gonna change my cc to DSB (please help)

[chelo]

I already decided that i am actually going to to this change. My nitrates have been up for a while done water changes cleaned the cc, and then after some time theire up again. Plus I think it looks better.

My tank is a 180 gal.

Ok here is what i need help with please.

1.- Is it ok the leave the CC under the rocks so that I donÃ"šÃ‚´t have to tear down all the LR?

2.- How deep should it actually be so that itÃ"šÃ‚´s beneficial form my tank; and so i wonÃ"šÃ‚´t have possibly any problems?

3.- LetÃ"šÃ‚´s say that if i provide adecuate water flow and donÃ"šÃ‚´t over feed my tank, will this help avoid getting brown algae on the DSB?

4.- How do you actually get it in the tank so it does not sort of like get all the tank cloudy. What i mean is how do i put in its place without it drifting away?

5.- What type of inverts should i get in order to keep my sand stirred and avoid problems? (how many would be recomended)

Ok finally the type of sand that is available at the LFS here is argonite. Is this ok to use?

Well I guess thatÃ"šÃ‚´s about all the questions I have to this point; any information and tips will be greatly aprreciated .

thanks.

 

[Konadog]

Re: gonna change my cc to DSB (please help)

1.- Is it ok the leave the CC under the rocks so that I donÃ"šÃ‚´t have to tear down all the LR?

Yes, but your rock may shift during the removal process. It may be better to do one section at a time and remove your rock.

2.- How deep should it actually be so that itÃ"šÃ‚´s beneficial form my tank; and so i wonÃ"šÃ‚´t have possibly any problems?

For a functional DSB, 4 to 6 inches is recommended.

3.- LetÃ"šÃ‚´s say that if i provide adecuate water flow and donÃ"šÃ‚´t over feed my tank, will this help avoid getting brown algae on the DSB?

Not necessarily, it will still go thru the normal algae phases.

4.- How do you actually get it in the tank so it does not sort of like get all the tank cloudy. What i mean is how do i put in its place without it drifting away?

There are a few ways, a funnel and pipe is one way, or you can put the sand in a ziploc with a corner cut out and pour it in that way.

5.- What type of inverts should i get in order to keep my sand stirred and avoid problems? (how many would be recomended)

Check online, there are many sand bed kits you can purchase

Ok finally the type of sand that is available at the LFS here is argonite. Is this ok to use?

Yes! It is the preferred sand.

 

[Steffish]

Great answers!

The only thing I would add is that if you leave any cc in the tank it will more than likely come to the surface. You'll see it eventually.

 

[chelo]

Thanks a lot guys....

 

[bohlke]

This was the best change I ever made to my tank! It was a pain but it made things much easier to deal with. I added nassarius snails and a sand sifting sea star. They have kept the sand bed in great shape. I used a kitty litter scoop (new ) to remove the cc. Good luck I am sure you will be happy with the results.

 

[chris2222000]

I used a shop vac on my 125, all cc out in 10 minutes tops!
-Chris

 

[mg426]

Never would have thought of the shop vac thing. sounds pretty awesome !!!!!!

 

[NetFish]

shop vac is an interesting idea!! I replaced my cc a few days back and took the chance to rework on my aquascaping.

 

[Spuds725]

Never would have thought of using it (SHop VAC) on a full tank-- would likely keep from stirring up alot of stuff-- great idea.

For adding back sand to a full tank... I've heard of using some 2" PVC and a large funnel (a 2 person job)-- put the PVC into the tank all the way to the bottom.. have someone pour the sand into the funnel and the funnel feeds the PVC-- slowly move the PVC around and distribute the sand-- will still cloud up but less then a pour.

You might want to consider draining the tank and removing everything-- thats how I did my tank last year (Shallow sand bed)-- took about 3 hours--- not alot of cloudiness.