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Thinking about replacing my sand bed

Devon

Devon

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I have been having some nutrient issues that is most likely coming from the sand bed. The tank has been set up for almost three years. Has anyone done this before successfully? Should I expect a cycle?
Looking for some tips from your past experiences.

Thanks
 
I changed my sand a year or so ago. I just vacuumed my old sand bed out during regular water change over the course of two or three weeks. I wanted all the old stuff gone completely, so I took it off in layers. I placed the new sand using a PVC pipe and a big funnel once all the old stuff was gone.

Some people vacuum it out in sections and replace it with new sand in that area at the same time.
 
I was thinking about doing it in one shot. I would take out all the rock, coral and fish. Drain the water out into a couple containers. Then scoop and shop vac all of it out and replace. Then put everything back in. I would use live sand even though I think it's BS to cut down on cloudiness. I know that a lot of people do almost the same thing when upgrading tanks. Thoughts?
 
I did mine sections at a time.
For some of the sand, siphoning it out as part of water change worked really well.
Just use a larger hose.
My problem was that big chunks of the old sand bed had turned to concrete. I had to use
a chisel-like rod to break them out, very carefully without demolishing the tank.

For new sand, the key was washing it really well before using it.
I use a bucket with the garden hose / nozzle. Jet of water to stir it, and tilt
the bucket so light cloudy crud washes out. Clears fast.
Then a simple rinse at the end in salt water before using.

That said, I rather regret using sand. Looks nice, but always such a pain.
Future plans will be mostly fake-live-rock bottom, with some crushed coral and just a bit
of fine sand.
 
Devon said:
I was thinking about doing it in one shot. I would take out all the rock, coral and fish. Drain the water out into a couple containers. Then scoop and shop vac all of it out and replace. Then put everything back in. I would use live sand even though I think it's BS to cut down on cloudiness. I know that a lot of people do almost the same thing when upgrading tanks. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't use live sand for the new sand. Your rocks have plenty of bacteria for the nitorgen cycle. I'd use dry sand and rinse it well instead. It will become live sand in short order.

The one shot approach is OK as long as you remove everything before you disturb the sand bed and throw away any water that is still in the tank when you start removing stuff. That probably means a big water change and many buckets and heaters to store everything while you are removing the old sand.
 
The only reason I was going to use live sand was because of my past experiences. Two tanks ago I used dry sand and washed it really well. Still it stayed cloudy for a week. Maybe it was that it was super fine sand. It had to cycle so it was not a big deal. When I upgraded to my current tank I used live sand and it was clear almost immediately and was able to do the tank transfer.
 
How deep is your sand bed?

That is very important information. If you've got deep sand bed with that hypoxic layer of dead stuff, then that could be bad.

Regardless, I suggest doing it in sections over a week.
 
Personally, I'd do it over a span of a few weeks or a month. It's not such a drastic change to the ecosystem or its inhabitants.
 
For me every time i take water out for my water change i vacuum my sandbed. Its very shallow i only have 1 inch of sand.

For deeper sandbeds (deeper than 3 inches)id do it carefully. If at all. Some people dont touch deep sandbeds.
 
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