transfering a sandbed

so i had planed on just getting a new sand bed when i upgrade to a 90 from a 55. i stated pricing the sand and forgot how expensive that stuff is. im gonna check for the yardright play sand stuff around here, but i am thinking i am not going to find it.

does anyone know of a method to clean my existing sand and transferring it over??

drain/empty tank down to last couple inches. move 55 gallon out of the way. set up 90. fill the 55 back up with new water.

then i could stir it up with a HOB skimmer running or something like that.

 

wfb2270

how deep is the sand bed and how long has it been in place
Ive always bit the bullet and thrown it away (save a couple of cups from the upper layer to seed the new one )

there are different schools of thought on this - Ive been Googling again

1 - throw it away / save a bit / seed a new one
2 - save a bit of the live sand - remove the old sand, clean it thoroughly in RODI and then leave it to dry in the sun - add the new clean sand, to new tank and then add the but of live sand you saved
3 - move the sand bed after just giving it a rinse in some of the old tank water
some of the people who advocated this did also indicate there could be a mini cycle resulting from this, but it should be minimal and over very quickly due to the amount of live bacteria you have saved and thus added to the new tank

I didnt read enough posts agreeing with method 3 to convince me to do anthying other than method 1 should I move or upgrade in the future to be honest

Hopefully others will be able to advise on outcome they have experienced using 2 or 3
or maybe even another alternative

Steve

 

I'd go with opt 1 unless I was starting over with just rock and sand then I don't see where it'd matter. Also I've read some bad things about using play sand in a saltwater set up. Most of it is ground from rock not found in the ocean and contains alot of metals.

 

its 3-4 inches. and its been up for about a year. although the last inch was added about 4 months ago.

i got the tank used, and fought ridiculous nitrate levels for months. it was a lot of factors, but moving the sand i am sure was one of them.

 

bump,

although i have pretty much decided to get new sand, probably carib sea aragonite select. and seed it from my current tank. just not sure if the cost of new sand is worth the risk (although it is a lot)

 

well your doing exactly what I would do to be honest


you could run bare bottom for a short term, whilst cleaning and drying your existing sand? that would reduce the potential for cycle issues

Steve

 

yeah i thought of that, only problem is my melanurous and yellow wrasse. i see them knocking themsleves out as soon as i drop them in a BB tank ;D ha...... man that would be hilarious..assuming it didnt kill them. they will definitly need some sand to hide in for a few days after the move.