need sand bed advice (possible warhead)

chinx rican · 01/31/2011, 09:14 PM

I have a 135g 72" long tank. Between my powerheads and dragon goby the sand is 1/2"-1" deep in the middle and almost 5" at the ends. My sand bed is old, dont know exactly how old, but I do know when my goby decides to dig deep I get a no3 spike. Big 10ppm spikes every time (lucky he rarely does). Im moving in 2mos. Im only moving a mile away but Im worried I have a sleeping nuke in there. I was thinking of going to the gulf, scooping 3 buckets of sand and letting it sit in a 30 gallon bin with a powerhead for a month, then chucking the existing bed out. My corals are mostly softies, some lps's and 4 bta's. If anyone sees a red flag please wave it before i take the chuteless jump.

tkeracer619 · 01/31/2011, 09:20 PM

Sand is cheap. Buy it in the bag so you know its clean. It will turn live from the rock.

Ditch your old sand.

chinx rican · 01/31/2011, 09:34 PM

im more worried about the effects of ditching it then what going in afterwards. I have 200lbs of LR that will definitly seed sand, my worry is how to get most the water, rock, and livestock with out disurbing the bed. If my goby can cause that kind of spike i think a wrong move can cause a wipe out, or means ill have to fill with all new water which will mean ph shock for everything.

seapug · 01/31/2011, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinx rican

im more worried about the effects of ditching it then what going in afterwards. I have 200lbs of LR that will definitly seed sand, my worry is how to get most the water, rock, and livestock with out disurbing the bed. If my goby can cause that kind of spike i think a wrong move can cause a wipe out, or means ill have to fill with all new water which will mean ph shock for everything.

You just need to plan ahead so you remove all the livestock you can before removing the rocks that are buried in the sandbed. Siphon out the water into some rubbermaid bins and put all the livestock in with powerheads or air pumps and heaters. Get the water down to a couple inches then remove the last few rocks and scoop & dump the remaining sand and water.

cherubfish pair · 01/31/2011, 09:53 PM

Could you catch the goby and give to a better home?

chinx rican · 01/31/2011, 10:13 PM

Problem is i cant catch any fish with the rocks in place..... way to many hiding spots. I think the best i can do is take most the water out and hope none get caught in a hole some where, then pull the rock and fish. Hurdle number 2 is will my coral die being out of water a short (maybe not so short) time.

Cuervo · 01/31/2011, 10:18 PM

No, what they meant was start at the top dimantling the tank - pull the corals out and move them to a nice tub with heater/powerhead and some tank water. Then starting at the top pull the rocks out as you siphon the water down - so the rocks stay fairly submerged. Once you get down to the rocks that are stuck in the sand bed and have just a couple of inches of water left, pull the last few rocks and plan on dumping the remaining sand and water. Catch the fish whenever you can - like now that you only have a couple inches or water left, or earlier if the opportunity presents itself.

It's probably a good idea to give your rocks a shake in another vat of water to knock the loose stuff out of them while you're at it. (there's all kinds of grabage built up in there.)

If you think you can keep the corals in their transport container for a day or two, it might be worth it - just to make sure the tank doesn't go into a cycle right after you move it. (it shouldn't, but better safe than pulling all the corals out a second time)

chinx rican · 01/31/2011, 10:31 PM

sound like a plan to me.... I have 4 32g tubs and 3 powerheads. heat shouldn't be an issue as i keep home at a steady 75f. and im moving only a mile away. any 411 on how to keep the bta's out of the blades while in a tub.

Cuervo · 01/31/2011, 10:36 PM

hmm.. a sponge over the intake maybe?

OwenInAZ · 01/31/2011, 11:00 PM

The advice given to me by a reputable LFS regarding my upcoming move was to keep the sand, rinse it well, and put it back in the tank after the move. The rationale is the following:

The sand bed is anoxic, and removing water/agitating it is going to kill the anaerobic bacteria that have stratified down there anyway. Therefore, the sandbed is going to crash either way and need to be re-stratified no matter what I do. May as well start out with the cleanest sand I can (without simply throwing money at the problem vis a vis buying new sand -- I have better things to spend my money on).

I'm going to do that in two weeks. I imagine it will work (the owner is very respected in Phoenix and I trust his advice), but in the event that it fails I have plans to distribute frags around town to repopulate.

chinx rican · 01/31/2011, 11:46 PM

Quote:

hmm.. a sponge over the intake maybe?

there the koralia type

Quote:

The advice given to me by a reputable LFS regarding my upcoming move was to keep the sand, rinse it well, and put it back in the tank after the move. The rationale is the following:

The sand bed is anoxic, and removing water/agitating it is going to kill the anaerobic bacteria that have stratified down there anyway. Therefore, the sandbed is going to crash either way and need to be re-stratified no matter what I do. May as well start out with the cleanest sand I can (without simply throwing money at the problem vis a vis buying new sand -- I have better things to spend my money on).

I'm going to do that in two weeks. I imagine it will work (the owner is very respected in Phoenix and I trust his advice), but in the event that it fails I have plans to distribute frags around town to repopulate.

it might work but with the amount of time its going to take to properly rinse out my heavily polluted sand and the time taken up by the rest of the move, i think i opt to by new sand....not live..just the bag stuff. on top of that all the wasted ro to rinse with and the time it takes to make it....

OwenInAZ · 02/01/2011, 08:37 AM

Meh, I'm going to rock the hose and not worry about it

Might be some phosphates in there, but they'll more than likely bind up carbonate and become insoluble. It's like a bottom line sort of thing, and everyone's bottom line is different

01/31/2011, 09:14 PM	#1
chinx rican Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Central Florida Posts: 18	need sand bed advice (possible warhead) I have a 135g 72" long tank. Between my powerheads and dragon goby the sand is 1/2"-1" deep in the middle and almost 5" at the ends. My sand bed is old, dont know exactly how old, but I do know when my goby decides to dig deep I get a no3 spike. Big 10ppm spikes every time (lucky he rarely does). Im moving in 2mos. Im only moving a mile away but Im worried I have a sleeping nuke in there. I was thinking of going to the gulf, scooping 3 buckets of sand and letting it sit in a 30 gallon bin with a powerhead for a month, then chucking the existing bed out. My corals are mostly softies, some lps's and 4 bta's. If anyone sees a red flag please wave it before i take the chuteless jump.

01/31/2011, 09:20 PM	#2
tkeracer619 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 17,289	Sand is cheap. Buy it in the bag so you know its clean. It will turn live from the rock. Ditch your old sand. __________________ Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k.

01/31/2011, 09:53 PM	#5
cherubfish pair Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Libby, Montana Posts: 7,061 Blog Entries: 1	Could you catch the goby and give to a better home? __________________ pairo chero Thanks for looking at my build thread and subscribe to it if you already haven't yet! Current Tank Info: thirty rimless

01/31/2011, 11:00 PM	#10
OwenInAZ Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Flagstaff, AZ Posts: 2,409	The advice given to me by a reputable LFS regarding my upcoming move was to keep the sand, rinse it well, and put it back in the tank after the move. The rationale is the following: The sand bed is anoxic, and removing water/agitating it is going to kill the anaerobic bacteria that have stratified down there anyway. Therefore, the sandbed is going to crash either way and need to be re-stratified no matter what I do. May as well start out with the cleanest sand I can (without simply throwing money at the problem vis a vis buying new sand -- I have better things to spend my money on). I'm going to do that in two weeks. I imagine it will work (the owner is very respected in Phoenix and I trust his advice), but in the event that it fails I have plans to distribute frags around town to repopulate. __________________ Owen Professional Bacteria Geek "Ree... cy... cling?" "One day it's a bowl full of cherries, one night I'm suckin' on lemons and spittin' out the seeds" Current Tank Info: 90 gallon tall reef

02/01/2011, 08:37 AM	#12
OwenInAZ Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Flagstaff, AZ Posts: 2,409	Meh, I'm going to rock the hose and not worry about it Might be some phosphates in there, but they'll more than likely bind up carbonate and become insoluble. It's like a bottom line sort of thing, and everyone's bottom line is different __________________ Owen Professional Bacteria Geek "Ree... cy... cling?" "One day it's a bowl full of cherries, one night I'm suckin' on lemons and spittin' out the seeds" Current Tank Info: 90 gallon tall reef

01/31/2011, 09:34 PM	#3
chinx rican Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Central Florida Posts: 18	im more worried about the effects of ditching it then what going in afterwards. I have 200lbs of LR that will definitly seed sand, my worry is how to get most the water, rock, and livestock with out disurbing the bed. If my goby can cause that kind of spike i think a wrong move can cause a wipe out, or means ill have to fill with all new water which will mean ph shock for everything.

01/31/2011, 10:13 PM	#6
chinx rican Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Central Florida Posts: 18	Problem is i cant catch any fish with the rocks in place..... way to many hiding spots. I think the best i can do is take most the water out and hope none get caught in a hole some where, then pull the rock and fish. Hurdle number 2 is will my coral die being out of water a short (maybe not so short) time.

01/31/2011, 10:18 PM	#7
Cuervo Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Melbourne, Fla Posts: 395	No, what they meant was start at the top dimantling the tank - pull the corals out and move them to a nice tub with heater/powerhead and some tank water. Then starting at the top pull the rocks out as you siphon the water down - so the rocks stay fairly submerged. Once you get down to the rocks that are stuck in the sand bed and have just a couple of inches of water left, pull the last few rocks and plan on dumping the remaining sand and water. Catch the fish whenever you can - like now that you only have a couple inches or water left, or earlier if the opportunity presents itself. It's probably a good idea to give your rocks a shake in another vat of water to knock the loose stuff out of them while you're at it. (there's all kinds of grabage built up in there.) If you think you can keep the corals in their transport container for a day or two, it might be worth it - just to make sure the tank doesn't go into a cycle right after you move it. (it shouldn't, but better safe than pulling all the corals out a second time)

01/31/2011, 10:31 PM	#8
chinx rican Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Central Florida Posts: 18	sound like a plan to me.... I have 4 32g tubs and 3 powerheads. heat shouldn't be an issue as i keep home at a steady 75f. and im moving only a mile away. any 411 on how to keep the bta's out of the blades while in a tub.

01/31/2011, 10:36 PM	#9
Cuervo Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Melbourne, Fla Posts: 395	hmm.. a sponge over the intake maybe?

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