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Replacing sand

2K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  cruiser78 
#1 ·
I did a quick search and didn't find anything to answer my quiestions.

When replacing my sand bed, is it going to cause a cycle or partial cycle? What is the best way to get the old sand out? I'm guessing removing all the rocks is a start. Can the sand be siphoned out or do I need to scoop it out? For a 90 gallon tank how much sand should I have? I think right now there is about 90 lbs of live rock and 60 lbs of sand. Is that about right?
 
#2 ·
I have changed sand before, but it is a slow process if you have fish or a reef tank still set up. What I did was siphon it out with a 5/8" hose while doing my water changes. I would siphon out some once a week when I did my water change. It took a few months but I didn't lose any coral in the process. I didn't remove any rock or anything. It would help to know what you have in the tank. I didn't have a deep sand bed, So I would be careful about that.
 
#3 ·
If you use new, dead sand there should be not cycle. You can simply syphon the sand out, or some people use a wet or dry vac. Don't scoop it out, unless you are doing a 100% water change. The amount of sand is totally a personal preference.

What is your reasoning for having a sand bed?
Why do you feel it needs to be changed, or how did it get to a condition where you feel it needs to be changed?
 
#5 ·
EC is asking some good questions as to why you feel the need to do this.

I actually replaced my sand bed and added acrylic rock lifts all in one day last year. I got a couple of large rubbermaid containers and siphoned tank water into those. Then I removed all of the rock and livestock and placed it into the containers with a powerhead to keep the water flowing. I also had 25 gallons of fresh ASW ready to go as I knew I would need some extra water to finish topping off the tank when refilling.

At that point I scooped out all of the sand and gave the glass a thorough cleaning. Then I added the rock lifts, put the sand in, and began adding water. As the water level rose I began adding the rock back into the tank. It was a long day but when all was said and done there was no sign of a cycle at all.
 
#7 ·
Sorry I've been in the hospital with a broken ankle so that's why I haven't been back to reply. My sand bed is a few years old now. I've had the tank for a couple years now...maybe even 3 years... and I'm not sure how long the guy before me had it up and running.
I want a sandbed because I like the look of sand in a tank. I'm not going for a deep sandbed.
I think it should be replaced because of it's age as well as I've got red stuff all over in it and it doesn't look very good anymore.
 
#8 ·
maybe you should just vacume your sand when i had a guy tending my tank once a month he would do that every now and then to keep it clean. Im not sure how he did it and if it did any harm but it kept it nice. at that time i never had any corals so please keep that in mind..I also never went through a cycle
 
#12 ·
lol, yep. I took a jump with my snowmobile and decided that the landing wasn't looking that great so I bailed from about 10 feet in the air. When I landed in the snow, there was a stump or something that my left foot hit good and solid. My right foot didn't hit anything. I broke the big leg bone where it joins the ankle and a little bone in the ankle. The big bone was split up like a log and the 2 split parts weren't lined up. They operated on it for about 3 hours. I even got an epideral for the pain... or I should say so that I wouldn't have pain after the surgery. It's amazing how little pain I have had. The CT scans show that the surgery went really good and everything is in it's proper place so hopefully I won't have too much for extra problems with it.

Thanks for the get well wishes. :)



I do vacuum my sand everytime I do a water change but it doesn't pick up the red things. It's like something that has grown onto the sand.
 
#10 ·
Sorry to hear about the ankle. I hope you heal up quickly from it.

New sand and rock lifts may be just what you are looking for then. :)
Ya probably... Right now I've got the rocks dug through the sand and sitting on the bottom of the tank so I wouldn't have to worry about a slide but rock lifts would be a good idea.

I broke my ankle good. I've got 8 screws and a plate in there now. Probably off work for 3 months.
 
#14 ·
Can you get a picture of the "red things"? If you change it out, change it out all at once. You can make simple rock lifts with 4" or 6" PVC pipe. Drill four holes at 90 degrees to one another in the end of the pipe, cut it to length. Its a lot easier to drill the holes before cutting the pipe to length. The length to cut it would be approximately 1" longer than the depth of your sandbed. Then it holds it up off the sand. The holes let water/fish travel through the pipes and the water doesn't get stagnate in there.

There are also threads that show how to make an acrylic rock lift. They are clear so you don't see them but the main issue I don't like about them is the ease of moving the rocks around. With the PVC pipe, if you want to move the rock, you simply move the pipe. With the acrylic rock lifts, you are limited as to where you can place the risers that the rocks sit on. When you want to move one, you have to dig down and find a hole, clean it out, move the riser, then replace the sand back around it, then add the rock and hope you got it in the right place.

Good luck with it.
 
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