transferring sand bed from running/cycled tank to new (same size) tank

irish1985

irish1985

New Member
Hi all, so I decided to switch from my 75 gallon rectangle tank to a 76 gallon half circle tank. Part of my reasoning is simply aesthetics, but the half circle also comes with better filtration and lighting, so on top of getting a really cheap price, it seems like a sweet deal.
Now I just spent about 2 hours reading various threads about transferring from one tank to another (will be going in the same spot in my house), and I feel like the SAND BED is a major gray area. Ideally, I want to transfer my water, rock, corals, and fish from my current setup into the new setup without creating a new cycle i.e. without killing anything. I’ve read so many mixed reviews about transferring the sand bed…some say to replace it entirely, some say to keep it entirely, and some say to keep a cup or two and replace the rest entirely…I also read some threads about rinsing it with salt water.
Admittedly, keeping my nitrates down has always been a huge battle (40+ ppm readings) so one of my concerns is that a boat load of new nitrates are going to be stirred up and introduced into the new tank upon a transfer of my old sand. And on the other hand, my concern about replacing the old sandbed with new sand is causing a new cycle that will kill off my livestock… I’m just not sure which direction to go here.
Off hand, I think the nitrate levels will EVENTUALLY lower in the new system, because of the better filtration (it actually has a skimmer which I’ve never had, UV which I’ve never had, + much better/up to date power heads).
Other notes:
- Keeping livestock in a QT while I ensure a safe transfer/potential cycle is unfortunately not an option.
- I currently have a very fine sand and it’s only about 1” deep (see photos).
- My current sandbed COULD be extremely old…I bought the tank (running) from someone on Craigslist about 9 months ago and am unsure how long he had it.
- I have plenty of mixed salt water and fresh RO water ready to go.
Thanks in advance!

 
oceandude

oceandude

Member
Why not transfer ~70% of your water to large containers, place L/R in one; place critters in another large container, (with a little less established water), with circulation and heater; use the remaining established water in the old tank and stir, stir, stir the sand...yeah it will look like chocolate milk with all the nasties in the water table; remove all the remaining water; push sand to side let it drain; remove remaining nasty water; place L/R in new tank, put the 'cleaned' L/S in new tank, add ~30% new water in new tank, pouring pretty slowly over the L/R, reuse the established water from container in the same way, add critters...throw out the water the critters were in because of the NH3 from the fishes and add some more new RODI Salt water..
***ensure the S.G is the same as the old established water and temp is about the same as well.
***have a little more new RODI Salt water just in case...if you are replacing 40 to 50% of the water with new RODI Salt it will be as if you have just done a real good water change in a tank with no worries we at times face of an old tank syndrome crash.
***The established water, L/R, L/S, critters don't care if it's a new vessel and will enjoy a new home which for all purposes is just a nice clean new home.
Enjoy and have fun with it. :)
 
irish1985

irish1985

New Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by oceandude http:///t/389438/transferring-sand-bed-from-running-cycled-tank-to-new-same-size-tank#post_3441882
Why not transfer ~70% of your water to large containers, place L/R in one; place critters in another large container, (with a little less established water), with circulation and heater; use the remaining established water in the old tank and stir, stir, stir the sand...yeah it will look like chocolate milk with all the nasties in the water table; remove all the remaining water; push sand to side let it drain; remove remaining nasty water; place L/R in new tank, put the 'cleaned' L/S in new tank, add ~30% new water in new tank, pouring pretty slowly over the L/R, reuse the established water from container in the same way, add critters...throw out the water the critters were in because of the NH3 from the fishes and add some more new RODI Salt water..
***ensure the S.G is the same as the old established water and temp is about the same as well.
***have a little more new RODI Salt water just in case...if you are replacing 40 to 50% of the water with new RODI Salt it will be as if you have just done a real good water change in a tank with no worries we at times face of an old tank syndrome crash.
***The established water, L/R, L/S, critters don't care if it's a new vessel and will enjoy a new home which for all purposes is just a nice clean new home.
Enjoy and have fun with it. :)
thanks oceandude!
 
bender77

bender77

Member
I say use a bit of old sand and new sand. I also say use new water. The old water in the tank has nothing in it for bio-filtration and contains the high nitrates and waste that you don't want. Put old water in a bucket and put your rocks and fish in the bucket. Then put some old sand and new sand in your new tank. Put your rocks and coral and new water in, matching temp, salinity and pH of old water. When everything has settled put in the fish. I've changed tanks this way and didn't have the problem with a new cycle. The majority of bacteria you need is on the live rocks and if you don't let it dry out and die off your cycle should be minimal. Have some water on hand for a water change just in case.
 
oceandude

oceandude

Member
If you take and drain ~50ish % directly from the water table, (you remove the nitrates from that which you leave in the tank to stir the bad juju and drain out that trash completely...adding the new...your ORP is still stellar), there is no harm in the other being 50ish% new RODI salt...just as if having a crash and doing a 50% change...you don't do 100% change.
Do it your way...it's cool, just passing on what I've done in many many of my personal tanks over the years and have done for many hobbyists with not one single critter lost.
To each his/her own though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top