I 2nd that. You don't need to worry about getting all of it out, or even most of it out. A thin cover across the top will be just fine. It's when you get several inches of it stacked up that you begin to run into to trouble. If you have it 1/2 & 1/2, left to right, and you want to maintain that look, then scoop it out, replace it with sand then pour 1/4" to 1/2" back over the top of the half you wanted. If you have 1/2 & 1/2 top and bottom, assuming the CC is on top, you can remove most of it, replace it with sand if you like and then pour 1/4" to 1/2" back over the top to get the look you are going for.
As an aside, in my tank I have about 150lbs of sand surrounding about 40lbs of gravel extending from the center of the back of my tank. The gravel serves as breeding ground for pods, stars, worms and more. It does trap detritus but the critters moving through it seem to keep it under control as my levels are stable and spot on. CC is tough because it is too fine to allow critters to move through it but not fine enough to allow sifters to effectively stir it which over time leads to a nitrate factory. If you were using CC to create texture or a different look in your tank, you may consider using a small amount of aquarium gravel in the same way that I do. It will work much better than CC does. Just make sure you don't get gravel that has any heavy metals in it or that is painted and may flake off over time. You will want to make sure to use aquarium gravel.