Question About Sandbed

[thunderdood]

I'm going to be moving my 20 gallon tank and I have about 40 lbs of sand which is makes the sandbed about 2 inches deep. I was curious if anyone knows if there may be issues with removing maybe half the sand after I drain most of the water out to move the tank? The tank has been running for about 4 years.

 

[AcroNem]

It would likely cause an influx in your bacteria populations, and you'll likely see an ammonia spike. When moving tanks it's best to try not to churn up the sand bed. Do you keep the sand fairly clean? If it's packed with detritus it will be an even bigger issue.

 

[cloak]

Your best bet IMO is to siphon out the top 1/4" or so and put this in a bucket of saltwater. Remove the rest of the sand and give it a good rinse with the garden hose. Once it's clean go ahead and add that to your tank and then put the "live" sand on top of that.

 

[thunderdood]

Yes, the sand is clean and I have good flow along the rear of the tank and no algae growth on the sandbed.

 

[thunderdood]

What I'm trying to possibly avoid is carrying a tank with 40 lbs of sand with a little water down the stairs and then back up some stairs when I take the tank to a new place.

 

[GoVols]

If it's a 4 year old bed this would be the opportunity to replace, with all new live sand.

 

[brandon429]

Agreed

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/t...ead-aka-one-against-many.230281/#post-2681445

 

[cwalton00]

Vacuum it all out and replace with new sand when you move the tank.

 

[slim_santa_chris]

I've recently did a tank swap with a 2 inch sand bed. it was all stired up and mixed around and I never got an ammonia spike.

 

[thunderdood]

Thanks everyone for your input. I'm leaning towards a bare bottom tank for the move. When I move to the new place it will be temporary (about 6 months) so I do want to pack somewhat light. I'm running a fuge with a Kessil light that has explosive growth for the Chaeto (at least tripled in the first month).

 

[GoVols]

Thanks everyone for your input. I'm leaning towards a bare bottom tank for the move. When I move to the new place it will be temporary (about 6 months) so I do want to pack somewhat light. I'm running a fuge with a Kessil light that has explosive growth for the Chaeto (at least tripled in the first month).

Just an Fyi...
I used to slowly replace my old sand once a year.
2 years ago I slowly pulled out the old sand and just never got around to putting in the new sand.

So, I've been BB ever since and I don't see myself going back to a sand bed.