Starting tank up again after 4 month shut down

I lost all my livestock/coral and my last fish died right before Christmas. I was battling algae for months prior to that and finally got so fed up with it I decided to shut everything down and just let it go. Now that it is spring time I would like to start the tank up again and add some fish to get it going. Would you recommend removing the sand that is in there and getting fresh sand? I was also thinking about just going with crushed coral or pebbles because the sand was difficult to keep clean... suggestions?

 

I would not go with crushed coral- It can be even harder to clean
I would replace the sand and go with live sand. Live sand has a lot of beneficial organisms for your tank, and can help a lot. Good Luck
JJL

 

Thanks for the reply, I went with live sand before and personally felt it wasn't worth the extra money... I might just let it "liven" up naturally even though that takes a lot longer.

 

IMO it is worth it. You might not be able to directly SEE the help, but I think it helps a lot. If not live sand, then regular sand. I do not think you should go with crushed coral though.
JJL

 

Definitely change the sand and stay away from "live" sand. Get something a little larger than sugar sized it blows around too easily. Get a good clean up crew with sand stirrers like Cerith and Nassarius snails and hermit crabs.

 

+1 on avoiding crushed coral.

 

Why should he stay away from live sand? IME it really helps the cycle process :-/

 

Personally I agree with the stay away from live sand. I know they say it's live but by the time you get it in the tank and everything I think all the beneficial organisms mostly die off anyways. That's just an opinion but I paid the extra money for live sand when I started the tank a few years ago and ended up cycling the tank for about a month anyways.

 

I agree that all of the organisms probably die then new ones appear anyway, but I still think it speeds the cycling up. That is just IME though. Results probably vary
JJL

 

How do you feel about going with like 20lbs. live and the rest regular? You input is appreciated as you probably have way more experience than I do in this hobby...