moving, cycling new sand

[tommy in jax]

hey guys. im moving in a month and have a question. ive had my 150 running fine for 3 months. all levels are great. however, i have crushed coral as my substrate and want to switch to live sand when i make the move to the new house.
do i need to go ahead and buy my live sand soon, and begin cycling it with about 20 or so gallons of my established water? this sand isnt ready to go like some people say, right? im looking at buying about 150lbs of caribsea live sand. thanks

 

[skate020]

if you do that, then it shouldnt cycle at all whn you move, you could risk it, but IMO do what you just said and you should be fine

 

[small triggers]

If you want to cycle it for a week or 2 before you do the move, that should do it as long as you have a heater and a powerhead or something for water movement and some kind of biological filtration. Personally, i would wait till i moved, add a few cups every other day (wont spike, and probably wont even cause a noticable increase in ammonia, but nitartes will go up a bit) and do that until your done adding) easier in the end, just more time consuming, but you can figure out exactly how much sand you want .....

 

[tommy in jax]

Originally Posted by small triggers
http:///forum/post/3169798
If you want to cycle it for a week or 2 before you do the move, that should do it as long as you have a heater and a powerhead or something for water movement and some kind of biological filtration. Personally, i would wait till i moved, add a few cups every other day (wont spike, and probably wont even cause a noticable increase in ammonia, but nitartes will go up a bit) and do that until your done adding) easier in the end, just more time consuming, but you can figure out exactly how much sand you want .....

thats a good idea. thanks.. for a 135, i should be looking at about....100 lbs?

 

[spanko]

IMO if you are switching from crushed coral to Aragonite, just purchase dry aragonite, not the live bagged stuff. Rinse it well then add it to your tank when you setup at the new place. Save a couple of cups of the crushed coral and seed the new dry sand with it. The live bagged stuff is not worth the expense IMO.

 

[tommy in jax]

Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/3169927
IMO if you are switching from crushed coral to Aragonite, just purchase dry aragonite, not the live bagged stuff. Rinse it well then add it to your tank when you setup at the new place. Save a couple of cups of the crushed coral and seed the new dry sand with it. The live bagged stuff is not worth the expense IMO.

nice. thats what i like to hear. savin some money always helps. thanks

 

[small triggers]

thats an even better idea Spanko! and no cycle,,,,,and cheaper, lol. upp i have a 150 with only about 75 lbs of sand its about 1-1.5 inches deep , but thats as deep as i want it..