i currently have one of my tanks that has been running for a year on crushed coral...i have livestock in it currently....i have grown very tired of the look.....what is the best way in your experiences to switch the cc to sand?.....and what was that sand that you could get from lowes or homedepot...i can't remember....thanks for any advice.....
cc to sand
- Thread starter crombie15
- Start date
jenlovesty
New member
If you want to switch, you should tear down the tank. We started with cc and added sand on top. After 3 months, the sand settle to the bottom. We had to add more sand. Now we have a nice mixture of sand and cc. 
The sand you are asking about is Southdown. Not sure if they sell it in Centrall Florida, but someone on reefcentral probaly has a couple of bags they could sell you. I am sure someone will chime in.
The sand you are asking about is Southdown. Not sure if they sell it in Centrall Florida, but someone on reefcentral probaly has a couple of bags they could sell you. I am sure someone will chime in.
cowboyswife
New member
yeah they don't sell it in florida, out of luck sorry.
I was hoping the same thing recently.
I was hoping the same thing recently.
cootiebugg
New member
When I switched mine, I considered it as a major water change. I did it over a 2 wk period. I set up a 29 gal. I use for a QT tank using water from the existing tank. I then pumped the remaining water into trash cans until the SB started getting stirred up then removed the remainder by hand and gave the tank and equip. a good cleaning. I used new salt water to clean the rock. The 2nd day I set everything back up and put the sand in. I put new SW in as I added sand to keep the sand storm down. I then added a layer of live sand before adding the existing water and the LR. The tank cleared up in a day or 2 and I waited 2 wks to put the live stock back in just to make sure there weren't any major spikes in the water conditions.
sytanek
New member
I somewhat recently had to change out all of the liverock in my 55g, with livestock already in it, I was worried about putting the new liverock in with fish already in it. After talking to several people I picked up some Fritzyme from the Fish Bowl. I've talked to a couple service guys who say they use it to ensure a very little cycle or none at all when doing something like that. It worked for me just fine, 0 ammonia or trites from changing every piece of rock in my tank to new from the lfs. Maybe this info would be useful to you.
Brannon
Brannon
ben&bobbi
New member
you can use the sand from Lowes. i currently have 200lbs of quickcrete sand in my tank ($20). it is silicate sand - it is fine. need more evidence, look at jay24k threads!
as far as changing it from one to the other.
if you are able to get a tupperware container to move corals/fish into as a temp tank, that would be best. drain (store) most of the water and switch it around and put water back in. you are most likely still going to have the algea cycle since disturbing the cc and adding new sand.
if not, you can syphon out the cc, "catching" the cc and returning the water. then add the sand in very slowly.
used sand isn't horrible, but also causes a large algea bloom, and you don't know what you will end up with from the sand. even sand from the perfect of tanks can trap not so good stuff that would be release when stirred up during switch - go with new, seed with a couple pounds of established sand.
jenlovesty is correct, the larger stuff will always return to the top.
as far as changing it from one to the other.
if you are able to get a tupperware container to move corals/fish into as a temp tank, that would be best. drain (store) most of the water and switch it around and put water back in. you are most likely still going to have the algea cycle since disturbing the cc and adding new sand.
if not, you can syphon out the cc, "catching" the cc and returning the water. then add the sand in very slowly.
used sand isn't horrible, but also causes a large algea bloom, and you don't know what you will end up with from the sand. even sand from the perfect of tanks can trap not so good stuff that would be release when stirred up during switch - go with new, seed with a couple pounds of established sand.
jenlovesty is correct, the larger stuff will always return to the top.
triggerjay
New member
I switched mine from CC to sand. I took out about 25% of the CC at a time, and waited a couple days in between... Continued to do this till I had a bare bottom tank. Then I added washed sand in a small container to minimize a sandstorm... tank still clouded up for a day, but no harm was done to my critters..
Jason
Jason
cschweitzer
New member
I found some awesome aragonite from a guy on here...he got it from Treeman down south. It was perfect sand with just a few small rocks and a few shells. All in all, I couldn't be happier with the look of it in my tank. Treeman supposedly has a HUGE supply and you can go get 40lb bags or get your whole back of a truck filled for even cheaper.
sunkool
New member
Thats who I am talking with. There is a 1500 lb min. and he will only sell to a business,which I have covered. I am having a hard time getting a price from him though. He keeps saying he wants more info about the group I plan on purchasing for. I told him that I am going to do a group buy through the tampa and orlando forums like mike did.
I need about 600 lbs for myself If the price is right how many others would be interested?
I need about 600 lbs for myself If the price is right how many others would be interested?
I switched from cc to sand a few months ago without breaking down the tank (probably not the best idea) but i did it in sections, just moving the rock and using a dustpan to pick up the cc. Getting the cc out was not too much of a problem, but putting the sand back in was when the water started getting cloudy.
A great suggestion I received was to take a 2-3" diameter piece of PVC and put one end on the bottom of the tank and just slide the sand down through the PVC so it limits its clouding.
It still clouded, but was clear within 2 days and everything survived.
Good luck with the change!
A great suggestion I received was to take a 2-3" diameter piece of PVC and put one end on the bottom of the tank and just slide the sand down through the PVC so it limits its clouding.
It still clouded, but was clear within 2 days and everything survived.
Good luck with the change!
skinnyjoe1976
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10123792#post10123792 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jenlovesty
If you want to switch, you should tear down the tank. We started with cc and added sand on top. After 3 months, the sand settle to the bottom. We had to add more sand. Now we have a nice mixture of sand and cc.
The sand you are asking about is Southdown. Not sure if they sell it in Centrall Florida, but someone on reefcentral probaly has a couple of bags they could sell you. I am sure someone will chime in.
why don't they call the sand northdown instead of southdown?:lol: i've seen tanks with south down and i don't like the hazey look on top of the sand bed jmo. i like the fiji pink the finer the better. how long has the tank been up? and how deep it the bed or crushed coral?
