switch from coral to sand help.

[dustintx]

So I started my tank a few months ago with crushed coral and its doing fine...for now. I heard bad things about coral bottoms and was curious what's the best way to switch it out? I have a 10 gallon on the side I could use to put fish and LR in while I swap it. Also,should I get live sand or dry sand for the swap? Should I just stay with the coral bottom?

 

[mr. limpid]

There are good and bad for each substrate. My self I have CC in my reef and LS in my FO. It depends on what maintenance you want to do. CC I have found to collect food particles and need to vacuumed, while LS is more dense but needs to have creatures living in it to remove ditrus. so it depends on what you want to do to maitain your substrate.

 

[superman]

Getting new sand into the tank will probably cause another cycle to some extent. Be careful not to stress your fish out with that. Why are you not liking the CC? Or rather, what specifically have you heard that makes it a bad choice for you?

 

[dustintx]

I heard its an ammonia trap because leftover food and poop fall between the shells and there is really no cuckoo that can clean it.

 

[mr. limpid]

Quote:
Originally Posted by DustinTX http:///t/391288/switch-from-coral-to-sand-help#post_3469351
I heard its an ammonia trap because leftover food and poop fall between the shells and there is really no cuckoo that can clean it.
You mean clean up crew? There is a crew in my CC I have bristle worms and stars, but to much gets traped more then they can handle. So I vac once a year, 1/3 of substrate at a time.

 

[florida joe]

My first SW tank was way back around 1975 it had crushed coral. Guess what my tank today has in it. The answer is CC

 

[phillyboi]

I would go with live sand cc is just another task to do on your tank --vacuum-- when going with sand you can buy critters to do it for you and will look nice around the sand bed some fish love the sand also...IMO...and the sand looks more natural then cc....IMO...thats just me ..lol

 

[dustintx]

Ok,so if I go with the switch....how do u suggest I do it? I'm trying to avoid any casualties.

 

[superman]

Again, there will probably be some type of cycle if you switch to live sand. You'll need for this cycle to complete for the tank to be suitable for your fish. Nassarius snails are awesome for cleaning CC beds btw.

 

[florida joe]

Just change a small percentage out over a period of a week and you should be fine with this time frame in your size tank you should not tax your bio filtration. Have a bottle of Prime on hand just in case.

 

[mr. limpid]

There are really 3 types of sand you can buy, Florida LS which has live fauna in it, bag LS which just has a bottle of bacteria thrown in it (do not advise this will cause a cycle), bag dry sand. I suggest Florida or Bag LS. The bag LS I would only use for new tanks that has no fish in it yet. If I was doing this I would do it in 3rds use a 1/2" to 3/4" hose and siphon it out and replace with sand slowly one cup at a time so not to make to much of a cloud. Then top of with fresh salt water not the old water. Wait a month then do the next 3rd. JMO

 

[dustintx]

There are really 3 types of sand you can buy, Florida LS which has live fauna in it, bag LS which just has a bottle of bacteria thrown in it (do not advise this will cause a cycle), bag dry sand. I suggest Florida or Bag LS. The bag LS I would only use for new tanks that has no fish in it yet. If I was doing this I would do it in 3rds use a 1/2" to 3/4" hose and siphon it out and replace with sand slowly one cup at a time so not to make to much of a cloud. Then top of with fresh salt water not the old water. Wait a month then do the next 3rd. JMO
So basically as long as I keep it clean I should have no worries right?

 

[mr. limpid]

Yes and test your nitrates often. Adding macro algae will also help with nitrates.