Switching to sand

[vazquez66]

Ok after i get a few more answers im gonna make the switch.
I have a 38 fowlr w 20 lbs of lr and cc a fluval 204 and 10000k light its been up and running for the 2nd time for about 6 months or more. It has 2 sebae clowns and purple dotty back.
What i want to do is take the fish and the lr and add them to my 20 gallon fowlr which has no rock and has 2-4 stripes and a blue damsel w a 1000k light .
Questions are :
is the sand worth it does it help filtration
do i put the sand right on the bottom of the tank
will 50 lbs of south down with some ls from the net be enough
will 50 lbs of lr from the net be enough
do i need ls if i use 50 lbs or more of lr
will the bio load be to much in the 20
will all those fish survive together in the 20
last but probably not the last
is there any thing that i am missing here in my setups?
All of the help is greatly appreciated
Thank you
Jay

 

[vazquez66]

These are the questions i really need answering asap!
so i can make more plans
if any body can help.
THANK YOU
JAY
im sorry for seeming impatient

 

[striker]

For my tank the ls and extra lr have been absolutely great. Tons more life and coraline(no hair or cyno algae).
You can add the sand slowly around your excisting rocks with a container or bag. I've used both cc and ls and found ls to be much better imo. You'll love it and will never go back.
I have a 30 gallon and used about 50lbs to give me 3-4 inches of ls. You might have to add a little more to achieve desired size. I also have 55-60 lbs of lr in my tank. It's aquacultured (denser than fiji) but 50lbs sounds like a good amount in your tank.
I had added extra lr and ls to my established tank in 10-20lb increments. The lr was cured and had very little die-off so there wasn't much of a spike and my fish were ok with it. When I added ls the tank clouded up a bit for a day but it also had no adverse affects. I'm not sure about moving your fish to the 20 gallson. Maybe someone can help you out with that part. Good luck.

 

[kris]

Since he fielded some of the ls questions, I'll try and help with the fish part. I think 6 fish is a little too much for the twenty to handle. You are just asking for trouble there with both the water quality issues and aggression in confined quarters like that. What are you planning on putting in the 38? I was just wondering if some of your fish can stay in it, or go back to it if things don't work out in the 20g. I would add something else in addition to the fluval, or lose it all together when you get the ls and get a skimmer.
Good Luck
I hope this helps

 

[vazquez66]

Kris
Thanks for the reply.
I do plan on making the 38 fish w/lots of hardy corals and lots of rock and maybe a clam or two if all pans out.
So i do plan on putting some of the fish back to the 38.
The 20 is some sort of low income housing for fish.
I just wanted to know for temp reasons while the 38 cycled.
I only plan on running the fluval and skimmer when I'm done .
Unless something goes wrong but after having the 20 for about 6 months and lost nothing.
Every lfs told me twenty was never going to make it.
Thank You for the help if anything else comes to mind please post it.
JAY

 

[zack schwartz]

The ls will really help out the tank!