upgrading tank Recycling Fear... New Sand?

tank monkey · 04/30/2008, 12:30 PM

I am upgrading my tank soon and I have 2 questions...

1) How do I keep the tank cycle from becoming so unbalanced that it harms my livestock?
2) Should I replace my sand?

Tank Specifics: Current 55g tank w/ 7.5g sump; 2" sand bed (don't know how old the sand is, I bought a used system); 65#'s LR; about 220w of PC light; no skimmer but perform weekly 20% water changes, 6 fish (all under 6 "); some corals; 3 shrimp; decent clean up crew

New Tank Specifics: 120g tank w/ 33 g sump; sand (whatever I need to do I'll do)?; all rock and livestock are going into the new tank; Euroreef RS-135; Light not purchased, but will go to MH bulbs with PC's

Cycle: It will be about 100 g's of new water unless I use some "Live water" from other sources. Is my rock enough in the beginning? San (if I do not replace it)?

Sand: My nitrates are always high no matter how I perform my water changes. I want to set the tank up right in the beginning so I do not have this problem again. Should I just rinse it with salt water to try to remove the build up of detritus? I have had conflicting advice from the LFS experts. I am thinking about setting up a remote deep sand bed after I get my tank running.

nalbar · 04/30/2008, 03:12 PM

What does your sand look like? Is it white and clean? Or is it dirty or have any of those black 'sewage' looking spots at the bottom? How does it smell? Does it smell like salt water or like a sewer pipe? Does it get turned over regularly by tank inhabitants?

Usually a 2" sand bed is not a problem, particularly with a system with a lot of flow, because water penetrates it. And better yet is if you have a pistol shrimp or a blenny tearing it up all the time. But if your sand looks filthy, I would only use enough of the CLEAN parts to seed the new sand. A friend of mine did an upgrade and used all his old sand. I was shocked because it stank and was black in some spots. And guess what, CER-RASH! Use caution, and look at it closely. If there is any doubt at all, don't use it. Use your nose.

As far as nitrates, I would go with a fuge with algae. Check out the fuge thread, some great info in there. The poster 'capn' can certainly help with that. I cannot speak for a remote DSB because I know nothing about them, except they are an interesting concept worth looking into.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1349443

Your rock is good to set up your system, no need for 'live water', perhaps change your water frequently in the week leading up to the switch and save the old water in a trash can and use some of that when you fill your new tank. Or if you want a lot of new water, slowly acclimate the fish to the new tank rather than just dump them in.

HTH
nalbar

tank monkey · 04/30/2008, 03:49 PM

The sand is relatively clean. No build up on top of any kind (if you click on my gallery link, I do have one pic that will show a small area of the bottom, I'll try to get more uploaded soon). I vacuum when I change water (what I can get to). I have always kept a diamond goby or a dragon goby and 20-30 nassarius snails to help out with turning the sand over. When I have moved rock and stirred up the sand I just see how much detritus gets stirred up. Maybe rinsing it would do the trick? I would replace it all but I thought keeping it might help keep the tank from crashing. I have never smelled anything "nasty" in my tank and have never observed the black sewage spots.

04/30/2008, 12:30 PM	#1
tank monkey Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Eastern NC Posts: 19	upgrading tank Recycling Fear... New Sand? I am upgrading my tank soon and I have 2 questions... 1) How do I keep the tank cycle from becoming so unbalanced that it harms my livestock? 2) Should I replace my sand? Tank Specifics: Current 55g tank w/ 7.5g sump; 2" sand bed (don't know how old the sand is, I bought a used system); 65#'s LR; about 220w of PC light; no skimmer but perform weekly 20% water changes, 6 fish (all under 6 "); some corals; 3 shrimp; decent clean up crew New Tank Specifics: 120g tank w/ 33 g sump; sand (whatever I need to do I'll do)?; all rock and livestock are going into the new tank; Euroreef RS-135; Light not purchased, but will go to MH bulbs with PC's Cycle: It will be about 100 g's of new water unless I use some "Live water" from other sources. Is my rock enough in the beginning? San (if I do not replace it)? Sand: My nitrates are always high no matter how I perform my water changes. I want to set the tank up right in the beginning so I do not have this problem again. Should I just rinse it with salt water to try to remove the build up of detritus? I have had conflicting advice from the LFS experts. I am thinking about setting up a remote deep sand bed after I get my tank running.

04/30/2008, 03:12 PM	#2
nalbar Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 163	What does your sand look like? Is it white and clean? Or is it dirty or have any of those black 'sewage' looking spots at the bottom? How does it smell? Does it smell like salt water or like a sewer pipe? Does it get turned over regularly by tank inhabitants? Usually a 2" sand bed is not a problem, particularly with a system with a lot of flow, because water penetrates it. And better yet is if you have a pistol shrimp or a blenny tearing it up all the time. But if your sand looks filthy, I would only use enough of the CLEAN parts to seed the new sand. A friend of mine did an upgrade and used all his old sand. I was shocked because it stank and was black in some spots. And guess what, CER-RASH! Use caution, and look at it closely. If there is any doubt at all, don't use it. Use your nose. As far as nitrates, I would go with a fuge with algae. Check out the fuge thread, some great info in there. The poster 'capn' can certainly help with that. I cannot speak for a remote DSB because I know nothing about them, except they are an interesting concept worth looking into. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1349443 Your rock is good to set up your system, no need for 'live water', perhaps change your water frequently in the week leading up to the switch and save the old water in a trash can and use some of that when you fill your new tank. Or if you want a lot of new water, slowly acclimate the fish to the new tank rather than just dump them in. HTH nalbar

04/30/2008, 03:49 PM	#3
tank monkey Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Eastern NC Posts: 19	The sand is relatively clean. No build up on top of any kind (if you click on my gallery link, I do have one pic that will show a small area of the bottom, I'll try to get more uploaded soon). I vacuum when I change water (what I can get to). I have always kept a diamond goby or a dragon goby and 20-30 nassarius snails to help out with turning the sand over. When I have moved rock and stirred up the sand I just see how much detritus gets stirred up. Maybe rinsing it would do the trick? I would replace it all but I thought keeping it might help keep the tank from crashing. I have never smelled anything "nasty" in my tank and have never observed the black sewage spots.