Changing sand

[Vyper]

Has anyone tried to change their sand? My aquarium is 4 months old and I am in a battle with ich. The aquarium will be fallow now for some time. I don’t like my Fiji Pink sand since it blows around so easily. My wifes tank has special grade sand and it is perfect. Would it be devastating to the tank to change it at this point? Obviously if the tank were a few years old it would be for sure and I wouldn’t give it a second thought but being fallow for 76 days would give plenty of time to settle down and bacteria to take hold again.

 

[MrNYCeGuy]

You can change the sand, however your sand contains a huge portion of your micro fauna which will be lost in the transition. There could be a potential for a second cycle. Just pay attention to your nutrient levels after removing your sand as they are likely to rise due to the removal of most of your micro fauna.

 

[brandon429]

Hey this way works great:

Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread

If you are reading this thread to cure a tank invasion from a link I sent you, we do not need to identify your type of invasion here we do not need you to test anything at anytime regarding nitrate, phosphate etc Above all, we do not need to see a microscope slide picture of your invasion at...

www.reef2reef.com

every page is swaps rips and flips

 

[brandon429]

Single most important aspect of the thread: what we did with tap water. Not ro or salt, but tap specifically.

 

[|Frank|]

If your rocks are established you're good. I changed my sand when I went from 20g to a 40b. I used all the live rock from my old tank and everything was fine. If anything, you could add a bottle of beneficial bacteria. Fritz 900 is my go to when starting a new tank.

 

[poproxmax]

did you end up changing your sand? I am in the same place as you right now. tank is about 4 months old and I want to change to special grade so I can increase my flow without having sand storms.

 

[Vyper]

I d

did you end up changing your sand? I am in the same place as you right now. tank is about 4 months old and I want to change to special grade so I can increase my flow without having sand storms.

i did and was absolutely worth it. My sand doesnt seem to move around at all. I removed roughly 6 bags of Fiji pink and replaced with 6 bags of special grade. I drained my water down to about 6 inches. I got all my snails out but my fire shrimp wasn’t having it. So he stayed. Water was super cloudy in that 6” area but as I carefully filled it back up it really wasn’t bad and completely cleared by the next morning. Fire shrimp handled it like a champ. Not sure how but he is fine. I really thought the temperature swing might get him since it took a bit to do. I added some micro bacter 7 as a precaution but never saw a spike of any sort.

 

[poproxmax]

I d

i did and was absolutely worth it. My sand doesnt seem to move around at all. I removed roughly 6 bags of Fiji pink and replaced with 6 bags of special grade. I drained my water down to about 6 inches. I got all my snails out but my fire shrimp wasn’t having it. So he stayed. Water was super cloudy in that 6” area but as I carefully filled it back up it really wasn’t bad and completely cleared by the next morning. Fire shrimp handled it like a champ. Not sure how but he is fine. I really thought the temperature swing might get him since it took a bit to do. I added some micro bacter 7 as a precaution but never saw a spike of any sort.

Thanks for the feedback! I got my bags of special grade today and planning to do the switch next weekend!

 

[Vyper]

the fiji pink just wouldn’t stop moving around and looked terrible. glad to find alternative to turning down the flow. I know doing this a year in would have been a problem I am sure.