Removing cc??

[jonathon0883]

i am almost done cycling my tank but i have been advised to remove my cc, the only way i know of to remove it is to just scoop it out with my net and let everything settle again...any other suggestions or options...and when i do this will it screw up with my cycling or after everything settles it will be ok
oh and should i add more live sand after i take out the cc and how to do that with water in the tank...just pour it in??

 

[elan]

when i changed from CC to a DSB i did the following.
First off, i had alot of rock which i wanted to get out of the way. so i went to Home Depot and got the largest (and cheepest) rubbermade boxes they had. i ended up getting two of those and using all the buckets i had (i do alot of fishing so i had buckets galore) I just made sure everything was washed out with fresh water and scrubed. no soap or any chemicals was used. just my elbow grease.
I then funneled most of the water into the buckets/containers. when i got the the bottom, i was able to scoop up all the CC. I then realized how much crap was in the CC. i then funneled all the rest of the water and crap out of the tank and into the drain. (lost about 5-10 gallons).
I then added the sand and a little bit of water. i stirred everything around really good until i couldnt see the difference between the water and the sand. i then funneled out as much water as i could. I then added the live sand on top (with the water that came with the bag (i hear that water is good to use)
I then used a piece of plexi glass and layed it on the sand. when i used my return pump to get the water from the containers back into the tank, i made sure the water hit the plexi glass. My coudiness was gone withing 6 hours, and it was perfectly clear the next day.

 

[elan]

oh yeah... the sand i used was play sand so my pH went down alot. had to get a super buffer to get it back up.
I also think all this prolonged the cycle, but i remember reading another post where people thought a longer cycle made for a more stable tank in the future, and people were actually doing small water changes to prolong their cycle. Interesting concept.
All in all, i changed my cc to dsb about a month after the tank set up. then it took another month before i was finished.
good luck!

 

[baondayko]

I had my tank running for 3 months with CC. I changed over to a DSB on Wednesday. You would not believe the crap that accumulates in the CC. No wonder I could never get my Nitrates into single digits. My tank was decently clear this morning and will probably be crystal clear in a couple of days.
Good luck,
Brock

 

[jauringer]

I did the same thing about a month ago. I had just finished cycling and I was using a UGF. I used a fish net to scoop all the crushed coral out. It had only been set up for a little over a month so there was not much crap built up in the CC. I did not drain any water and I left my fish in there. I did one half of the tank at a time moving all of my rock to one side and then the other.(it gave my fish something to hide in while i was rearanging there home.) Probably the most important thing i did was rinsing the dead sand really well. if you do a good job here it won't cloud up very bad and will clear withing 24 hours. dumped the LS in 1 cup at a time straight out of the bag and did the same with the Dead sand after it was RINSED very good. Since the UGF was my main source of biological filtration I did go throught another small cycle. It was definatly worth it!

 

[jonathon0883]

Since the tank is only 10 gallons i will probably just leave all my water in there and scoop it out and then pour the ls in after im done..i plan on buying a powerhead to circulate my water better because i only have a small over the back bio-wheel filter...should i wait for the water to clear up before running the powerhead or run it so it clears up faster.....oh and for a 10g what would be considered a dsb....3..4 inches? just curious