Tank move help/questions.

superchargedgp

superchargedgp

Well-known member
so we are moving into a new house by the end of this month.
should I use dry sand or live sand when I transfer the 60 over to the new house.
the current sand is 1.5 years old, so I don't want to use it and have a cycle from the die off. could any one who moved a tank across town chime in?
 
I would rinse it off. Ether way you will still have some cycle. But you may be able to keep it alive if you rinse with tank water. I have started fresh but if I had no choice but to set up right away I would do it this way.
 
Personally, I've never cared much for "live" sand. I'd rinse your existing sand in fresh water thoroughly until it was very clean then I'd use it again.
 
Idk i moved mine few times ten yr old sand didnt have any issues but i stir my sand once a week . Live sand u buy in a bag probably be no dif its been in a sealed bag for who knows how long im sure theres some live bacteria but im sure some is dead to maybe im wrong
 
I moved my 60 cube over the summer and went with a new bag of sand. No casualties but I also setup a 20L tank as a holding tank so that I had plenty of time for the transfer.

I've moved it before and used the old sand and did not have a holding tank, wound up rushing it and losing a couple fish.
 
I would help Mike but I'm getting carved up by the doc this Friday. Honestly if your bio load was never very high/or sand very old I don't think you need to rinse the sand. That is my two cents

BTW I have two nice containers (25-60 gallons) used for saltwater tank stuff only if you need for you move. Was used when a fiends 65gallon cracked and live rock storage only.
 
When I upgraded to my 210, I just bought fresh dry sand and seeded it with a cup of my old sand. When I did some research I found a few threads that said moving an established sandbed would cause an ammonia spike UNLESS you rinse it until the salt water is crystal clear. I figured since I would have needed more sand anyway I went all new.

If you leave some water in the tank with the sand when you move it and it isn't shaken like crazy you might be ok.
 
EricTheRed said:
Personally, I've never cared much for "live" sand. I'd rinse your existing sand in fresh water thoroughly until it was very clean then I'd use it again.
Click to expand...

+2

Same thing I did with my tank. I would go this route Mike unless you just want to change up on what you have now.
 
If available I will give you a hand. Not sure yet since the wife decided to get pregnant, now I have to see if she doesn't have things going on with classes and all this woman stuff.
 
I just moved my whole setup last month.pulled my rock out ..vacuumed the crap out of the sand .put sand in bucket with sealed lid.set tank back up same night and had no spike issues.
 
superchargedgp said:
Like fresh tap water or r/o
Click to expand...

When I did it, I filled a 5G bucket about halfway with sand and put it under a faucet in my utility sink. I opened the faucet all the way and stirred the sand continuously with my arm. The dirty water overflowed the bucket and poured into the sink. I kept doing this until the water ran clear. Your sand will be so filthy that it may take several minutes before this happens but you'll be left with pristine sand. Also, I wore a rubber glove to avoid the bristle worms that used to be in my sand. If you buy into the whole "live sand" thing then you can simply add some Dr. Tim's or MB-7 to your tank during the cycle because, as I've been told, that's how they make "live" sand. They pour bacterial additives into the bag with the sand. Furthermore, the "live" sand has an expiration date so if it is too old then all you're left with is a bag of wet sand...

Now I'm not one of these guys that freaks out over a little bit of tap water so I didn't do anything further. I figured that the small amount of tap water impurities left in the sand would eventually be removed by carbon filtration which I ran during my cycle. If you wanted to, I suppose you can do a final rodi rinse while the sand is in the bucket but I wouldn't waste rodi on the whole process.
 
I moved many of tanks and if u can leave it be - then do it. As little water as possible. Otherwise gravel Vac sand once u get enough water back in the tank to do so for extra cleaning - then reintroduce everything else. Live sand is overpriced wet sand.. rinse any dry sand u add and if u can add it in incrimentsnover a few weeks would be best. 60 gallon over shouldn't be to bad though. Goodluck
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top