Can sand be changed out?

[Northstar24]

Okay, so I started my tank a few months ago and the sand is the stuff from Marco rocks, it came as part of a package when I bought dry rock

This stuff is so fine that even a small powerhead kicks it up and has lead to the water having a slight haze, and the sand got everywhere, including the overflows, the bottom of my sump, and in the skimmer body.

I want to switch to something a little heavier I currently have about 2 inches of this stuff on the bottom of my tank, with some spots a little deeper due to the sand shifting around

Can I swap some of this crap out for something a little heavier that wont constantly blow around and cloud things up? My main concern is releasing the sulfide gas I've read about in other threads, I don't know how long a tank needs to run before that is an issue.

Assuming I can swap it out, I can just use a cup to grab the sand currently in the tank to pull it out, and replace with something heaver (some sort of aragonite sand) Correct?

Should I pull all of this crap out, or pull out some of it and put heavier stuff on top?

 

[dcantucson]

I removed my fine sand by siphoning it out with a large 1 1/2" hose. It came out very quickly and so did everything in it. Had to replace about 40% of my water after wards but I didn't have any problems what so ever. I replace the substrate with larger stuff too.

 

[reeffreak]

I have had the same problem as you.I put a layer of larger grain on top and in the corners where it really won't stay down,I will be putting some bigger pieces using GARF grunge.

 

[sen5241b]

If a sand bed is old it may hold a lot of detritus. Some people have stirred up old sand beds and caused a huge cycle resulting in a mass die off. Deep stir a small section and look at how much detritus comes out.

 

[Northstar24]

Its mostly the front corner that has issues. The tank has only been up since September, so its not super old, but probably old enough. I'm going to try and suck out the sand in that corner during my next water change, and replace it with some heavier sand. I'm more worried about the sulfide gas I've read about, how long does it normally take for that to be created in the bottom of the sand bed?

Thanks for the suggestions

 

[fastrd400]

I had to do the same thing, but mine was too coarse for my tastes. You can do as Dcan said and use tubing to get it out quickly. If you are worried about releasing any gases, or starting a cycle I would take it out over the course of 3 or 4 water changes.