Help.. I'm moving my 150 gallon tank to my new place it has crushed coral in it. But I'm going to change it to sand. I only have two fish in there now. Only because I gave the others away. So what's the best way to do this transfer... And get rid of the coral.
Transfer and crush coral to live sand
- Thread starter zeke01
- Start date
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MikeGio
Aquarium Advice Activist
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- May 28, 2012
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- 127
I'm actually interested in doing this as well.
I would say to definitely prepare for it.
1. Bucket for live rock
2. Bucket for coral
3. Bucked for old water and sand
4. Syphon coral with pump and scoop out left over sand.
5. Submerge bag of new sand with opening and let sand sink to bottom.
6. Add live rock & corals
7. Add new salt water
8. Turn everything back on
Please someone with more experience, help out.
I would say to definitely prepare for it.
1. Bucket for live rock
2. Bucket for coral
3. Bucked for old water and sand
4. Syphon coral with pump and scoop out left over sand.
5. Submerge bag of new sand with opening and let sand sink to bottom.
6. Add live rock & corals
7. Add new salt water
8. Turn everything back on
Please someone with more experience, help out.
chbix
Aquarium Advice Activist
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2009
- Messages
- 161
Well buckets.....
Like the above stated I would put live rock and corals and the fish in buckets wit the current take water.
I would save as much water as you can so your not going to have another cycle.
Drain the tank as much as you can and then get to shoveling out the coral...when the majority of it is out you could attempt to tip the tank and use a hose to wash the rest out.
Then when the tank is set back up. Put the lr in and sand. I would mix some sw up to make up the diff you lose the night before and put a heater. Try to match the salinity an temp of your tank.
Then I would add the new sw with the old...let it mix for a little bit then acclimate the livestock....
That's my best guess
Like the above stated I would put live rock and corals and the fish in buckets wit the current take water.
I would save as much water as you can so your not going to have another cycle.
Drain the tank as much as you can and then get to shoveling out the coral...when the majority of it is out you could attempt to tip the tank and use a hose to wash the rest out.
Then when the tank is set back up. Put the lr in and sand. I would mix some sw up to make up the diff you lose the night before and put a heater. Try to match the salinity an temp of your tank.
Then I would add the new sw with the old...let it mix for a little bit then acclimate the livestock....
That's my best guess
Mr. Crabs
Aquarium Advice Freak
- Joined
- May 29, 2011
- Messages
- 346
Be prepared for fluctuating levels in the first few weeks of a complete change to a new substrate. The crushed coral probably houses a great deal of the beneficial bacteria that is needed to break down Ammonia. Many will change a portion of the substrate at a time over the span of a couple months so as to not shock the system. Granted 150 gallons is a good volume of water for just two fish, but strange things happen when you pull a complete bed from the bottom of the tank that has established itself as the biological filter. At the very least, your water will be cloudy for a period of time.
If it were me, I would take half of the crushed coral and add it to the upgraded tank. Put new sand on one side and a one inch deep crushed coral bed on the other. Than every couple weeks, I would remove a portion of the coral and add more sand. This will allow the existing bacteria to develop among the sand. Remember that sand is a completely different composition than crushed coral. It will take time for the bacteria to thrive in the new substrate.
If it were me, I would take half of the crushed coral and add it to the upgraded tank. Put new sand on one side and a one inch deep crushed coral bed on the other. Than every couple weeks, I would remove a portion of the coral and add more sand. This will allow the existing bacteria to develop among the sand. Remember that sand is a completely different composition than crushed coral. It will take time for the bacteria to thrive in the new substrate.
nikki_kaiser
Aquarium Advice FINatic
How much live rock do you have in the tank? I've had crushed coral and I also removed my deep sand bed last year because I was having some issues as well. I then bought another tank and had ZERO fluctuations when moving everything over and adding new sand. Don't add live sand. Add the dry aragonite. I used about 30% of my old water, added my bottom live rock pieces, then added my washed sand. Filled the rest with new water and put my filter on that I had before. If you use a sump, go and buy a few sponges/filters and let them grow some bacteria on them. It also helps. I acclimated my fish slowly and added them. They did just fine. Not saying you will not have a spike however if you only have two fish, you have a good bit of live rock, and use some filters that also have bacteria on them, you should be fine.
nikki_kaiser
Aquarium Advice FINatic
You only have two fish, you have live rock, and you have filtration. You probably won't experience too much of any kind of ammonia spike in that size of a tank. Smaller tanks need to worry more so but with only two fish, I would get a huge new trash can to put your old water, live rock, and a few power heads in for circulation, and take the CC out all at once. Have your sand rinsed well and more water ready to put back in. There are a few ways to do it but the easiest is going to be to plan and have a QT tank set up and running before hand to put the fish in. Throw in an extra sponge pad for a week or two in your tank and let it grow some bacteria on it so you won't have as much of a water issue in QT. you can also throw it back in your main after changing the CC out.
