Can you change Crushed Coral to Sand Safely???? PLEASE HELP - NITRATES TOO HIGH

[The Yellow Longnose]

Hi All,
My Mom's 180 tank keeps reading really high with the Nitrates and was told to change her substrate to sand... Has anyone heard about this idea?

Also, we have a 250 gal sump in the basement - (JUST DRILLED IN 2 WEEKS AGO AND WORKING GREAT) can we just put the crushed coral in there and in time take it out and get rid of it?

Thanks

[jeffberg]

I have done it in my 150 but removed cc half at a time and had seeded sand in a aireated container in my garage ready to take its place, no problems.

[spline9]

Same here. Did a change in my 29g. Had sand seeding in a 20g tank for a month or so. No issues during the change (except the expected sandstorm).