recommended depth of sand?

i have a 55 gallon tank that i will be transferring water, LR, and LS from another well established tank that should fill my tank/sump/fuge entirely i was wondering what is the recommended depth of sand for a reef tank with fish? also on a side note considering im transfering stuff from another tank what would the cycling time be if any?

 

All new tanks will cycle. Transferring the sand disturbs the bacteria population and will probably release toxins into your new system. Ideally you would want to replace it with new sand. Transferring all the water really doesn't help any as the bacteria live on surfaces not in the water column. I would probably just use new water since you will be waiting for the cycle any way. I have always preffered a shallow sand bed of between 2-3 inches.
Heres a good link for the pros and cons of a deep sand bed vs. a shallow sand bed.
http://www.3reef.com/forums/sand/deep-sand-bed-vs-shallow-sand-bed-89305.html

If it were me I would start the new tank with new sand.Use some of your rock from your existing system and allow it to cycle. Then you can transfer the rest of your rock and inhabitants to the new tank.Good luck!!

 

I prefer shallow as denitrification happens in low oxygen zones, which can occur anywhere, even within a bacterial mat on the surface of the sand. I'm not actually sure there is actually any evidence that DSBs process nitrate better, although many have made that assumption and it's become a standard belief in the hobby. Regardless SSBs absolutely can process nitrate and don't have as much potential to crash your tank. DSBs are good for people who are really into benthic organisms though. I'm not saying they don't have their purposes. At least with good filtration though they are not necessary. I always keep mine around 2-3" and have never, in 10 years had nitrate issues.


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Live Sand Secrets

Hello,

I set up my 750 gallon with NNR and after three years when i took it down that area under my sand was clean. A good book regarding sand is Bob Goemans - Live Sand Secrets.
I agree that i would start your new system over with new water and sand.

Good Luck

 

All great advice, I would also start with new sand. You can save a cup full of the old stuff to seed the new, but I wouldn't use more than that. Unless the sand bed is well maintained and stirred frequently, there is just too much nasty stuff in old sand beds.

 

new sand would cost a fortune, some guy is giving me his LS for free for buying LR from him, would you think maybe rinsing fairly well a few times through be a better idea then just keeping the sand as is and putting it in a tank...i dont have a large budget as i am a full time college student

 

+1 to all the above.

The problem with a well-established sandbed is that you will have organics, inorganics, and heavy metals bound into the sand which will not rinse out. If it's live sand, rinsing would be all the worse because the more you disturb it, the more die-off you will have. Not a good way to start a tank.

You can use dry sand or even play sand which is a lot cheaper and as already mentioned, seed it with a cup of the old.

 

Hey Bruno,

Although they all make valid points, you are setting up a new tank and going to be letting it cycle first. At least that's what I remember reading. I have done what you are planning with no ill effects. I would reuse the sand and I plan on doing the same in my new tank. Just let it cycle a little longer and make sure it is completely cycled before adding your live stock. But, the extra crap found in a LSB will eventually settle back into the depths of the bed if you give it time. Patience is a virtue, use it well and you will have no problems reusing the sand. Also, I run about a 2.5" SB, so 2"-3" is what I reccomend also. If you are talking about a fuge I would say 6"-8". Use the link Vinny posted it is good info.

 

If you were reusing your own sand, it would be one thing. But something u need to consider in taking sand from someone else, is that you are going to get all the stuff that is in it. It could have a bristle worm infestation, or various other hitchikers that may or may not be what you want in your tank.

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i have 20lb of LS in my 29g tank with about 34lb of LR and all my levels are fine... sometimes I wish my sandbed was deeper so the critters that live within the sand would have more room to play but adding sand after the fact your tank is setup sucks! Last time I did that I was forcing sand out of my LR holes for weeks (it sucks even more too because i've wanted to add another 20lb to the tank but i'm too afraid on how at this point)

Realistically however, dry aragonite is fairly cheap($15 for 30lb) and you can buy quite a bit from your LFS and hopefully he'll work something out with you