Big Tank Sand Problems..any ideas?

[Ward1]

I have had my tank set up for a couple of years now. It's 86" long, 31"wide. I used too fine of a sand when I set up the tank. Fish are kicking up the sand quite a bit and causing the water to be less clear than it could be.

One solution is to remove the fish that are kicking it up: 1 large tomato clown,1 maroon clown and a good size tang ( about 6")

The other would be to remove the sand. This is what I think may have to happen.

Is there any posible way to remove the sand without removing all of the inhabitants,coral and live rock? Some way I could siphon and filter the sand out and pump the water back in somewhat clear? Any Ideas?

 

[Hagisan]

The other would be to remove the sand. This is what I think may have to happen.

Is you end goal to go BB or replace with a different substrate?

 

[Ward1]

Probably go with a sand that has larger granuals...

 

[Trademark]

What I would do if you are going to put new sand is take your time doing this. If you go fast you might send whole tank into a complete cycle. I would suck sand out every month with water changes.maybe have a goal of total removal of old sand and installing new sand over a 6month period. Should be a pretty painless procedure if you just do it once a month. Right after water change add new sand. The time between water changes will be enough time for all sand dewellers to transfer over to new sand.

 

[bmullikin1]

as said above, remove a little section at a time, i did it w no problem, just use a hose, output of that into a garbage can w 25 micron filter sock, to catch sand and filter water, then had a mag pump in the can to return water to tank.

 

[prop-frags]

Depending on how deep you want your substrate, you could also consider two other options: 1) just add a layer of chunkier sand over top of what you have, or 2) as others mention, pull small amounts out at a time and cover over likewise. You don't necessarily need to pull all of the existing fine sand out.

 

[biecacka]

as said above, remove a little section at a time, i did it w no problem, just use a hose, output of that into a garbage can w 25 micron filter sock, to catch sand and filter water, then had a mag pump in the can to return water to tank.

this is what id do...
corey