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#2
04-03-2007, 12:00 AM
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In my opinion i wouldn't use crushed coral. That is how we started our tank and within 2 months out that came and in with the sugar sized. The crushed coral traps all the waste and excess food which then turns into nitrates which then puts you in a new host of problems. We took all our crushed coral out and in with the new in about 3 hours in our 130. We just took all the inverts and fish out and put them in a rubbermaid. Rinsed the sand really well and in it went. Waited for the sandstorm to die down put the rocks back where we wanted then and we were good.
Although just my 0.02cents worth  Craig 
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#3
04-03-2007, 12:01 AM
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Quote:
Siphon it out, similar to if you were vacumning a freshwater gravel bed during a water change. You may not get it all in one go, but it doesn't take long. I cleared out my 48 gallon (when it was running) in 2 10% water changes. Barring that, you could take alot of your tank water and your rocks into a rubbermaid, while you manually do it, but I find moving a lot of rocks around causes some die off which will take time to regrow and add to your algae bloom or possible partial cycling. When you replace your sand bed, my favorite method is to shut off all flow, and pour your new sand down a pcv pipe so it doesn't overly cloud the water. Just take your time doing it. I find pouring the sand around the already placed rocks, makes for a solider foundation and less weighed down sand that can't be sifted. Edit for: I forgot to mention, I fully agree with findingnemos opinion on crushed coral. I pulled that out after only 2 months as well. Again, just my 2 cents other opinions will vary. There are far more experienced reefers kickin around these parts. (Hey wait that's a disclaimer!! Wow my first one!!LOL!)
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#6
04-03-2007, 04:42 AM
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I also changed out my cc for caribsea seaflor, just vac it with a siphon tube, prerinsed the new stuff, put it in small plastic bags, sunk it to the bottom, and slowly poured it out, tank clouded up over night, but all was good in the am
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aga 180g dual overflow 77g sump, mak 4 return, dart pump for closed loop 3 250w se 15,000k mh, 4 80w t5 250 vertex skimmer,3l vertex zeo reactor, marine tech cal reactor.regal,powder brown and yellow tangs, chromis eyelash blennie blue mandran, slowly filling with SPS
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#7
04-03-2007, 05:34 AM
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Yep, done it a few times, Siphon it out, dump the water back in, siphon some more until it's all gone.
As was already said I'd avoid crushed coral, my reasoning though is that crushed coral tends to leak phosphates which mean food for algae. I'd go with a course aragonite. I'd also avoid black substrate as it absorbs a lot of your light where natural/white will reflect a lot of light. It made a huge difference in my tank, I had the black and it looked sooooooooooooo dark and .. well unlit, I siphoned it out and put in natural and WOW everything looked so much better. Doug
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#8
04-03-2007, 06:39 AM
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i agree no cc..... when i swapped my tanks over i also put my rocks in first and poured the sand around the rock i just used a measuring cup and slowly lowered it into the tank allowing the water to slowly cover the sand in the cup..... my tank was cloudy for less then 3hrs... dont worry about the spots you cant get at.... the critteres will push the sand there and the current will also move the sand around..... i didnt use all the sand i had that way if the sand moves and i dont like the look i can always add more....... i had the black sand in my first tank and it looked great for the first 3 months then it just looked very dirty and speck of anything white will show up on it if you go black make sure you have alot of sandsifters in there to keep it looking sharp.......
also jm2c
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