The great sandbed swap last night

[sunset pizza]

well it's in the works. Last night we removed the crushed coral and replaced it with southdown. the fish are alive

but not happy!! They were (and still are) rather pissed. The sand looks great but the tank is in terrible shape. I started by removing all rock powerheads, etc. Left the fish in there as I had read 2 schools of thought. I figured trying to net them and displace them might be more traumatic than leaving them in there. However, the fish started freaking out big time when the water started clouding up. I did not rinse the sand. So I put them in my container with the rock and a powerhead. I had to put everything back in the tank last night though after I was done. the tank was still cloudy but considerably better this morning. All fish made it although my beautiful Sailfin Tang tore his upper fin slightly. It was probably me with the net. Will this heal? should I do anything for him?
So bonehead me just now got home and looked things over and like an idiot decided to clean the filter pads I have in there. TURN OFF THE FILTER BEFORE PULLING OUT THE PADS!!

it's an emporer400. So damnit now the water is completely cloudy again. The fish are going nuts. I think a will change some more water this evening and hope this ends soon. It's all I can think about. Jury is still out if this was a good idea!! My place is a mess, my fish are pissed. I'm going to drink a beer...
thanks for listening
Matt

 

[oohnoo]

Just one beer? Good luck in your venture.

 

[Modo]

Wow, I have 2 bags of SD sitting next to my tank right now. Was going over the scenario this morning as to how to tackle this.

Doesn't sound like a very fun venture. But, I am sure it will pay off in the end. Good luck and keep us posted. I think several of us are all ears about your progress.

I still need to get a couple of other problems under control before I jump into this. So, please let me know what you would do different or what worked well for you.

Thanks for sharing......cheers

 

[llowwelll]

sunset pizza, thanks for the post! I'm also in the process of converting over. I'm not an expert or anything...I'll just pass on what I've learned about all this in the past month or so. Right now, I'm attempting to make my SD sand "live" before putting it in the tank so that I don't end up having more of a cycling event than I have to have. I put about an inch-deep layer of sand in a large Rubbermaid container with a piece of live rock, an air stone, and a heater. My 9 for $99.95 critters package (ipsf.com) arrives Thursday. I'll keep the sand brewing with the critters in the Rubbermaid for probably 2 to 3 weeks before switching my tank from CC to DSB. When the time comes to lay the sand in the tank, I'm gonna put 4-5 inches down, then the last inch or so will be the sand in the Rubbermaid. Hopefully, this will minimize the cycling. BTW, I hated paying $99.95 for the package but after researching it, it seemed like the most effective way to add biodiversity and avoid major cycling in the tank. Anybody else considering doing this should go to ReefCentral and do a search for threads related to this topic. Dr Ron Shimek is there with lots of good info on DSB's and such. Finally, one link there has an article on how to do it and it recommends placing your old CC into bags fashioned from pantyhose. Then, place the bags in amongst the new sand to help cycle the sand.

 

[sunset pizza]

Ok...3 beers later... the tank is clearing nicely

I can see the back wall again. Acouple of things I forgot to mention:
it's a 30 gal long tank (36x12")
i placed 6 balls of crushed coral in nylons into the bed (black lacy nylons, my wife's)
i also made a pvc rack to support my live rock. it's hidden about 1/2" under the sand. i did read it's not neccessary but i've only got about 15lbs or so in there so i didn't want it hidden too much in the sand.

still thinking of things i wouldn't do again...

also..i was digging around in the old coral and found a little crab i didn't know i had. it's the size of an eraser with no removable shell. should he go in there or will it be bad news when i build my reef?

i'll keep you posted....

 

[jmeader]

The tangs fin should heal fine on its own in about a week or two. Next time get yourself a good sponge filter like Oxy Plus. Put a powerhead on it and it will clear your water much faster.

 

[Jerry Gonzales]

I set up my other tank last night. I put a 4 inch layer of SD sand. It looks wonderful. Got a bit cloudy, but I don't have to worry about fish like you. Hopefully your fish all go through this with ease. I had a large bucket of LS waiting so I could top the SD sand with. The critters were all ready digging down in there.

 

[THillson]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by llowwelll:
<STRONG> Right now, I'm attempting to make my SD sand "live" before putting it in the tank so that I don't end up having more of a cycling event than I have to have.</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm missing something here. You are adding inert sand and you think the tank will cycle again? Unless you increase the bio-load/waste production your tank will not cycle again. Why do you think it will cycle after you add sand?

FWIW, you should always rinse sand before adding it to a tank, unless of course it's "live sand". I'm adding sand, 2-5 pounds, to my tank every three to four months as fish move it around and under the rocks. To do this without making a cloudy tank first you must rinse it. Then use a small glass to add the sand. Fill the glass 90% with sand, slowly let tank water fill the glass by just letting it get under the surface. Once the glass is full of water you can lower the glass to the bottom of the tank and pour out the sand with very little turbidity created.

Oh ya, cheaper way to jump start your DSB than a critter pack. Find someone who has an established BSD and trade a few pounds of substrate with them.