cleaning sand

im moving to another place not too far away from where im at. i know i need to remove the sand cause of the weight. should i put the sand in a 5g bucket and wash/rinse it? i do plan on adding more sand when i set it back up.

 

A cup of old sand and the rest brand new

 

lets i dont do that what will happen?

 

your nitrate and nitrite and ammonia could spike really badly alot sits in the sand. you can clean it, but then you'll also kill the "live parts"

 

+1

You can use the old sand if you want, but your tank will cycle, so you will need somewhere stable to keep your inhabitants for 4 - 6 weeks, then restock slowly just like a new tank.

Just safer and easier to seed new dry sand with 1 cup of old.

 

ive read that i could add sand an inch a month. im going for a deep sand bed. so if im able to leave the sand in there and add an inch and mix it around alittle would that be okay?

 

NO! that would be terrible once your sandbed starts to get above 2". you will kill all of your denitrifying bacteria and cause a cycle.

Honestly, you should read what is out there by the experts and well respected members of the reefing community before you embark on this endeavor. Just because you see one pretty tank that utilizes a DSB does not mean that it will be the same way for you. In fact, i do not use a single grain of sand in my tanks and they are still beautiful

 

Why are you going for a DSB?