i was thinking about changing the substrate in my tank i read somewhere its a good idea every few years, now i have araganite? very small type of stone but not as nice looking as sand any suggestions or am i crazy to even think about it? tank is a 75 gal AG with about 100-150 lbs live rock,about 15 acros&montis any thoughts?
changing substrate
- Thread starter ollie51
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Herefishyfishy
Smart Bass
I prefer sand to larger particle size. Just a preference and a belief that larger size allows more accumulated decomposing material.
Reefergeorge
Well-known member
Taging along. Im thinking about going from sand to araganite so I can add more flow, But will see what others say.
Herefishyfishy
Smart Bass
Many definitions to aragonite. I use fine aragonite sand. What do you mean by aragonite, is yours like gravel? Changing substrate in a set up tank can be done, but must be done carefully and slowly or you will cloud the tank and start a new mini-cycle. Best to vacuum out the old in sections, and replace with a funnel and hose or using bowls lowered to the bottom before pouring.
what i have is like tiny gravel not fine as sand i think my problem is the lack of room my tank is crowded and i probably could not get livestock out due to rock which i think would make a huge mess since its been in place for about 4 years i wonder could you replace only a top layer and replace with sand or is that not a good idea?
Herefishyfishy
Smart Bass
You can do that, the sand will gradually mix though
DonW
R.I.P.
I would just siphon it out a little at a time through a filter sock. Once its all gone then add sand in its place a little at a time.
No matter how you do it its going to make a mess.
Don
No matter how you do it its going to make a mess.
Don
blind1993
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2007
- Messages
- 177
you can but after a year the sand will go to the bottom and the aragonite will come up top.
Changing substrates is pretty common.
In general there are two schools of thought. One says do it "gradual" with multiple small changes over a long period of time. The other says do it "fast" with one quick tank tear down .. switch the substrate .. and then set it back up.
Both methods have valid arguements .. the slow is based in large part on trying to preserve tank stability .. the fast would argue that messing with your tank multiple times places much more stress on the livestock than one quick tear down. What works is often based on your level of experience and your particular situation.
If I had a large grained susbtrate in a 75 I would go with the "fast" method. I would place my livestock in an apppropriate container .. then place my live rock and most of my SW in a new rubbermaid trash can. I would place some of the top layer of my "large grained susbtrate" in some nylon stockings and then place in the rubbermaid along with the live rock.
Toss the remaining sand and the water (which will be filthy) ... replace the substrate and then slowly place some of the SW back into the tank .. place your live rock .. then place the nylon stockings filled with your old substrate on top of your new substrate (this should help seed you new sand as well as mitigate water quality issues .. toss the stockings after a couple of weeks). Re-start your filters etc and when water temp/specs are OK put in your livestock.
If you plan correctly you can do the switch out in less than two hrs.
Hope this helps.
In general there are two schools of thought. One says do it "gradual" with multiple small changes over a long period of time. The other says do it "fast" with one quick tank tear down .. switch the substrate .. and then set it back up.
Both methods have valid arguements .. the slow is based in large part on trying to preserve tank stability .. the fast would argue that messing with your tank multiple times places much more stress on the livestock than one quick tear down. What works is often based on your level of experience and your particular situation.
If I had a large grained susbtrate in a 75 I would go with the "fast" method. I would place my livestock in an apppropriate container .. then place my live rock and most of my SW in a new rubbermaid trash can. I would place some of the top layer of my "large grained susbtrate" in some nylon stockings and then place in the rubbermaid along with the live rock.
Toss the remaining sand and the water (which will be filthy) ... replace the substrate and then slowly place some of the SW back into the tank .. place your live rock .. then place the nylon stockings filled with your old substrate on top of your new substrate (this should help seed you new sand as well as mitigate water quality issues .. toss the stockings after a couple of weeks). Re-start your filters etc and when water temp/specs are OK put in your livestock.
If you plan correctly you can do the switch out in less than two hrs.
Hope this helps.
Last edited:
As stated .. the "slow" method proponents rely heavily on stability .. however I also think they discount the chaos and related negative impact on livestock by constantly adding/removing substrate. The method I have suggested temporarily retains the upper section of the substrate along with the aerobic bacteria and infauna which should mitigate issues normally associated with a total substrate change.
seahawkone
Active member
I use a mixed size sandbed for the top layer Jaubert system.I vaccum out about 40lb of fine sand every year. This is how I replace. Take dry sand rinse in tap water then rinse in R/O drain cover in water from my tank.Before I add sand I turn protien skimmer on high startup fresh waterpolisher no powder added. Turn chiller off. You would have to adjust for filters sumps etc.I add 4to6 cups at the time as noted above use bowl I use large mug load with sand lower to bottom dump slow. Don't cloud to point you can't see out from one end of tank to the other. This does'nt seem to stress any of my livestock.Not a complete S/B change out but hope it helps.
