New Sand

gfox · Oct 19, 2012

I am thinking about putting new sand in my reef tank.I have had it set up for 5 years now,i used old sand from a freinds tank 5 years ago.now i am not happy with it because he used a combonation sand puca shells crushed coral.now all the crushed coral and puca shells are on top.Would i cause any problems if i took out all of the old and replaced it with new?Any suggestions

jformani · Oct 20, 2012

You'll most likely have a algae bloom stirring up the old sand. Instead of removing all of it could you just add new sand on top of it?

revhtree · Oct 20, 2012

How deep is your current sand bed?

gfox · Oct 20, 2012

jformani said:
You'll most likely have a algae bloom stirring up the old sand. Instead of removing all of it could you just add new sand on top of it?

I think if i did that i would still get the puca shells and crushed coral back on top over time.I have been trying to suck that up with a hose during water changes after a few days it comes back to the surface.

gfox · Oct 20, 2012

revhtree said:
How deep is your current sand bed?

About 3 to 4 inches

gfox · Oct 21, 2012

Anyone have success with changing old sand for new?

MGoers · Oct 21, 2012

You will most likely have issues, as was previously stated. If you do I would be prepared to do a reasonably large water change and add filter socks if you don't have them already... If it has been bothering you I would go ahead and do it, no sense in not being happy about how your tank looks!

SeahorseKeeper · Oct 21, 2012

If it were me, I would consider replacing the sand over time. Do small portions of the sand bed and replace with new, always have extra saltwater on hand and check your parameters frequently. You can funnel the sand into the tank using a PVC pipe to reduce the sand storm.

BAUCE · Oct 22, 2012

take it out slowly during water changes

divewsharks · Oct 22, 2012

gfox said:
Anyone have success with changing old sand for new?

I've done it before, on a couple of different tanks. You need take it in steps. Break the tank up into sections (min of 4, more is better your tanks age) and during monthly water changes remove a section at a time and replace. As long as you go slow, you should be good.