Help with removing sand from my reef

[Thisseemsfishy]

I have had my tank for about 3 years and have decided to thin/remove most of my sand. Its a sand/crushed coral mix. How much should I take out and over what period of time? I do not want to cause any kind of spike so please help me out!

Thanks

[Agu]

How deep is your sand ? I have a shallow sand bed and usually siphon out a cup or two of dirty sand at every water change. With a deep sand bed you're better off removing it all at once while doing a huge water change.

jmo

[Thisseemsfishy]

How deep is your sand ? I have a shallow sand bed and usually siphon out a cup or two of dirty sand at every water change. With a deep sand bed you're better off removing it all at once while doing a huge water change.

jmo

About 3 - 4 inches.

To add to my initial question.... Should I even mess with it, unless I plan on removing all of it?

[Agu]

At 3 to 4 inches I'd recommend removing it all at once. After the top inch the sand is anaerobic and potentially laden with toxins.

[jprime84]

Is there a downside to not having any sand? What about in a refugium?

[Thisseemsfishy]

I've got about a 6 - 8"" sand bed in my fuge. I wouldn't ever not have any sand since it's a huge part of the bio filtration. I am wanting to remove my sand in my DT mainly for looks.


Anyone else have any good ideas about sand removal?