Has anyone removed sand, or replaced it?

[Pike614]

Hi,
I;ve got a 450g reef, about 100lbs of sand..>Aragonite type. The tank is mature, about 4 years old now, and I am noticing my sand is not at all white anymore. The aragonite has stained with algae and such and is now a grey/black color...very dull looking. My nitrate levels are zero, phosphates are zero, everything seems perfect, but the sandbed is darker. I am wondering if it is normal for older reef tanks to have this happen, and if so...what to do about it? I could siphon out the sand, replace witrh fresh sand....seems like the easiest option., Vacuuming sand, or mixing it up is not the answer, since all of the sand is stained like this.
any feedback is appreciated! thanks!
Paul

 

[ryancw01]

I did this a while back after a huge hair algae outbreak. I went sand-less for a while to get phosphates down and then added a much smaller amount of sand the next time around. Seemed to make quite a difference and my tank seemed much more stable. I was advised to change out my sand bed every few years, but I am not sure I would do it that much.

 

[Playa-1]

I've replaced my sand without any issues. I would just siphon out some old sand with each water change until it's all out. Once all the old sand is out then you can slowly add the new sand of your choice. I would advise you to go slow in removing the old sand and in adding the new sand. I rinsed & air dried the new sand before using it, to keep the silt cloud to a minimum. I used a large funnel with a hose attached to it and slowly added the clean sand into the tank with the pumps and power heads off. The funnel and hose allowed me to send the sand to the bottom of the tank while keeping the clouding to a minimum. I took my time by adding a little sand at a time over a period of several days to a week. No need to get in a hurry.

 

[Pike614]

Thanks for the feedback Playa. Sounds like thats what I will be doing. Its going to be a lot of work, but makes all the difference when the sandved is clean.

 

[Pike614]

Thanks for the feedback Playa. Sounds like thats what I will be doing. Its going to be a lot of work, but makes all the difference when the sandved is clean.

 

[Paris_Wiley]

I also have a 450 gallon tank but with ~450 lbs of live sand. I have not had it change color that much (it has turned slightly darker) but I routinely replace some of it when I clean the sand bed through siphoning. I would estimate that I change out maybe 50 lbs/year.

 

[robertcedgar]

Proceed slowly whatever you do. Paris has the long term solution. If I were you, I'd vacuum out a section at a time and replace your bed over a couple of months. That way, you probably will remain stable.

 

[Pike614]

I actually think I was wrong about the sand amount, I think I added 240lbs when I started it up. I will take it really slow though, I do have 1000g TWV, so I should be okay with stability. I am considering moving away from aragonite reef substrate, maybe something finer like figi pink...sugar consistency....wonder if that would be less likely to stain, and also allow for easier sifting by the snails/inverts and such....

 

[Robert1969]

Did it once and didn't have any issues if I remember correctly. The sand was replaced because it would never settle and made my tank look like a snowglobe. Replaced it all at one with another brand and solved the problem. Of course after I did it I read a few post stating you should only remove and replace a little at a time so maybe I just got lucky. Tank was about 8 months old at the time.

 

[Agu]

I've found that at about 5 or 6 years sand beds become huge waste traps.

Granted I have nanos and replacing the sand is a lot easier. I've basically torn down the tanks, scooped out the stinky sand, and replaced it with fresh substrate. In my experience that alone has reduced nuisance algae by 99% and improved coral health dramatically.

 

[ReeferEric]

Like others have said, take it slow and easy when removing. Depending on how the sand was put in, it sometimes holds nitrates and stuff within it. Stirring it up can release it, in a big tank it might not be a big deal due to water volume.

 

[Pike614]

Thanks for all the feedback on this. It will take some time to remove it all...but will make all the difference. Just have to decide if I want something a bit more fine, since the coarse aragamax is prob just going to do this in another 4 years.