adding more substrate

[JMorris271]

I want to add 15 ibs of coral rubble to my tank that now has Fiji Pink. Is it better to do this addition a few cups at a time over a period of several days.. Say remove 2 of fiji and add 2 cups of the new heavier stuff.
Thanks

 

[zsuman101]

you can do that, wait afew days in between for the next exchange. and try not to cover existing sand with the new. one other thing ... you will most likely get some cyano and or algea bloom from this exchange. good luck zsu

 

[JMorris271]

Thanks. I already have the cyano.:crazy1:

 

[RobZilla04]

I recommend you rid the tank of cyano and then add new substrate.

When I added new crushed coral I washed thoroughly first to limit how cloudy it would make the water. Your new substrate should be dry out of the package, not the wet live with bacteria kind.

Add a cup or so between the regular scheduled water changes and as noted above, don't directly cover the existing substrate. Gently mix it in without stirring things up.

 

[JMorris271]

I recommend you rid the tank of cyano and then add new substrate.

When I added new crushed coral I washed thoroughly first to limit how cloudy it would make the water. Your new substrate should be dry out of the package, not the wet live with bacteria kind.

Add a cup or so between the regular scheduled water changes and as noted above, don't directly cover the existing substrate. Gently mix it in without stirring things up.

What I am wanting to do is get rid of the existing Carrib Sea Fuji Pink sand because it is blowing around and on everything. I can't work in the tank without creating a bigger mess than I am trying to rectify.
I don't want to mix the new crushed coral up with the old sand. I want to replace that 60 lbs of sand I paid a nice chunk of change for.
Because I have 150 lbs of LR and chaeto in the system, I think it is ok to just remove the old sand and slowly add the crushed coral.
Im also thinking about cycling the crushed coral before making the switch.

 

[RobZilla04]

What I am wanting to do is get rid of the existing Carrib Sea Fuji Pink sand because it is blowing around and on everything. I can't work in the tank without creating a bigger mess than I am trying to rectify.
I don't want to mix the new crushed coral up with the old sand. I want to replace that 60 lbs of sand I paid a nice chunk of change for.
Because I have 150 lbs of LR and chaeto in the system, I think it is ok to just remove the old sand and slowly add the crushed coral.
Im also thinking about cycling the crushed coral before making the switch.

How deep is your sand bed currently?

Another option is to leave some of the finer substrate behind. It'll work its way beneath the larger grain new substrate.

I'm going with a mixed 2" bottom, aragonite, crushed coral, and a little sand.

 

[JMorris271]

It's varies depending on the spot. 1 inch to 3 inches.

 

[RobZilla04]

I like the fact that it is not consistent. IMO remove some and add some larger grain. Like I mentioned the finer grain will work its way to the bottom and not be blown around. When you start getting deeper than 3" you can develop some unique issues/problems with algae and nitrates.