Moving sand into new tank

[Theulli]

Question - I have a nice, established 20 gallon cube that I am shutting down and incorporating into a larger tank. I'd *like* to move the sand from that tank into the new one, to help with cycling, not let the critters die (just discovered a thriving and horrifying spaghetti worm this week, which was fun), etc.

Is there a downside to putting the old sand on top of the new sand, even if the old sand may have been at the bottom of about two inches of sandbed in the previous tank?

I very well may be overthinking this - I just don't want to miss something obvious and then, oh look, everything in the old sand died off.

Thanks!

 

[lapin]

You could try and remove the sand into a bucket of salt water. Little by little and sort thru it for critters.
Then I would rinse it good with a lot of tap water before adding it to your new tank. Save a cup of un-rinsed sand for the new tank too.

 

[Pistondog]

Question - I have a nice, established 20 gallon cube that I am shutting down and incorporating into a larger tank. I'd *like* to move the sand from that tank into the new one, to help with cycling, not let the critters die (just discovered a thriving and horrifying spaghetti worm this week, which was fun), etc.

Is there a downside to putting the old sand on top of the new sand, even if the old sand may have been at the bottom of about two inches of sandbed in the previous tank?

I very well may be overthinking this - I just don't want to miss something obvious and then, oh look, everything in the old sand died off.

Thanks!

Thread 'Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/official-sand-rinse-and-tank-transfer-thread.230281/
Rinse it.

 

[Garf]

I’ve just rinsed the sand in tank water and put it on top of the new stuff before, no big shakes. Folks tend to advise rinsing it in tap water and RO now. Give it a few weeks and you probably won’t notice any difference between both methods. Whatever you find easiest.