Replacing crushed coral with sand

[asianer]

Any recommendations on how i can swap this without causing too much disturbance within an established tank? Also, does the sand need to be washed before going into the tank?

 

[Deanos]

One question: How long has the crushed coral been established? And how deep is the substrate? What size tank? What kind of sand (new or used)?

 

[masterswimmer]

You might want to take 25% out at a time. Take it all out from one corner of the tank as opposed to skimming the top 25% off. You've got a lot of surface area that is colonized by good bacteria. The deeper you go into the substrate, the more you reach the bottom of the benthic zone. If you skim the top layer off the substrate the good bacteria will be removed and leave you with that deeper benthic layer exposed.

FYI, the benthic zone is the area of the ocean where the water meets the substrate. It is super high in biological activity. The deeper you go into the benthic zone, the less biological activity exists due to it being more anaerobic (less oxygen).

After removing 25% of the cc, wait 3-5 days and remove another 25% (same way). Keep doing this until it's all removed. Then add a quality calcium carbonate sand (ESV for instance). Add the new sand slowly as well, over the course of a couple of weeks.

HTH,
Russ

 

[asianer]

The 20 gallon tank is about 2 weeks old and the substrate is about 2 inches deep. I just bought some brand new sand, it is super fine sand.

One question: How long has the crushed coral been established? And how deep is the substrate? What size tank? What kind of sand (new or used)?

 

[Deanos]

2 weeks...cool! Since there should be no livestock in a tank that new, take all the crushed coral out and replace with the sand. Expect to prolong the cycle do to the changeover.