please help with another cc to dsb question

[bentrue]

cycle has been over for a little over a month now, and i am noticing "dust" on the top of the cc and when i look under the tank i see darker "dust" that i am guessing has just settled to the bottom. I have vacumed the cc twice in the last month and it doesn't seem to help. also algea is growing on the cc.
will a dsb help with this? the waste will stay on top of the sand for my clean up critters to eat right?
also, i do not want any of my current stock to die during the change. (hermits, perc clown, bi-color angel?
i want to head off the nitrate rise that i am sure will take place if i don't do this now.
i have a 29g tank with the above mentioned stock and 30 lbs LR. Is the change better to do now, since it is still somewhat early?
will the tank go through another cycle with the new LS?
is the southdown sand that is always talked about white sand?
sorry about the length of the post and all the questions, but i want to do what is going to be best for the environment. i used cc at the direction of the LFS guy. he told me that the sand would stagnate at the bottom of the dsb if i didn't use a UG filter.
thanks for the help SWF members!!!

 

[ocellaris_keeper]

I would not call myself an expert, but I can tell you how I did it. I moved the LR inside the tank to remove the CC that was under the LR first. Then I replaced the LR back to it's orignal position. the next day i slowly removed half of the CC and placed half of the DSB. The following day I changed out the remaining CC and added the remaining DSB. I am not usre if my DSB if deep enough but my nitrates half dropped steadily since the change.
The only thing I noticed was that my two hermits and horse shoe crabs (really interesting creatures) didn't like the sand until it's temp was equal to the rest of the tank (which was why I did the change in stages).
Make sure you take your time removing the cc as it can stur up a mess if you aren't patient.

 

[karlas]

cc can become a nitrate factory with a deep sand bed you'll see bubbles in the sand and that is actually nitrate being turned into nitrogen gas which floats to the top of the tank and escapes so a dsb should help alot. i had cc and sand mixed when i took out the cc i sifted out a small sections at a time. because when u take it out u take out bacteria and it needs to rebuild itself hope this helps

 

[mr . salty]

For that small of a tank you may want too consider using a couple 20lb bags of Natures Ocean LIVE SAND. This will not only avoid any cycle.But will settle to the bottom of the tank without clouding the water at all..But you will still have a cloud when removing the CC. This can be avoided by moving everything into a couple of plastic storage tubs,or NEW trash cans during the change.Syphon/pump all but the last three inches of water out of the tank.Then remove the CC.That way only this three inches of water will get messed up.After cleaning the bottom of the tank,and removing the rest of the water,Then add the old water,then the rock,,Then the new sand and fish.Lastly top off the tank with fresh mixed saltwater.This may sound like a BIG deal,but can be done in a couple of hours if properly thought out.....AND YES,Now would be a good time too do this change...