Switching from FO to Reef

[Indy]

Last March, when I started getting back into saltwater after a 20 year hiatus, I thought that I’d do a fish only tank and set my new 75 gal corner tank up accordingly. Now, as you might have guessed, I’m ready to change it to a reef tank. So, here’s the questions…

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• I want to change out the coral gravel substrate to live sand…. My tank is populated with a Kole tang, a pair of Percula clowns, Yellow Four-spot Wrasse, Jack Blenny, Emerald Crab, various snails and hermit crabs. I also have about 70 lbs. of live rock. Does anyone have suggestions on how best to scoop up the coral gravel substrate and replace with the live sand? I’m hoping to do it about ¼ of the tank at a time (moving the LR around) over the course of a day.
• I’m currently running an Eheim professional II canister filter (I’m not sure what it is rated, but it seems to be plenty for my tank). I plan on changing that out to a Sump/Refugium filter configuration. Does the refugium need to be “aged” before I switch over from the canister?
• What size box/sump do I need for my 75 gal tank?
• I’m also planning on moving my Aqua Medic Turboflotor 1000 from the tank to the filter box along with my heater. Is that a good idea?

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Thanks for any suggestions you might have.

[Cosine]

Well my first thought is this
Are your rocks laying on the CC or are they resting on something else and the substrate is just around it?
That will make a difference on how easy it will be to get cc out.
A tip on getting the sand in though. I've never tried this but if you get a tube of PVC or similar plastic-like pipe you can poor the sand through that so it goes right to the bottom with less mess.
For a sump/fuge something long works well I hear. If you have an old tank hanging around that could work. When I upgrade soon to a 120 I'm using my 30g as the sump. However if I didn't have it I'd probably go with one of these long 40g. Not sure about dimensions but they are 4 feet long and shallow. I think that would work well.
Do you have a skimmer or plan on getting one. Corals will appreciate it!
Well good luck
more advice will come

[Indy]

The LR is resting in the cc. Good idea re the PVC... I'll keep that in mind.

I’m also planning on moving my Protein Skimmer (Aqua Medic Turboflotor 1000) from thetank to the filter box along with my heater. Is that a good idea?

[SPC]

Originally Posted by Indy

Jack Blenny

Your age is showing through, Indy . Do you have a Rochester in there too?

Does anyone have suggestions on how best to scoop up the coral gravel substrate and replace with the live sand? I’m hoping to do it about ¼ of the tank at a time (moving the LR around) over the course of a day.

I wouldn't do it this way because of a couple of factors.

1. Substrate that has been in a tank (and many places in nature too) can harbor pockets of hydrogen sulfide. Now this may not be the situation in your case, but personally I wouldn't take any chances.

2. Stress to the animals x 4.

If it were my tank I would remove all of the livestock to temporary holding and replace the substrate all at one time, followed by a 50% water change.
I’m currently running an Eheim professional II canister filter (I’m not sure what it is rated, but it seems to be plenty for my tank). I plan on changing that out to a Sump/Refugium filter configuration. Does the refugium need to be “aged” before I switch over from the canister?

• I am not totally sure what you mean by "aged", but if you are talking about "aging" bio balls or some such biological media then you should be aware that the vast majority of reefers don't use these in their systems.

What size box/sump do I need for my 75 gal tank?

• The biggest you can fit . Seriously though, most reefers use their sumps as a place to hide equipment (skimmers, heaters etc...), and some actually use part of the sump for a refugium, so actually what you plan on using it for will determine the size/configuration of it.
• Steve