Switch from CC to LS

ashenwolf

ashenwolf

Member
I have been contemplating switching ym tank from CC to LS for awhile and I've finally decided i am going to just go and do it already! I have currently no fish in my tank, it's been running for almost a year now, with damsels in it. But recently my latest damsels ended up killing eachother off until finally one was left. So now i figure now would be a good time to do a switch. I have about 20 lbs of LR that will be transferring as well.
My question is, what is the reccommended way to go about switching form CC to LS? And where are (in your opinions) the best palces to get LS?
I have a bucket that i will be placing some of my tank's now water in, along with my LR to keep that alive, and then i figured i'd take out the CC, scrub the tank a littlle bit while i have it clear, and the add LS, old water, some new water, and then go at it form there?
Tips? Help? Much needed :p
 
scooter8416

scooter8416

Member
I did this about a year ago. Heres what how I went about it: I think u have two options here>
First one, how i did mine.
I had about 50 lbs of LR, and 4 fish at the time. I moved all the rock to one half the tank. I started by removing about 6" x how ever deep ur tank is, section of CC. I then placed a 2-3" pvc pipe in the tank where the old cc was, and now the glass is showing. I began to pour then sand down the pipe to the bottom of the tank.. . This helped to not cloud the tank as bad. After i filled in the space i remove of cc, I waited a few hours then did it over again. After the 2nd removing I quit removing the cc for a few days. Then started the process over agian till i was all done. I did this to prevent a mini cycle. And it work.
Second.
Just do what you said, that will work fine. You probably will go through a mini cycle.
One the sand i would try to get a bag of southdown if u could and then buy about 10# of ls offline or from ur local fish store.
Hope i helped a little.
 
aarone

aarone

Active Member
most people get alot of dead sand then seed it with a few cups of LS form the LFS.
aaron
 
nacl-man

nacl-man

Member
Looks like you are on the right track.. a word of advice: save some of your old substrate! put it in a nylon stocking or filter bag and put it back in your tank for a little while... it'll help seed the new sand. I didn't do this and wish I had when I switched over.
HTH.
Cheers!
 
jsb

jsb

Member
I left a small layer of CC when I did it to keep some of the good stuff in the tank. Then I basically layered the Sand over it, and I'm going to seed it with some LS here shortly. I left my LR in there and cleaned it after it settled. The Damsels did fine why making the switch. It was clear in about 2 days. I love the sand over the CC but leaving a little CC in there looks cool too. It basically has a few shells here and there. Makes for a natural look if you ask me.
 
ackermsb

ackermsb

Member
I went throught the same process about 3 or 4 months ago and I had 3 fish. I placed the fish in a 20G QT tank where they lived and survived for about a month as I drained the tank and removed the CC (placing some in Nylon stockings) . I then added the live sand and all new water, live rock, and re-cycled the tank. My fish survived and are now thriving in the main tank.
I though this was the easiest clearclut way to do it. There are many ways and methods and it really depends on what is in your tank at the time and what you are most comfortable with.
Good luck
 
ashenwolf

ashenwolf

Member
Thank you for the advice! I went yesturday and checked prices on LS and regular sand. I was wondering a few things. First. How much sand should i be putting in a 30gal tank? And also, can you put ALL LS in there or would that be like an overload? (EI all LS and no nonlive sand)
Thank you for all your help!!
 
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