Moving a Deep Sand Bed

[beansell]

I will be moving in about a month and I plan on upgrading my 30 gallon Reef to a 75 gal. My current reef tank is about 7 years old and has had a DSB for about the last 6 years. I am worried about transferring the sand from the current tank into the new one (with new sand added, of course to make up the difference). Is there some bad stuff that has collected in the sand over the years that if I stir it up will result in problems??? Anyone have any experience with this?

 

[baloo6969]

yess, your going to be changing the layers of your bed...and that's bad.
that's the reason people who have DSB's never move them...and why DSB's should not be used in a DT..IMO...
why not use your existing 30gal with DSB as a fuge?

 

[nereef]

i agree. good idea on the fuge, baloo.

 

[beansell]

Thanks. You know I did not even think of using it as a fuge. Anyone know if a 30 long tank fits well in a 75 gallon stand? I assume it would, but I would hate to get to the point of moving that heavy tank of sand and not having it fit...

 

[teen]

if you dont use the 30 as a fuge, just dump the sand and start fresh.

 

[aztec reef]

if you don't use it as a fuge and if it's a DSB i would scoop some of the top layers of sand (avoid stirring too much) and dump the lower half of the sandbed.
now the top layer will be placed on the new DT, which will have some beneficial critters, it will help you cycle faster and you may have some left over fauna after you cycle the 75g..

 

[baloo6969]

yes the 30 will fit...i have a PS, Can filter, denitrator, sump/fuge, and room for 1 more thing...the options...lol
anyway, yea. if your going to use the sand, like aztec said, dump the bottom 1/2~2/3 of the Sand bed...it has bacteria in it that is BAD/GOOD, but should not be on the surface of the tank...
if you have a established DSB, use it...i'm just starting to see signs of my plenium/dbs buinding layers....giddy up!

 

[beansell]

I am really interested in going the using the 30 gal as a fuge route. I was originally considering a wet/dry, but this may work out better for me. Anyone have any suggestions on how to set this up. I am planning on getting a predrilled 75 w/overflows installed. Is it as simple as draining the show tank into the fuge and pumping the water back to the main tank (with the appropriate filtration, skimming, lighting on the fuge). I am not an expert on the details of a creating a beneficial refugium tank.

 

[tx reef]

The recommendation baloo gave is the best IMO. The sand bed would have to be stirred up a little to place baffles.....also a skimmer & return pump "chamber".
This is why I am glad I went bare bottom on my new reef......
Come to think of it, why not go bare bottom in the display and use the 30 as a remote DSB?

 

[baloo6969]

here's what i would do...you obviously can't put baffels in your 30 now with a DSB...so...
depending on what else you have to put under the tank, the stand height(mine is high enough that i could stand a 30 and a 10gal tank ontop of each other) this was my original idea...but then i used renogow's design for a sump/fuge
i would get a 10 or 15 gal tank.. and put it on a stand so it's above the fuge... i'd put baffles in it to trap the bubbles, and room put/hang a skimmer, put heaters, and other pumps in. then have a hole in it to drain into the fuge, then a return pump...in the fuge.

 

[beansell]

Thanks for the info!