sand question

coralreefer

coralreefer

Active Member
i am transfering all of my livestock from one tank to another and i was wondering if when i transfer the sand could i mix it up in a seperate container to get the debris out and then put just the sand (not the water i rinsed it out in) in the next tank without causing a mini cycle?
thanks
 
d-dzel

d-dzel

Member
Bump
I also want to know about this because I'll be moving to another place 30 min away and I don't know If I need to remove the sand or not from the tank
 
detane

detane

Member
Originally Posted by coralreefer
http:///forum/post/2988063
i am transfering all of my livestock from one tank to another and i was wondering if when i transfer the sand could i mix it up in a seperate container to get the debris out and then put just the sand (not the water i rinsed it out in) in the next tank without causing a mini cycle?
thanks
Yes you can. The bacteria is living in the sand not in the water. So as long as you keep that sand warm and with water flow your good to go.
 
coralreefer

coralreefer

Active Member
Originally Posted by mudplayerx
http:///forum/post/2991754
Sounds good. You will most likely incur a mini-cycle regardless of how the ssand is transfered though.
im just gonna mix it up in a seperate container and then put it in the new tank
i dont think that will cause a mini cycle
 
mudplayerx

mudplayerx

Active Member
Originally Posted by coralreefer
http:///forum/post/2991756
im just gonna mix it up in a seperate container and then put it in the new tank
i dont think that will cause a mini cycle
The thing is the bacteria in the sand are stratified. Some are anaerobic, some are aerobic. When the sand is disturbed the ones that are harmed by oxygen will die and the ones that need oxygen and get shuffled to the bottom will die.
This will more than likely cause a mini-cycle. It may be so small to be unnoticed by your livestock, but it will happen.
 
mudplayerx

mudplayerx

Active Member
Originally Posted by coralreefer
http:///forum/post/2991762
so if it happens when i mix up the sand, will it harm my fish and corals?
I moved my tank from my parents house to my apartment when I moved out. This was a 10 minute drive away. This caused a cycle that lasted about a week.
While the tank was cycling I kept all of my livestock in ten gallon tanks. However, there were two enormous shrooms that I had no choice but to put into the main tank while it was cycling. They looked horrid but they survived the ordeal and totally recovered.
I would never have put my sensitive corals in during the cycle. Definately not my fish or inverts/snails.
 
coralreefer

coralreefer

Active Member
so should i just put some water in the new tank from my dt and let it cycle with the sand and rock while my other tank is set up without sand or rocks?
 
jchmiel

jchmiel

Member
I transfered from a 40 to a 75 and my bad mistake was to transfer the sand last (well the last was the rocks so I could stack them). Nothing died thank god, but the water was cloudy for about two days. My tank did about a month cycle and finally everything was happy. I would say transfer the sand and let it settle for a day. Then put everything in.
 
coralreefer

coralreefer

Active Member
so if i mix the sand up in a seperate container, put the sand in the new tank with some water and no filtration, and then after a month, put all my livestock in?
also, what if i dont mix up the sand at all? what if i leave the sand the way it was in the old DT in terms of what sand is on the top and bottom?
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
IMO if you really want to use the old sand you should clean it good. That means rinsing and rinsing util all of the accumulated detritus is gone. This will kill the bacteria in it and any pods worms etc. but if you don't do this you will get an ammonia spike when you move it. Can't say how big of one, but you will get one.
If it were me I would discard the old sand altogether. But some new dry sand, rinse it well to get the dust out and put it in the new tank. Save as much of the water as you can from the old tank. Place you new sand and your rocks and old water in the new tank and fill the rest of the way with newly mixed, Ph-Sg-and temperature balanced water.
Oh yeah, use some of the old tank water as a cleaning station to take your rocks and swish them around in before going into the new tank. This will help to get the accumulated detritus off of them for a nice new start.
JMO
 
coralreefer

coralreefer

Active Member
spanko, very good idea
a couple of questions though:
1. if i add all new sand, wont that decrease the amount of nitrifying bacteria i have in the tank?
2. would there be a problem if i mixed old sand with new?
thanks
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
1. Yes but not much. If you only has a SSB (shallow sand bed) around 3" or less the only bacteria you have are the nitrifying ones and they live in about the top 1/8" of the bed. Most of your bacteria is going to reside in the rocks and on any hard surfaces of your equipment that will be transferred over.
2. Yes there would still be all of the old detritus if you did not rinse the heck out of the old sand. What you could do is add the new sand to the new tank then carefully take some of the top layer of the old sand and put it in the new tank to help "seed" the new sandbed. You just really want to be careful not to stir up the old bed and get all of the nastiness into the new tank or you will get some sort of ammonia spike.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Yup that would be my best suggestion. Let's have some others chime in though to see what other options you may have.
 
mudplayerx

mudplayerx

Active Member
Originally Posted by coralreefer
http:///forum/post/2992865
if i buy sand from xxx, should i rinse it in fresh water to kill any harmful bacteria?
You can rinse the sand but don't pay extra for "live" sand and then do this.
When you get the sand, take a small amount and pour vinegar on it. If it fizzes then you have real aragonite sand.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top