Switching from CC to DSB.. General questions..

[kambiz]

Should I mix the sand with aquarium water in a bucket first?
How long should I leave it in the bucket for?
Should I put some of the old CC on top of the DSB?
I can not get live sand in canada, and stores do not ship here.
What options do I have? CanI use something else instead?
From what I have read, I am assuming that my DSB should be between 3.5" to 4". Right?
Thanks
PS. Tired of vacuming the cc..

 

[tangman99]

This is my experience from when I switched over and is only MHO.Should I mix the sand with aquarium water in a bucket first?
No. You don't want to rinse or wet the sand before hand. If you are switching like I did and have water in the tank, use a cup to put sand in the tank with your hand over it and let it slowly spread out over the bottom. If you are worried about the sand causing a sand storm, don't worry. You will have milk already just removing your CC so the sand storm is not a big deal. It will settle over time.
Should I put some of the old CC on top of the DSB?
Take some old stocking or cut the legs off some pantyhose and make several grapefruit sized balls with the CC. If you have live critters, you may want to cut several small slits. Leave these on the sand for a week or so to let the living stuff migrate to the sandbed. Don't mix or place the CC directly with the sand.
I can not get live sand in canada, and stores do not ship here.
What options do I have? CanI use something else instead?
Maybe find someone in your area that you can get a scoop of sand from their reef to seed yours. I assume you can get live rock. Live rock will seed the sand also.
From what I have read, I am assuming that my DSB should be between 3.5" to 4". Right?
I think the "definition" of a DSB is a minimum of 3" but most people recommend between 4"-6" for a DSB.
Hope that helps

 

[sarge]

I agree with Tangman, I just did the same thing with my 75gal. It is a messy job, but everything will settle in a day or so. You don't say if you have any LR or not, I assume you do, what I did was gently move 1/2 of it to one end of the tank, then I took a 4" wide net and started scooping the CC out. Clouded the water to much I had to takes breaks during the process to let it settle a little so I could see. (didn't wanted to scoop up any crabs or fish) Then when I got that end clean, I added the sand and put back the rock and then started the other end. Hope this helps.

 

[tangman99]

Oh, one other thing. Some say to do the process over time so you don't have an ammonia spike. I did the switch out all at once, but I did have a mature tank with a wet/dry that had been up for over 2 years. I did not get a spike at all but I think having the mature tank helped.
Tangman

 

[kambiz]

thanks guys..