moving over to larger tank

[nihoa]

my question is about substrate. when i do the upgrade (33g - 50ish) im going to buy 30lb of new aragonite to start and then try and clean the 30lbs currently in the tank to add later. i dont want to shovel the current substrate into the new tank cus ill get an ammonia spike for sure. so two questions:
1. how do i rinse the new sand so i dont get the diatom bloom?
2. what do i do to the old substrate to prep it for the new tank? is it just a matter of rinsing it the same as the new stuff?

 

[lemonyx]

What I would do is scoop the first top 1" off your sand bed and keep it wet, you will re-seed your new sand with this. As far as washing out the old sand, just have it in buckets and use the hose, work the hose down into the bottom of the bucket and back to the top, swish it around and then do it over again. A couple of times for each bucket will be good to go.
As for that diatom - no way around it. Don't forget to wash the new sand as well before you dump it in.
HTH

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by Nihoa
http:///forum/post/3108637
my question is about substrate. when i do the upgrade (33g - 50ish) im going to buy 30lb of new aragonite to start and then try and clean the 30lbs currently in the tank to add later. i dont want to shovel the current substrate into the new tank cus ill get an ammonia spike for sure. so two questions:
1. how do i rinse the new sand so i dont get the diatom bloom?
2. what do i do to the old substrate to prep it for the new tank? is it just a matter of rinsing it the same as the new stuff?
Pull the rock out of the old tank. Arrange that, then lay the new sand down first. For the old sand, you rinse it in saltwater. You are going to add mostly new water into the new tank. Take water from the tank that you have now to rinse the sand. Add the saltwater, swish, pour the water out. Keep repeating that until it runs clear. Only do a small portion of sand at a time. Add the establishd sand on top of the new.
Originally Posted by lemonyx
http:///forum/post/3112417
What I would do is scoop the first top 1" off your sand bed and keep it wet, you will re-seed your new sand with this. As far as washing out the old sand, just have it in buckets and use the hose, work the hose down into the bottom of the bucket and back to the top, swish it around and then do it over again. A couple of times for each bucket will be good to go.
As for that diatom - no way around it. Don't forget to wash the new sand as well before you dump it in.
HTH
NEVER use a hose on established sand. It will kill all of the life in there.