[jay allen]

i have a 72 gallon bow front saltwater tank, it has ben set up for a month now
i have crushed coral as substrate and a few pieces of live rock and couple of fish. I want to change subsrate to sand what would be the easiest way yo do so??????
Also i bought 4 pieces of live rock 1 has an aptasia anenome on it i heard taking the rock out and running it in hot water will kill it is that a good sulotion>>

[Leddy]

I recently did the same thing to my 80gal. You're gonna have fun! Actually its not that bad, All I did was take the rock and fish out, and enough water as to keep the rock submerged. I put the fish in a 10gal for the time being. I just used 2 30gal. storage containers, and I put a PH in each for the rock, i think you could use an air stone and pump even. Get as much of the CC substrate out. I had a mix of sand and CC, so I sifted out as much sand as I could, and used it to seed the new sand substrate. I had to keep the fish and rocks out of the tank for a few days until the tank cleared up and I could see what I was doing. All in all its really not too bad, just a pain ya know. As for the aiptasia, Its funny cause I had one for a while that never reproduced, it got to the point where I was thinking it wasnt in fact aiptasia. After I did the CC swap for sand, I'd notice the aiptasia in different hiding spots. I caught it in the act once, and siphoned it out. I noticed 2 very small aiptasia's the next day, got 2 peppermint shrimp, and haven't had a problem since. I don't think you're gonna want to put LR under hot water, I'd search for a more effective way. Good luck, and Welcome to Reefland! I'm sure you'll get answers to many questions on this site.



Leddy

[jay allen]

I am going todo the switch from cc to sand do i have to do live sand or just plain white sand will do. Also i have another 29 gal tank been set up for like 2 weeks now could i transfer fish in that. I was going to scoop out the cc overnight then tom will go and get the sand. but worried because the other tank is not yet cycled and i have a 16 ich snowflake eel i just bought ... what the best way to put the sand in ....also what is a ph???

[Reefer769]

no the tank thats been up for 2 weeks is not cycled and could seriously tress your fish. just buy a cheap rubbermaid container to hold your rock and fill it so the rock is submereged with your tank water, and put your fish in a seperate one and fill that up with your tank water. then do the switch and add all of the rock/fish back and fill it back up with water have fun

[orion25]

I would let the tank Cycle before the change. This way your LR will be able to help with the switch.


After you tank is cycled, remove the LR to a container that will hold it and allow it to be covered with tank water. Then put the tank water in the container so that it covers the rock and add a powerhead and an airstone. Then scoop out all the CC you can and trash it. Put any live critters you have in the LR Container. Put any fish in a 10g tank (about $10 at any pet store) with a piece of LR and a powerhead.

Then add the sand to the aquarium. Get a couple of pounds of Live Sand from your LFS or order some online (if you order go ahead and do it now) for later addition. You could also get some LS from a friend with an established aquarium.

Add new seawater to the tank carefully. You could place a sheet of Plastic (cut trash bag) over the sand bed to prevent a cloud. Remove the plastic after your tank is almost full and carefully spread the LS over the sandbed.

After the sandstorm has settled siphon a couple of gallons (10+) of water out of the tank and add the LR back to the tank. Then put some (enough to fill it) of the water that was in the LR container back to the Aquarium. Start up all of the main tank's filtration and powerheads.

Test the water in the Aquarium after 24 hours and if all is OK (0 Ammonia, Minimal nitrites & Nitrates) add the inverts (not Corals!).

Wait another 24 hours and test the water again. If all is still OK add the LR from the 10g tank and acclimate the fish as if you just got them from the LFS.

Test again and if all is OK add the corals.

During the entire process run your lighting as normal.

Finally, order a Detrivore kit from IPSF or Inland Aquatics ASAP!!!! It will help your sandbed become what you want it to be without any work on your part. Better yet, order one from each vendor.

[Airmotive]

Looks like you got a lot of advice on the sand...as for the aptasia, a little lemon juice (I imagine any citrus or weak acid will work) in a syringe worked instantly for me. It was a heck of a lot easier than trying to fish all the litle aptasia parts out of the nooks and cranies of the live rock too. An understanding vet can help you with obtaining a .5ml syringe (insulin syringe).

Running under hot water seems to me like a good way of turning live rock into base rock. Blowing up the entire golf course to kill the ground hog...

Also i bought 4 pieces of live rock 1 has an aptasia anenome on it i heard taking the rock out and running it in hot water will kill it is that a good sulotion>>[/quote]

[orion25]

I used a Super strength Kalk Mix to get rid of my Aptasia. A syringe allowed me to inject it into the offender and minimize the possibility of harming the rest of the aquarium.

[jay allen]

for a 72 gallon tank i have 65 pound will that be enough???/

[scubadude]

Originally Posted by jay allen

for a 72 gallon tank i have 65 pound will that be enough???/

I doubt it very seriously....depending on how deep you want your sandbed. I suggest a 3" SB and in order to do that according to Oceanic's standard dimensions for a 72g bowfront which is

72 gallon 'bowfront' / 288 liter: 48 1/2 inch by 18 inch by 23 inches high

You are looking at around 136 lbs of sand thats averaging 90lbs for cubic foot. some sands are heavier.. I personally would get atleast 150lbs if I had access to it....HTH :-)

Rocky