Would this be safe/ok to do

[robow]

Would it be ok for me to take all my fish corals and rock out of my tank and into buckets of tank water, then take out the substrate replace with new then do a 100% water change, and put everything back in the tank after re-acclimating. If it is ok what kind of substrate would you suggest size and type. I want to do this because I don't like mine so much it seems to be a little big and is a nightmare to keep clean. Also how deep should it be.

 

[jenjen]

How long has your current substrate been in, and how deep is it? I believe most people who change out their sandbed do it gradually, to avoid removing all the 'good' bacteria at once.

 

[robow]

It is about a year old and 1/2 to 1 inch thick. I have a 3 inch sand bed in my refugium that I don't plan to do anything with.

 

[yongpanda]

I'm not familiar with how you are planning on doing it but when i downgraded, i removed my livestock into a bucket while transfering over 50% of the old tank water with 50% new. then i used an inch of old sand and another inch on top with new. and it's been doing fine all this time.

 

[TommyNitro]

I replaced mine by doing 1/3 at a time over a 3 week period each time i did a 25% water change. i took the rock out and placed it into a bucket. (I just moved the coral to the other side of the tank). i replaced my crushed coral with both live sand and dead sand. made the sand bed about 31/2 inches deep. i have had no problem at all, in fact i know it helped my water chemistry get back to manageable

 

[radicaltimes]

My 120 gallon reef tank got a leak , had to buy a new tank. I put everything in all kinds of containers. I had 250 pounds of live rock plus the fish and corals.My tank is Bare Bottom.The only thing I lost was a Damsel.

 

[bbris]

I would not suggest the 100% water change. I don't know the science but the more you change the more you upset the balance you tank has come to have, and accordingly what the fish have become used to. Yes it can and has been done, but I wouldn't intentionally do it, just in case. JMO

 

[brubinfeld]

why do u feel th need in doing this?
is there anything wrong with the tank?

 

[phenom5]

You plan sounds fine, except for the 100% water change. Any particular reason for doing this?

I've had good success with the CaribSea Aragonite Seaflor Special Grade Reef Sand you can get a the big chain stores. Cheapest place I could find, good grain size & color for me. I like 1-2" in the display, but it depends on what you want to do.

 

[robow]

I guess I don't need to change that much water I have been eying the agra-alive Fiji black I think it looks good.

 

[dpham]

Id probally just do 50% water change instead of 100%

 

[kingfisher62]

I contemplated changing my substrate fo years but was always too chicken. I used to have crushed coral and nitrates were always high. After a fire started underneath my tank , I was concerned with the integrity of the seals so I bought a new tank . Figured this was the perfect time to switch my substrate to sand.

Threw all my fish , rock and inverts in a couple of buckets as you are thinking with a 50 percent water change.Put everything back in the tank that night and it was a complete success . Did not loose anything!

 

[Guy(ReefSmart)]

I would not do a 100% change and also after doing a substrate change you will have a cycle again with a nice big diatom bloom to follow.

 

[robow]

Ok I am going to try it I will only do a 50%water change thanks for the help

 

[TheBChamp]

Yeah I would probably only do 25% at first.. Now I have never done this myself but I may in the future.. What I would personally do is put as much tank water in buckets, and put my live rock, live stock etc. in the buckets with a little air pump or something.

Rinse the new sand till water runs clear. Put it in the aquarium. You could use the sand bag or the lid of a 5 gallon bucket and place it on the sand and carefully pore the water over it so not to stir up the sand too much. I would then add my live stock back, and fill the rest of the tank with new water.

If your careful with your live rock and have no die off, like sponges and stuff, you should not get a cycle.. could always keep a couple cups of old sand and carefully place it into the aquarium to help recolonize your sandbed.

Just my 2 cents.. im sure there is a few ways you could do this successfully.

 

[TheBChamp]

Yeah I would probably only do 25% at first.. Now I have never done this myself but I may in the future.. What I would personally do is put as much tank water in buckets, and put my live rock, live stock etc. in the buckets with a little air pump or something.

Rinse the new sand till water runs clear. Put it in the aquarium. You could use the sand bag or the lid of a 5 gallon bucket and place it on the sand and carefully pore the water over it so not to stir up the sand too much. I would then add my live stock back, and fill the rest of the tank with new water.

If your careful with your live rock and have no die off, like sponges and stuff, you should not get a cycle.. could always keep a couple cups of old sand and carefully place it into the aquarium to help recolonize your sandbed.

Just my 2 cents.. im sure there is a few ways you could do this successfully.

Oh yeah and then of course monitor everything carefully and do another little water change if need be..

 

[bertoni]

I've removed substrates just that way a couple of times. It's not a problem, in general, although I'd try to preserve at least 80% of the old water. 100% water changes are worth avoiding, IMO. I'd keep some Amquel and some water for changes on hand, in case something large in the live rock dies, but there's <b>usually</b> no problems if everything is handled carefully, i.e., keep the live rock in water as much as possible, make sure the temperature doesn't drop too bad, etc.

 

[robow]

Well I am going to try it this weekend I will let you all know how it goes.