switching from cc to sand, need help

[alejandro]

hello, I read about san and i think gone switch my cc for sand, i have 55g fowlr for 7 months every thing works great but my nitrates are high, I read almost all the treads about switch cc and still have some questions, like what kind of sand do you recomend and were buy it, do i have to wash or do some special treatment before place the sand on mi tank? what about southdown is relly good for my tank, thank you for your help.

 

[tarhull87]

Southdown is the best but is very rare depending on your location. Other more expensive sands are made by CaribSea like Aragamax, or you could get sand off of Purearagonite.com
To prevent Calcium Carbonate clouds in the water after adding the sand, many people including myself right now cure the dry sand before putting it in the tank. That can be done by putting sand in a rubbermaid container(I'm using a clear Under-Bed storage bin cus it offers alot of room to spread out the sand). Then, just put a powerhead and a heater in the water/sand and leave it for a few weeks. Then you can move it into the main tank once bacteria clings to the sand particles which helps it settle.
Hope this helps!

 

[goobernif]

there's someone selling southdown on ---- now... although the markup is huge, 11.99 for a bag. southdown can usually be found at Home Depot for around $3.00. just hope they have it in your area. i recently switched from a cc undergravel to a shallow sand bed. i did have a nitrite and ammonia spike, but after a few water changes, some stress zyme, and some calurpa, they are now back to zero. just make sure all of your fish are safe in another container when you do add the sand, otherwise you might bury one alive... what a tragedy....

 

[elfdoctors]

I bought live sand from this site. It is fully cured and has lots of beneficial critters in it. This will jump start your sand bed to get started much faster than southdown. Fully cured sand with bacteria on it settles much faster - so that the cloudiness of the water is usually gone within 24 hours vs more then a week if you use ordinary sand. The major advantage of southdown is the cost.

 

[mouse03245]

Im still kind of new here but just sunday we switch from cc to live sand. it was time consuming but relatively pretty easy.I just did all my tests this am and everything is at normal level.I thought it would be harder than sh**. but it wasnt.we scooped out the cc with a plastic bakers scraper(new one) and then scooped the sand out of the bag with a large measuring cup , let it fill with water slowly then just poured it on the bottom.my boyfriends arm was way down in the tank,not near the top. got up on monday and all was settled. thanks to all you guys out there for all the info you gave us...i am happier than a pig in poo! :cheer:

:happyfish

 

[mouse03245]

p.s. we also made a few nylon bags of the cc and put them in various areas in the tank.

 

[terrance]

Is it ok to leave your fishes and various other inhabitants in your tank while adding sand? Will the cloudy water affect them in any way? I am thinking of switching also because my nitrates are ridiculously high and being that i have so much live rock i would have to take all of it out to vacuum it.