Ultra fine glass beads substrate ?

[FullBoreReefer]

Wouldn't those glass beads, or whatever, be a health risk to inhabitants? Just curious. Kinda like how fiberglass insulation is to us, don't really notice it until you rub on it?

 

[billdogg]

Because it is so new, I really don't think you will bother anything at all by just siphoning it all out and then replacing it with sand (or go BB, but I don't care for the look - doesn't seem natural)

It will be a PIA, but I'll bet an hour or so and you'll have it all.

 

[LeJeune981]

I'm gonna replace it all this weekend.. I have to wait till my local guy is back in town to open up his little Shop so I can buy some good substrate.... haven't decided yet what I am gonna get..

In the mean time.. so I don't lose any snails... I bought 10 lbs of aquarium pebbles and covered up all the beads.. I figure when I syphon the beads out.. the pebbles can just stay on the bottom under the new sand..and my critters are safe again..


Thanks for all the advice everyone..

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[Sk8r]

Easiest might be to unbuild the reef, transfer everybody to a Brute trashcan (safe) and quickly scoop out (maybe a wet/dry vac) absolutely everything left. Replace the rock, then replace water and inhabitants, then add well-washed sand slowly, cupful every few days, over weeks---OR replace rock, replace sandbed with commercial 'live sand' AND replace inhabitants, relying on your rock to seed it to the degree needed. The rock SHOULD be able to 'carry' the tank on its own if you feed very, very lightly for the next 10 days, after which the sandbed can help a tiny bit and you still need to go slow. If you have a functional fuge, it would also help carry the tank through this.

 

[LeJeune981]

Easiest might be to unbuild the reef, transfer everybody to a Brute trashcan (safe) and quickly scoop out (maybe a wet/dry vac) absolutely everything left. Replace the rock, then replace water and inhabitants, then add well-washed sand slowly, cupful every few days, over weeks---OR replace rock, replace sandbed with commercial 'live sand' AND replace inhabitants, relying on your rock to seed it to the degree needed. The rock SHOULD be able to 'carry' the tank on its own if you feed very, very lightly for the next 10 days, after which the sandbed can help a tiny bit and you still need to go slow. If you have a functional fuge, it would also help carry the tank through this.

Yup.. I've got a 46 gallon bow front display fuge.. filled with the live sand from my 150 before it broke. And a lot of live rock..

Will moving all of my corals around hurt them? They are all finally acclimated and happy..

I was thinking about Wm either tearing all the way down like you mentioned... or going like 1/4 at a time.. siphoning the beads out into a make shift strainer above my fuge..so the water all stays in the system and then I can slowly and carefully replace with the new washed sand.. and a fresh filter sock...

But rebuilding would prolly be faster and safer for everything.. and I already got a 50 gallon tote for water changes and emergency.. so I think I'll take sk8ters advice on this one

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