[mr . salty]

Sounds like a good plan,but to make the whole process go quicker (and cleaner)after you remove the rock pump as much water out of the main tank as you can without disturbing the CC.Then remove the CC and remaining water.By doing this you will keep the water you pumped out clean and clear..Your method will cloud the water so badly you will not be able to see through it to get all the cc out,This cloud will take days to settle...

 

[corvettev12ttnos]

so should i just buy some cheap storage tub from walmart and fill em up with the tank water and then after i'm done putting the LS in i'll pump the water back in
so is this what i should do to keep the water clear?

 

[corvettev12ttnos]

i forgot to add what kinda sand other than southdown play sand do i use?

 

[demosthenes]

Use southdown and a mix of LS, that should be all. I was given a great method of keeping the water clear by another member. He/She said to take out everything, as you know, and then place the sand in, I did it dry, and then cover it with a plastic tarp/thing and then put some LR pieces on top to weight it down. Put in the water, take of the pieces of LR, remove the plastic cover, and there is water as clear as it had been when it was taken out. No cloud, no wait, just completion. HTH

 

[corvettev12ttnos]

what about a plastic cup to set on top of the LS and pump it into the cup then let the water flow over the cup untill the water is at the rim of cup then put the LR in then finish pumping with the cup but just hold it????would this be easier????

 

[corvettev12ttnos]

doesn't anyone have an opinion on the plastic cup idea??

 

[squidworth]

when putting mine in I used the cup thing...It worked ok. I had no fish so I did not care what happened. I think it may cloud a bit much for the fish. I would go with MR. Salty's idea. That will also let you clean all the poop out of the cc

 

[heavenly damsel]

I used a dishpan to run the water into....still got cloudy. You can use plastic trash bags to cover the sand...that's what I would do next time.
P.S. I hope all those asking about usnig cc or ls are reading these posts about changing from cc to ls. Much easier to start out with ls than change.

 

[corvettev12ttnos]

would a thick layer of plastic wrap work???

 

[corvettev12ttnos]

guys i just measerd my tank for a 4in DSB and all i can say is DANM thats alot of sand and it's robbing me a 10g so is this all REALLY REALLY worth it??