sand swap

[p00num3lli]

i have been getting information from yall guys over the past weeks about sand... what to get and what not to get/ how to switch my origanal with new... soo i got in my last bag and now have 120 pounds of caribbsea aragonite livesand. on friday i am going to do the pain in the but job of switching my sand. ill tell you step by step how i am going to do it, and you tell me if theres anything wrong with what im going to do, because i DONT wanna mess up my tank now. ok...here we go.

my supplies:three five gallon buckets,one 40 gallon drum, ice chest, and syphon.

step 1)fill 40 gallon drum with feshly mixed saltwater, place power head and heater.

step 2)syphon some water into my 5 gallon bucket(about 3/4) and place a piece of LR in it, then my regal and two percs,heater,and airstone.

step 3) place all my LR in the 40 gallon drum.

step 4)start syphoning my origanal sand clean.

step 5) once clean, start scooping sand into the ice chest.

step 6) when all sand is removed, take about3-4 gllons of water into the 5 gallon bucket, pour some of the sand in it, and clean it. repeat till all sand is clean.

step 7)add the new sand.

step 8)put my LR in

step 9)put in the freshly mixed saltwater out of the drum into the tank.

step 10) once the water has cleared up some, put the fish in.

FINISHED.

so please if theres anything wrong with my plan, let me know!!!

quick question: do i have to rinse my sand with my tanks water, or does it matter?

[phrog]

Since I'm learning too, I have a question about this process. If the new sand is added and then fresh water is added, won't the whole tank cycle all over?

[CoryDude]

You forgot step #11: Spend next week recovering from sore back.

Oh, but you're pretty young. I guess it's only us old guys that suffer from that ailment. Good luck to you.

cory

[CoryDude]

Since I'm learning too, I have a question about this process. If the new sand is added and then fresh water is added, won't the whole tank cycle all over?

He's gonna see a swing in water parameters, but the liverock is seeded pretty good, so it should be a short cycle. But yes, there's gonna be some time needed for everything to settle down.

[p00num3lli]

yea i know, lol im gona dread friday... what kind of swings are we talkin bout? anything that could kill my live stock?

[ErikH]

yes, that is why you must do water changes to keep up. Monitor your levels closely. You may not see a cycle, but more than likely you will.

[jessinator752]

if you use a heater in a 5 gal bucket when the temps outside are getting so hot, could the water get to hot for the fish? or won't it matter because of the ac?

[CoryDude]

Yes, I wouldn't recommend the heater either, unless Houston's about 30 degrees cooler than SA. By spikes, I mean upswings in Nitrites, Nitrates, Phos, pretty much the bad things.

As suggested, do some heavy water changes over the next few weeks. In the past when I've done heavy maint. on my tank, I'd do 4 water changes over a period of two weeks for a total volume changeout of 40%. If you've got a skimmer, clean it out every day or so for the next few weeks also. It's going to be foaming like crazy!

[CoryDude]

Almost forgot. If there isn't an issue w/your current sand bed, I'd save a little bit of it and mix a few cup fulls into your new sand. It can help seed your new sand and reduce the cycle time.

[p00num3lli]

the sand thats in there is not sand at all, its more like pebbles and it came with the tank when i bought it. most of the pebbles are marble sized and collect every thing you dont want like crazy, so it is a must that i remove it.

if i have some high nitrates/nitrites or whatever should i do like 4 10 gallon water changes in a week, and that should lower them to 0?

[aggie4231]

I would make sure to siphon out some of the nasty stuff that is trapped between the "pebbles" of your current substrate.

[p00num3lli]

yea, thats like my step 3 or 4 i think, to syphon out all the junk, and trust me, i have syphoned my tank 3 times in 2 months and each time it is just as dirty as before. if you just disturb it brown stuff flies everywere. so i have to remove it. lol i really wish i could find someone who could come out and help me with this:)

[CoryDude]

Yeah, get rid of that marble stuff, bury it and never let it plague this earth again. Your tank's gonna look a whole lot better and brighter w/the reef sand.

Not an expert, but I did 4 X 10 gallon water changes over a 2 week period on a 90 gallon aquarium. It may take longer for your tank. Just play it by ear.

Also test daily for ph and nitrite and maybe nitrate (if they're high). Syphon the tank and do a h2o change asap if you start to detect nitrites. That means somethings decaying in your tank and is no bueno.