Switch from CC to sand

[Saltreefer07]

Okay guys, I realize I might be in over my head on this one. I started my tank with crushed coralI just plain don't like it, tired of vacuuming it and just over all tired of the look. I want to switch it out for sand. I have a 28 gallon tall. CC is about 3" thick. I wouldn't be concerned about making the switch if I didn't have coral,fish and inverts in the tank. I'm worried about my parameters spiking with the change over and having everything crash. This is my plan, tell me if I'm stupid, it will not hurt my feelings. LoL

drain enough water into a Rubbermaid or a spare 10 gallon tank I have. Transfer fish, coral inverts and live rock into either one. Leave about 30-40% of the water in the tank and take about 95% of the CC coral out leaving 5% for seeding new sand. Wash the new sand VERY well before putting it in. Then add it the sand in.
Wait for the dust to settle then add some new saltwater and the rest from the temporary tank I was using to hold all my critters in.

Live-stock and coral include about 200-300 heads of mixed zoanthids, large flower pot Coral, multiple button polyps, star polyps, anemone, 2 ocellaris clowns, peppermint shrimp, emerald crab, hermits, turbos and orange Linka Star(worried about this guy and the whole switch).

Any suggestions would be appreciated! And if anyone with experience might want to help I could keep the beers flowing the whole time! Thanks on advance for your advice and opinions.

[aquabee]

I kept my crushed coral in net bags scattered throughout the tank when I switched out the substrate for a 125 gal. Left it in there for 10 days while adding Seachem Stability for a week. Worked beautifully.

[Saltreefer07]

I kept my crushed coral in net bags scattered throughout the tank when I switched out the substrate for a 125 gal. Left it in there for 10 days while adding Seachem Stability for a week. Worked beautifully.

That's a great idea! How did your livestock fair? That's my biggest concern with this whole endeavor.

[aquabee]

Granted I had 16 baby Moba frontosa so it wasn't saltwater, but it had taken me 7 weeks to cycle the tank old school style and I had to get it out of a nitrate stall. The tank was still very new when we did the switch, but everyone did well with no change in parameters at all, even when I took out the bags of old substrate. Doesn't take long for the bacteria from the old substrate to seed the new one.

[aquabee]

Believe me, I was worried sick. It worked perfectly though. :)

[Saltreefer07]

Haha! I am worried sick, but I'm just going to have to do it. And if everything dies I'll only be out like $800 bucks. No biggie right? Lol I'm sure I'll be cussing under my breath and out loud the entire time, and repeatedly asking myself why I started the switch over in the first place...Really wishing I could find an LFS that sells patience for the hobby. They always have everything else, why not patience???

[rage]

Haha! I am worried sick, but I'm just going to have to do it. And if everything dies I'll only be out like $800 bucks. No biggie right? Lol I'm sure I'll be cussing under my breath and out loud the entire time, and repeatedly asking myself why I started the switch over in the first place...Really wishing I could find an LFS that sells patience for the hobby. They always have everything else, why not patience???

You can leave your livestock in the tank and use a wet& dry vacumn to suck out your cc.
Use this, it works wonderfully.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Bucket-Head-Wet-Dry-Vac-BH0100/202017218#.UYJcjMqSjmg

[johnnymisty]

I can say this i just moved my wifes 75gallon salt tank took all liverock out put in a cooler with a lil water covered with a wet towel of tank water broke the refugium in the move had to build a new one so all the livesand in the fuge was pulled put in a bucket the moved to the next after it was done the next day tank is stocked with lps a couple sps softies and 3 rbta i expected a bad cycle from it so i added 2 bottles of ATM colony to my tank and have had no issues or losses of anything everything in my tank is open and looking good and has been a week now

[rage]

I can say this i just moved my wifes 75gallon salt tank took all liverock out put in a cooler with a lil water covered with a wet towel of tank water broke the refugium in the move had to build a new one so all the livesand in the fuge was pulled put in a bucket the moved to the next after it was done the next day tank is stocked with lps a couple sps softies and 3 rbta i expected a bad cycle from it so i added 2 bottles of ATM colony to my tank and have had no issues or losses of anything everything in my tank is open and looking good and has been a week now

You should ask Vanna for a punctuation mark.

[johnnymisty]

Ya I dont really believe in using them so much my punctuation has always sucked

[Shifat]

I just did the exact same thing you did exempt i upgraded to a bigger tank. What you are going to do is most likely going to be a little stressful so i suggest you do a few things in advance. Lay out some tarp or something around your work area so it doesn't get soaked. Move your corals to one container your Liverock to another, if they are attached keep them together and make sure not to smash your corals. for you fish and coral siphon out 50% of your current water and put them in a container full of that. If you premixed your saltwater heat it to the right temperature and add it to the fish and coral container. Drain your entire tank or you will have terrible looking water with a terrible odor if your CC is old. Go ahead and remove the CC either with a shop vac or a small bucket like apparatus. I used a giant plastic yogurt container for this.

If your tank is very dirty take it outside hose it off. Lay down your sand, it should be wet from being washed. If you choose to bury your live rock a bit in the sand you can add it before adding sand or after, just make sure you are using premixed SW not freshwater or your rock will die. Now slowly add either premixed saltwater or just regular water to the tank using a plate to stop the water from disturbing the sand bed too much. No matter what you do the water will be cloudy. What i did during the move was add seachem purigen to my sump and it cleared the water within 2 hours to a reasonable level. I didn't think it would work but it did amazingly. Put your corals and fish in your sandy water they should have no problem as their gills are not affected by sand. I would seed your sandbed by scattering the CC around the top layer of sand for a natural yet pleasing look.

Good Luck!

[Bakapuma]

Mixed Substrate FTW!!!!!

[Hangman]

If you have a sump, I would wash the sand and add it to the sump. Let it stay there for about 3 weeks. During this time, overfeed your tank a bit. Let the sand seed with the good bacteria. Then do the swap between sand and coral.

[Saltreefer07]

Thanks for all your suggestions guys. I don't have a sump. My protein skimmer is HOB. I thought about doing mixed substrate but everything I've read really goes against doing that. I'm just going to go ahead and make the switch and see what happens. I'll let everyone know how it all goes. That way if anyone in the future wants to do it they can learn from my success or mistakes. Lol
Thanks again y'all!!

[Saltreefer07]

One last question, my anemone is attached to a rather large piece of live rock. To big to submerse
in a bucket or something when taking it out of the tank. Would it be okay if I very quickly took it out and placed it into the holding tank while I switch out the substrate? I know they aren't really supposed to be exposed to air, but it would be less than 30
seconds out total between taking it out and pputting it back in. Thanks!