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Unread 03/28/2020, 12:43 PM   #1
jlmawp
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Changing Tanks - Should I keep [some] sand?

Hey folks, it's been a while.

I posted a while back about the fact that the glass lid of my 9-gallon nano shattered and is no longer produced. Getting a custom one would be too expensive, and the acrylic stand-in sheets are constantly warping, resulting in too much evaporating. Sooo it's time to replace the tank.

I'm sticking with a small size, now a 10-gallon. My tank is over 4 years old now and I know I have a lot of beneficial bacteria/organisms in the sand (gravel, really) that I would prefer to keep at last some of to seed the new tank. I know there are differing opinions on this, but I wanted to throw out a couple questions to see what you all thought.

1. After I move everything else out of the current tank, if I keep roughly half the gravel and transport it to the new tank, should I disturb the substrate and suck out a lot of the crap that come loose? I assume most of the life would remain in/on the gravel in this scenario, and I'd mainly be removing years of detritus and anaerobic crap that I don't want getting tossed around the new tank. Is this at all a good train of thought?

2. I don't like my current substrate, and plan on moving to actual sand. My plan is to put the old stuff (if I move it) in the middle of the bottom of the tank, leaving an inch or two on all sides from the glass, and then pour in the new sand on top and all around it. This keeps the old stuff while removing that aesthetic completely. I know it will likely pop up in cleanings going forward, but I think that is worth keeping the life population and diversity in there intact and moved to the new tank.

Any experiences or thoughts around this would be appreciated and welcomed. Thanks.


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Unread 03/28/2020, 01:09 PM   #2
gbpackers
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Personally I wouldn't. I think a lot of people will tell you to keep it but if you have live rock that should be plenty of bacteria. If you don't have live rock then you will need to start a new cycle if you don't transfer the sand. The problem is you're transferring a lot of nitrates and phosphates in that sand as well

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Unread 03/28/2020, 08:31 PM   #3
HumbleFish
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^^ Agree

Ditch all the old sand, replace with new dry sand. Keep all the rock; that's where most of the bacteria are anyway.


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Unread 03/31/2020, 11:10 AM   #4
Sk8r
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Agreed with toss the sand. Rock is enough BUT watch your chemistry and don't overpower the rock by pushing too much biology too fast.


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Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low.

Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.
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Unread 03/31/2020, 11:32 AM   #5
Michael Hoaster
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If it was me, I'd put a couple of tablespoons of old (and dirty) gravel into a mesh bag, and throw that in the new tank, on top of the new sand. Leave it in there for a couple of weeks, then discard it. No mention of live rock, but if you do have old live rock going in, then there's no need for the old gravel.


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Current Tank Info: 180g Seagrass Sandbar Lagoon, START DATE November 28, 2018
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