Changing substrate

[mattmku]

i'm considering changing substrate from CC to LS. Should i just do this in one large process or in steps.

Also, there is a large feather duster growing from my CC and I'd like to keep him. How should i keep him while changing the substrate and then how do i find a good place to keep him.

 

[kwan]

When I changed my substrate from CC to LS, I did it in one go. You might get a slight rise in ammonia, but it will subside very quickly. Check out the following doc on sandbed swap.

http://www.fishwhisperer.homestead.com/articles.html

 

[mattmku]

hers a list of procedures i'm planning...
1. power down
2. siphon display tank water into 10 gallon QT
3. Place as much live rock as possible in the QT while leaving room for my livestock
4. Net my lone fish and pep shrimp and place them in the QT
5. Add biological addative to QT
5. Remove CC from display
6. Clean tank bottom
7. Fill tank half way
8. Add new sand bed, and most live rock (leaving some for bio filtration in QT)
9. top of display tank with fresh saltwater.
10. Power up, wait for water to clear, acclimate livestock...done

 

[kwan]

I didn't even move my live stock to a QT. I moved my LR to one side of the tank and changed half of the CC with LS. Then move the LR over the new LS and worked on the second half of the tank. I then put the LR back into their places, made a large water change and powered back up my canister filter. The water might get very cloudy, but it cleared up the next day. The fishes might be a little bit stressed, but probably not as stressed as moving them to a QT. And in the sea, storm will probably stir up the reef as much as I had done in the tank. So probably no big deal for the fish.

 

[mattmku]

even if i use the same water from my tank and quickly moved the fish to the QT they would still get more stressed?

 

[kwan]

IMO, netting my fish out would be more stressful and could cause damage. But then again you only have the one, I had several.