Tank Transfer: Using old sandbed?

[Stones-Reef]

Question: I am transferring my existing 40 gallon reef tank to a 65 gallon and would like to use some of my old sand bed. What is the best way to do this? My plan is to only use the sand which I am able to thoroughly vacuum days beforehand and to ditch the rest. This leaves me with ~80% new sand to ~20% old sand. How would you go about combining them safely?

 

[OrionN]

I would use all new sand but add a few cups of the old sand to the new tank.

 

[BlazinNano]

I have always rinsed my sand out with rodi before transfer. I know it will flush out some good stuff but it flushed out the bad stuff as well. If you were only going with 20% as basically a seed I would still give it a quick rinse. You dont have to wash it out and make the water run clean but at least mix it up a little and get some of the nastiness out of it.

 

[Rjmul]

I did this a few months ago. I literally rinsed the old sand bed in my bathtub. Melevs reef recommended this I thought it was crazy, I took a chance. but it worked.
Non issue

 

[OrionN]

If you want to reuse the old sand, then you must thoroughly clean in in fresh water (buckload of water) then use it as new sand. I clean 1/2 gal of sand at a time in a 5 gal bucket. THOROUGHLY clean it with a garden hose until the rise water is clear then use it s dead sand. Save some of the lod sand to seed the new sand with.

 

[Stones-Reef]

Above all, I would like to retain at least some bacteria from my old sand bed to seed the new sand bed without harming my corals or fish. I wasn't initially planning on hosing it all down or soaking in RO, will that kill off all the beneficial bacteria and defeat the purpose? What are your thoughts? If it is possible to seed the new sand with old sand, how would you actually go about doing it on move day? Would you add both new sand and old sand at once and then add water, or should I add new sand first with water and allow to settle for a few days?

 

[OrionN]

A live sand bed is full of live animals like worms and other animals. With disturb and lack of Oxygen during tank take down and lack of water movemnt, they (most) will died. Once they died, there will be a crash of the tank and a lot of ammonia generated. Once this cycle form the ammonia is done, the now dead sand bed will continue to release nutrients for years to come. Sand bed have huge surface and a lot of room for animals and will have a lot more live animal in it, more than the very best of the live rock. That is why sand bed is so much better than rock to stabilized a tank. However, once the amount of life in it got into trouble and start to die , it is a problem without end.
Do not tr to move a sand bed that have been establish. It will be a huge problem for a new tank.
I have keep tank with DSB for 30 plus years and having DSB right now with my two system.

Save the old sand in a container with a lot of water and air stone to keep it oxygenated. Set up your new tank with the new sand, then add the old sand on top. This is to get the animals (the fauna) in the old sand bed to the new sand bed. Bacterial transfer is not really needed. You cannot keep the bacterial out.

THE MAIN REASON I KEEP LIVE SAND BED FOR THE FAUNA IN IT, NOT THE BACTERIAL. THE FAUNA IS WHY IT IS A LIVE SAND BED, NOT THE BACTERIAL.

 

[Stones-Reef]

A live sand bed is full of live animals like worms and other animals. With disturb and lack of Oxygen during tank take down and lack of water movemnt, they (most) will died. Once they died, there will be a crash of the tank and a lot of ammonia generated. Once this cycle form the ammonia is done, the now dead sand bed will continue to release nutrients for years to come. Sand bed have huge surface and a lot of room for animals and will have a lot more live animal in it, more than the very best of the live rock. That is why sand bed is so much better than rock to stabilized a tank. However, once the amount of life in it got into trouble and start to die , it is a problem without end.
Do not tr to move a sand bed that have been establish. It will be a huge problem for a new tank.
I have keep tank with DSB for 30 plus years and having DSB right now with my two system.

Thanks for your message, I appreciate it. Are you are saying it is not possible to safely add any of my old sand bed to my new sand?

 

[OrionN]

I added on my last post. Discard or thoroughly clean the old sand if you want to save money and not buying more sand.

 

[Born2beblack]

A live sand bed is full of live animals like worms and other animals. With disturb and lack of Oxygen during tank take down and lack of water movemnt, they (most) will died. Once they died, there will be a crash of the tank and a lot of ammonia generated. Once this cycle form the ammonia is done, the now dead sand bed will continue to release nutrients for years to come. Sand bed have huge surface and a lot of room for animals and will have a lot more live animal in it, more than the very best of the live rock. That is why sand bed is so much better than rock to stabilized a tank. However, once the amount of life in it got into trouble and start to die , it is a problem without end.
Do not tr to move a sand bed that have been establish. It will be a huge problem for a new tank.
I have keep tank with DSB for 30 plus years and having DSB right now with my two system.

Save the old sand in a container with a lot of water and air stone to keep it oxygenated. Set up your new tank with the new sand, then add the old sand on top. This is to get the animals (the fauna) in the old sand bed to the new sand bed. Bacterial transfer is not really needed. You cannot keep the bacterial out.

THE MAIN REASON I KEEP LIVE SAND BED FOR THE FAUNA IN IT, NOT THE BACTERIAL. THE FAUNA IS WHY IT IS A LIVE SAND BED, NOT THE BACTERIAL.

Thank you ive been 6 month on and years in fresh and this is uselful as i will be doing my first transfer soon

 

[Stones-Reef]

I added on my last post. Discard or thoroughly clean the old sand if you want to same money and not buying more sand.

I would like to transfer all of my corals and fish to my new tank in a day. Is this still possible to do without distressing my tank if I get a completely new sand bed as you suggest?

 

[fcmatt]

A new sand bed with just a few cups of old is the best solution. Sand is cheap relatively speaking. As long as the new tank is fully cycled and alk matches up nicely you can move as fast as you want. No different buying a piece of coral from a LFS and bringing it home. Acclimation should be easier because you control both tanks.

I would be worried disrupting an existing tank and trying to get the sand out while coral was still in it. Like a majority of the sand. A few cups is easy without disturbing the whole darn thing.

 

[OrionN]

40 and 65 gal is really small so moving from on to another should not be a problem. Is it going to to to the same place?
Assuming to put it back to the same place on the same stand, you can do it in a few hours. Just keep the temperature and salinity stable and the fish and coral will be fine.
You can get the sand seeded with bacterial easy by soak them for several days with the old tank water in buckets. Add a little old sand on top. Make sure you have plenty of water container to keep the fish, coral and rock. As long as the rock does not dry out, you won't have a new cycle.
I would empty 1/2 of the tank to container(s). Move rock corals and fish to these container make sure ou have circulation and heater. Remove the rest of the water, empty the sand then move the empty tank. Put the new tank in place, hook up all the plumbing. Add the sand water and rock, turn the pumps and heater on. Once the water is semi clear, and salinity and temperature match, move the corals and fish in.
You should fisnigh this in a few hours if you plan ahead. Make sure you have everything and dont have to run to the store to hunt for parts.

 

[OrionN]

Have plenty of water on hand appropriately heat up to tank temperature and salinity correct.

 

[Stones-Reef]

40 and 65 gal is really small so moving from on to another should not be a problem. Is it going to to to the same place?
Assuming to put it back to the same place on the same stand, you can do it in a few hours. Just keep the temperature and salinity stable and the fish and coral will be fine.
You can get the sand seeded with bacterial easy by soak them for several days with the old tank water in buckets. Add a little old sand on top. Make sure you have plenty of water container to keep the fish, coral and rock. As long as the rock does not dry out, you won't have a new cycle.
I would empty 1/2 of the tank to container(s). Move rock corals and fish to these container make sure ou have circulation and heater. Remove the rest of the water, empty the sand then move the empty tank. Put the new tank in place, hook up all the plumbing. Add the sand water and rock, turn the pumps and heater on. Once the water is semi clear, and salinity and temperature match, move the corals and fish in.
You should fisnigh this in a few hours if you plan ahead. Make sure you have everything and dont have to run to the store to hunt for parts.

This is exactly what I will do! Thank you sir.

 

[Stones-Reef]

For anyone interested, I'll be transferring from the Innovative Marine Nuvo 40 to the JBJ 65g AIO.

 

[OrionN]

Why not keep both?

 

[Ashish Patel]

Never say sand is New because its actually millions of years old. With that said never use the sand when doing a tank transfer immediately.Add it slowly and rinse it clean as suggested by Melev *good point by someone else on this thread*. Aslong as the sand runs 100% crystal clear and free of detritus you can reuse without any isssues.

 

[Stones-Reef]

Why not keep both?

One aquarium is enough for me!

 

[Dipan Desai]

I switched from a 100g to 187g tank. I had about 8 fish, SPS, and Soft corals and I had my system running the same day when I did the switch. I used all my old sand and rock and had no new cycle. Heres what you should do. Take about 3 - 4 cups of your sand to side to keep it live. The rest of the sand in small increments in a 5g bucket rinse until the water runs clear. Keep stirring and pour the water out until water is clear. When you switch to our new system add your rock scape first, then add your old live sand, followed by the 3-4 cups of sand you didnt rinse, and finally your new sand over all of it. Then fill our tank with your old water. Trick is to no stir up that sand bed too much so put a plate down on the sand bed and put your hose filling up your tank pointed at the plate. After your done with old water top off the rest with new water. Let the system run for an hour or two and let any cloudiness settle and throw your fish in. You wont have any issues.

Rinsing sand video: