Need some advice about removing rockbed

tamand5

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I am going to be moving on the 29th of this month and am going to be replacing my crushed coral with sand and was wondering if i can scoup out a little of my rockbed between now and then and slowly remove it? My only concern is i got hermits and snails...will they be ok if i do remove it?
 

nemo1017

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Theoretically yes, but you may stir up junk you don't want getting into the water and causing ammonia( mini cycle). Turn off all your filtration and power heads; do it slow so as to not stir up anything. How big is the tank?
I would think the easiest way is to do it the day you move. Drain all your water into 5 gallon buckets. Put your fish and corals into these buckets for the time being. Just toss all the crushed coral out once your tank it empty of fish, rock, coral, and water. replace it with sand once the tank is set up in your new location. Add water slowly by placing the lid of the 5 bucket onto the sand to act as a deflector to minimize the sand storm when you're pouring water in.
 

nemo1017

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Once you get to your new place make sure to keep the water the fish are in warm by having a heater and maybe a bubbler or power head for circulation. If you can get ahold of a Rubbermaid tub from Walmart you can place your coral and rock in that along with some circulation to free up your buckets of 5 gallon water you are putting into the tank...this was my method when I moved and it worked out perfectly. I also had a crushed coral bed and replaced it with sand on the day I moved. Also at the end when everything was set up, I added a bottle of dr tims bacteria just to be on the safe side. I had zero casualties with my move. Just have a plan for everything and go down the checklist. It sucks but it's rewarding to know you did it without a hitch.
 
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tamand5

tamand5

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Yes i am nervous about moving but feel confident in my strategy. I wrote everything down step by step and have everything to move...
 
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tamand5

tamand5

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Do you like the sand bed better then the crushed coral?
 

nemo1017

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Absolutely love the sand better! Crushed Coral was a pain in my butt. I always had nutrient issues and couldn't keep anything besides soft corals and a few lps.
 
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tamand5

tamand5

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Oh and my tank is 60 gallons and i am only moving about a 5 minute drive from where i am now.
 
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tamand5

tamand5

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See i only have 2 corals and they are still frags. But i have only had my tank since feb and had one crash due to an anemone getiing into my piwer head...but since i built my tank back up it has been smooth sailing and thats why im so nervous to move...thats my baby lol
 

nemo1017

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Only issue though is that you may have to find a grain that you want to use. Some of it is really fine and gets blown around easily. I have a mix of Carib sea Fiji pink and something else I forget the name of at the moment. But no sand blows around in my tank, I have about a 2 inch sand bed in a 50 gallon. I keep a couple soft corals, mostly lps, and a few sps.
 
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tamand5

tamand5

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Ok thanks for that advice because i would have never thought about that nor have i read about that.
 

nemo1017

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I hear you lol. Five minutes is not bad a bad move at all. I was nervous too so don't sweat it. I moved about 30 minutes down the road. But I feel like I could do it again and not even sweat it from what I learned from this forum
 

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