Transferring Tank- Rookie mistake

[BlakeK.]

So I'm currently taking over a tank from a friend. Using all of his live rock and some water but decided to use new sand. The sand too longer than expected to arrive. When it got here, I realized it was LIVE sand when I wanted dry sand so that I could wash it. He's dropping off everything today. I made the mistake of dumping the live sand in to try to get it ready faster and the tank is a mess. I have to pick up the fish today. I've heard you can still put fish in a cloudy tank, but what I'm worried about is an ammonia spike due to any die off from the live sand. Will the 30+ pounds of live rock be able to handle this? How long can I keep the fish in a bucket If I have to wait for a mini cycle? I appreciate any help! In a tight spot! Thanks!

P.S. Can I get an accurate salinity reading with a refractometer with the water like this?

Tank is 50 gallons (36x18x18)
Sump is 20 gallons
750 GPH return
Reef octopus 1000 sss skimmer

 

[Mikedawg]

Your live sand (CaribSea maybe?}may come with a flocculent (small package found in the bag) which will bind the smaller pieces of sand together and significantly reduce cloudiness. You can also buy it separately. Don't think you have to worry about die off; live sand isn't like live rock in that sense. The "live" part refers to good bacteria that has been added by the manufacturer.

Wouldn't think small sand particles (the cloudiness) would affect salinity readings.

 

[MichelleRay]

I wouldn't think it's going to cause a problem, especially with a bunch of good live rock going in. The cloudiness doesn't seem to hurt the fish short term from what I've seen. Which isn't nearly as much as many people here but still. Good luck!

 

[brandon429]

that clouding will always be there if your structure falls over, I recommend per the sand rinse thread you redo this tank while fish are in holding. we have nine pages of examples of your exact need in the sand rinse thread. you can 110% rinse live sand and not harm it. lets redo your setup real quick, whats forty gallons of new water to save all this headache and algae mess, even if you get past the cloud. in no way should you build on that foundation. start clean, do the work, we know how to skip cycle every single time.

if you w get forty or fifty gallons of water ready, or 30, as much effort as you are willing to do to ensure success, then within a couple hours your whole tank can be fish ready. rinsed live sand, rocks transferred, then instant fish.

 

[leahfiish]

You will be fine. If you can I would get some prime just in case you do get ammonia and some bottled bacteria to help speed up any cycling.

 

[John3]

You will be fine. If you can I would get some prime just in case you do get ammonia and some bottled bacteria to help speed up any cycling.

This^

Always have a bottle Prime, you never know when you might need it.

 

[BlakeK.]

Thanks so much for the replies everyone!

 

[BlakeK.]

that clouding will always be there if your structure falls over, I recommend per the sand rinse thread you redo this tank while fish are in holding. we have nine pages of examples of your exact need in the sand rinse thread. you can 110% rinse live sand and not harm it. lets redo your setup real quick, whats forty gallons of new water to save all this headache and algae mess, even if you get past the cloud. in no way should you build on that foundation. start clean, do the work, we know how to skip cycle every single time.

if you w get forty or fifty gallons of water ready, or 30, as much effort as you are willing to do to ensure success, then within a couple hours your whole tank can be fish ready. rinsed live sand, rocks transferred, then instant fish.

Thanks, I appreciate the reply. I'll go check that thread out. That would suck to have this cloud anytime something moved.

 

[brandon429]

And it's also true many leave it. Many different ways to reef for sure. The only reason we liked to rinse besides the ammonia was to give the grains new room to begin catching waste again, then at that point reefing seems to diverge into those who run hands off and those who stir and vacuum exporting

If a re clean was worth it, better now than later for fresh start just my approach


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

 

[Caseyoidae]

I would just run a filter sock, phos pad or something else like that in sump to clear up water faster. No need to finish off what's left of the good bacteria in the sand. That will just slow things down. Maybe get a cheap ammo alert badge.