Changes out the Deep sand bed

Its not a deep sand bed at 4 " its a mess but you actually did take a baster and go around the bed at so many Sq. inches at a time and blast the sand to clean it ? You do understand what the oxygenated water would be doing to the bed you now have and it would totally distroy a true sand bed . And you would have killed about everything in there..

 

What kind of issues are you noticing that is making you want to change the sand you have right now?
I have never had any problems with my sand bed effecting my water or livestock and I have had the same sand in my tank for over three years. If anything, you can add more sand as the aragonite sand does break down through time due to chemical processes as well as livestock inhabitants.
Adding a small amount at a time therefore you don't run the risk of killing the delicate and diverse livestock that resides within your benthic area of the tank.

 

With my new build I am going with a thin sand bed also. My thick bed now is a mess. So I don't blame you. Like others said though if you clean it or do other things you will lose any life in the sand. So if it does not have to be washed don't. But I don't blame you for not wanting to keep the bad stuff.

 

Why bother with sand at all? If I had to do it all over again I would go bare bottom.

 

For what its worth ! the best way to remove one DSB is to simply get a mask for your nose and a dash of some type of extract peppermint or vanilla to off set the putrid order and a barrel simply get it out. ASAP you can leave whats around behind the rocks and let that work and flush out .. and will also keep any little spikes lowered . Dig a hole and bury the sand . Or have every scavenger for 20 mils around your house . If you have a good power filter ? then fill that full of carbon and floss will help preserve some water and lower the smell in the house that will follow.

Bare Bottoms are O.K I find it boring and when we all went to the true Berlins thats when all this hype about L/R came into play as a had to have item then that was extrapolated over to live sand then bagged Lie sand and yadda yadda more ways to separate you from your money. But if you yank it out there will be little problems as long as you get it all at once .. The problem comes when that cap is busted and the carp rolls up and the stew starts to percolate for hrs until you get to it from work or where ever ..

 

I have not been able to get my No3 down, and I also have/had a big problem with inorganic Ph. Have noticed alot of gas bubbles building up, but that is minor reason. I made a mistake when trying to set up and plenum, i think that was my main issue.

Whatever my reasons, its done! 5.5 hr later, but done all the same. It gave me an excuse to redo my rock work. I am glad I did reuse my sand, it was gross!! It would have taken hours to wash this sand out. Here are some picx:
this after the change


before[this picture was taken between my MH ballest blowing out and getting my new light. But its all I have the shows the sand bed]

 

Ok so I cant figure out how everyone gets the pic into the post ohhh well. Here they are in attached form...sorry;D

 

I keep about 1"-1 1/2" of sand in my display tank and 6" regular DSB in the refugium. This works great for my water parameters and the tank looks nicer.

 

thanx, I do like the look of less sand. But I kinda miss some of the rock work I had.

 

That's a great looking tank you have. I do the same thing. Only a small amount of sand in the main tank and 6" in a 10 gal tank I use a fuge. If I ever need to change the sand I'll cap off the plumbing and divert all water to the sump. I can then change out all of the sand without impacting the main tank.