I currently have a 90 gal reef with 150 lbs of live rock that has been set up for about 10 years. It has been a bare bottom tank all this time but thought I would like the looks of the media bottom. I have a skimmer, 20 gal sump, denitrator with 6 VHO bulbs. Can I make this transition and if so what will I be getting my self into? Will this require more attention than the bare bottom? Will I need more equipment to make this work? What type of media is the best? How will I clean the detritus from the bottom of the tank? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
this transition will take a little effort, your going to have to take all the rock out and add your sand. your gonna wanna want fine sand approx the size of sugar (in my opinion) as far as depth I would go with at least 4 inches, this will give you anaerobic zones for your bacteria to grow. sand does not take any more care than a BB if will take a little while for the sand to be populated with bacteria and critters. also you do not want ot bury your rock in the sand. you want to gently place them on the sand. some people even sent the rocks on pedestals so they barely touch the sand allowing flow under the rocks. but once you get your sand in and rocks set keep an eye on the parameters you may have some spikes just because of the transition. but you should be allright.
its not completly nessesary to remove everything to add the sand subtrate but it would be nessesary to rince it well before adding it to your tank.arganite substrate is the best buffering substrate as sylicate has no buffering properies and is purly asthetic to reduce clouding if the water due to adding sand use a long acrylic tube place one end on the bottom of the tank and pour the sand through it so it will land only where you want it.its best do add the sand after the live rock anyways do to lr creating dead areas in the substrate.you may still get a bit of clouding but nothing like it would but pouring water on to it
Thanks to all. Removing the rock will not be a problem, I've been looking for a reason to rearrange my aquascape. About how long will it take to get the substrate established? What type of critters will I then need to keep the substrate in fine shape?
After adding your sand,I would got to a LFS or a fellow reefer and get you a nice big cupful of sand from a well established tank.That will seed your sand bed
with the fauna you need.
Thanks everyone for your advise. I know I have a bunch of pods in the system but I didn't know if I had to buy benifical worms etc. to keep the substrate healthy. I'm looking forward to seeing the white bottom instead of the bare bottom. In most cases these could be one of the same.
Bare bottom to sand bottom?
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Thanks everyone for your advise. I know I have a bunch of pods in the system but I didn't know if I had to buy benifical worms etc. to keep the substrate healthy. I'm looking forward to seeing the white bottom instead of the bare bottom. In most cases these could be one of the same. 
