Moving Live sand

1990jpyj

1990jpyj

Member
ok so i found some free sand on CL from a guy breaking down his 90g tank. i would like to know if it is really safe for me to take out all my CC(newb mistake) and replace it with his used sand. all this is in my 55g
i know that i herd somewhere that its best to not disturbe the sand but i know that this stuff will get really disturbed. i would like to be able to just pull out all my CC and put in the LS.
i plan on:(if its ok)
removing all fish, inverts, livestock-put in bucket (hopfully no more then 1 hour(with heater, filter and such)
removing all LR(placing in buckets)
pulling out almost all water except for 1" above CC
Vacuuming out all CC(probly use wet vac or hand scooping not 100%)
then replacing with about 5g of water
add used LS (50ish lbs)
fill tank half way with water
add in 75% of my LR
add more water
replace live stock
add more water
finish LR
then top off with new water/waterchange time
then enjoy

i am hoping this works if there are any flaws please let me know i told this guy i would get back to him tomorrow night on if i would like to take the stuff. so any help would be great.
 
sickboy

sickboy

Active Member
I don't see why this would be a bad idea. These steps are the same that my friend and I took when transferring his tank from a 55 to a 90. Save as much water as you possibly can to put back in the tank, and wash the sand with fresh saltwater before putting it in. Also, your fish should be fine without a filter in the bucket as this might add more stress if the filter is too strong.
 
locoyo386

locoyo386

Member
Originally Posted by sickboy
http:///forum/post/2892315
I don't see why this would be a bad idea. These steps are the same that my friend and I took when transferring his tank from a 55 to a 90. Save as much water as you possibly can to put back in the tank, and wash the sand with fresh saltwater before putting it in. Also, your fish should be fine without a filter in the bucket as this might add more stress if the filter is too strong.
Hi there,
Does bacteria live in/on the subtrate? If so, disrupting the subtrate will not affect the bacteria? Or will not affect it enough to the point that you would be worried about it?
 
oceansidefish

oceansidefish

Active Member
I would not transfer ANY live sand. I would always use new. Old live sand could have cyano or other undesirable things lurking that you don't want in your tank. If this guy ever had a problem, you will get it. You can also get some nitrate issues depending on his bed depth. Suck it up and buy new. Or as they say. The cheap becomes expensive.
 
sickboy

sickboy

Active Member
Originally Posted by locoyo386
http:///forum/post/2892397
Hi there,
Does bacteria live in/on the subtrate? If so, disrupting the subtrate will not affect the bacteria? Or will not affect it enough to the point that you would be worried about it?
As long as it stays in saltwater (correct temp, salinity, etc.) it should not matter for aerobic bacteria. Anaerobic bacteria in a DSB might be a different situation.
 
sickboy

sickboy

Active Member
Originally Posted by Oceansidefish
http:///forum/post/2892706
I would not transfer ANY live sand. I would always use new. Old live sand could have cyano or other undesirable things lurking that you don't want in your tank. If this guy ever had a problem, you will get it. You can also get some nitrate issues depending on his bed depth. Suck it up and buy new. Or as they say. The cheap becomes expensive.
But new "live sand" is not really live sand. It is sand with bacteria, but not micro fauna, etc. The cyano and other undesirables could be taken care of with a saltwater rinse. I believe the nitrate probs would also be taken care of with the rinse.
It is recommended that you take live sand from an established aquarium to seed your "fake" bagged live sand, I think it would be a benefit to get established live sand, unless of course it is covered in algae or cyano.
 
ilovemytank

ilovemytank

Member
I would never do it. Moving sand is always a risk especially when there is an imediate replacing of the live stock. Its possible, but always a large risk. The biggest reason to say "no" to this is because you don't know the gentleman and the history of the sand. What if he used copper based medications ? Never a good idea for this risk when buying known product is so cheap. Bagged sand has alls the beginnings to start all the beneficial bacterias you need.It might take slightly longer to establish but in this hobbie trouble always comes from rushing things. You can always depend on the history of the purchased sand. Good luck.
 
oceansidefish

oceansidefish

Active Member
Originally Posted by sickboy
http:///forum/post/2892781
But new "live sand" is not really live sand. It is sand with bacteria, but not micro fauna, etc. The cyano and other undesirables could be taken care of with a saltwater rinse. I believe the nitrate probs would also be taken care of with the rinse.
It is recommended that you take live sand from an established aquarium to seed your "fake" bagged live sand, I think it would be a benefit to get established live sand, unless of course it is covered in algae or cyano.

Correct....but you should only take sand from someone with a reputable tank and tank history.... Not some guy giving it away for free. I don't know that cyano would leave with a simple rinse. It itself is a bacteria and could pop right back up. You could be scooping all kinds of the wrong things if its the wrong person.
 
1990jpyj

1990jpyj

Member
ok well i told him no because of the way his sand looked. not what my GF would like it to look like. she wants nore of the agrogat(not sure size but i have some in my nano she likes) look and his was sand(fine). so now my next question is:
could i just buy 2 bags of agrogate and put it in there and be fine without it cycling?
i would get like 5#'s or less of r"live sand" from my LFS to seed it. i just dont want a cycle. and i hate having to vac the CC
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
IMO ditch the CC like your plan says in post #1. Add in dry rinsed aragonite. Put everything back in. Your rock work will seed the new sand with nitrifying bacteria pods and other critters without the need to add any live sand.
 
sickboy

sickboy

Active Member
Originally Posted by Oceansidefish
http:///forum/post/2892849
Correct....but you should only take sand from someone with a reputable tank and tank history.... Not some guy giving it away for free. I don't know that cyano would leave with a simple rinse. It itself is a bacteria and could pop right back up. You could be scooping all kinds of the wrong things if its the wrong person.
Oops, I must have missed the part about not knowing the person the sand came from. In this case, I probably wouldn't do it either. Sorry, my bad.
 
1990jpyj

1990jpyj

Member
ok so then it is safe for me to just clean up the agrogate let it dry. and then put it in my tank. sounds good now i have a project that i can do soon.
thanks
 
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