Moving from 10 to 37

Geissijs · 01/22/2016, 01:00 AM

I've got a 10g that's been up for about 6 months and it's time to upgrade. I have a few questions about sand.
1. I've got about 20 lbs of crushed coral in the current tank; I want to lay it in the new tank and cover that with sand. The crushed coral is plenty live and my current tank parameters are perfect with two ocellaris clowns and cuc. Should I do this? Why or why not?
2. I was thinking about sand bed depth. I've been reading a lot and it seems 2-3" is a good depth including the crushed coral as a substrate. Is this a good idea or not?
3. I've got live rock and will need to add more, don't want to lose the clowns in the process of a cycle. Guessing I should qt for a while?

Sapelo · 01/22/2016, 04:15 AM

I sort of depends on where you are heading in the future.
Personally, I want wrasses in my tanks so a crushed coral substrate is not ideal for me. I want sand.
Experience also tells me that laying sand on top of crushed coral will not work the way it sounds like it will: the sand will blow and the crushed coral will eventually dominate the scene.
At the end of the day, sand beds (or crushed coral) trap detritus and that's not what we want in our tanks. Most school of thought is to change out sand when doing a tank upgrade and to use one type of medium for the most consistent surface.
Yes, you will need to add more rock and honestly I would QT or leave the fish in the 10g (even if you move a good portion of the rock) until the new tank has cycled.

New, bigger tank: yay!
Good luck!

thegrun · 01/22/2016, 11:08 AM

1. Crushed coral traps a lot of detritus which eventually leads to higher nitrates; you are much better off using sand. Over time the crushed coral will rise to the top of the sand bed. As the finer sand grains work their way between the gaps between the crushed coral they push the crushed coral to the top, the same way rocks are constantly pushed to the surface on a farm.
2. 1" to 2" is a much better depth IMHO, 3" is no man's land. You need at least 4" and better 5" of sand to get the benefit of a deep sand bed, 1" to 2" is perfect for a shallow sand bed, 3" just acts to trap more detritus.
3. I would fully cycle the new rock either in a separate container like a Brute trash can or in the new tank before you transfer the livestock from your current 10 gallon tank.

Geissijs · 01/22/2016, 11:35 PM

I'm going to take all of the live rock out of the current tank and mix it with dry rock in the new tank for it to cycle and bring the dry rock to life. I'll leave the fish and cuc in qt separate until the cycle is over. Best place to get sand is... ? The beach?

01/22/2016, 01:00 AM	#1
Geissijs Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 61	Moving from 10 to 37 I've got a 10g that's been up for about 6 months and it's time to upgrade. I have a few questions about sand. 1. I've got about 20 lbs of crushed coral in the current tank; I want to lay it in the new tank and cover that with sand. The crushed coral is plenty live and my current tank parameters are perfect with two ocellaris clowns and cuc. Should I do this? Why or why not? 2. I was thinking about sand bed depth. I've been reading a lot and it seems 2-3" is a good depth including the crushed coral as a substrate. Is this a good idea or not? 3. I've got live rock and will need to add more, don't want to lose the clowns in the process of a cycle. Guessing I should qt for a while?

01/22/2016, 04:15 AM	#2
Sapelo Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: North Georgia Posts: 869	I sort of depends on where you are heading in the future. Personally, I want wrasses in my tanks so a crushed coral substrate is not ideal for me. I want sand. Experience also tells me that laying sand on top of crushed coral will not work the way it sounds like it will: the sand will blow and the crushed coral will eventually dominate the scene. At the end of the day, sand beds (or crushed coral) trap detritus and that's not what we want in our tanks. Most school of thought is to change out sand when doing a tank upgrade and to use one type of medium for the most consistent surface. Yes, you will need to add more rock and honestly I would QT or leave the fish in the 10g (even if you move a good portion of the rock) until the new tank has cycled. New, bigger tank: yay! Good luck!

01/22/2016, 11:08 AM	#3
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	1. Crushed coral traps a lot of detritus which eventually leads to higher nitrates; you are much better off using sand. Over time the crushed coral will rise to the top of the sand bed. As the finer sand grains work their way between the gaps between the crushed coral they push the crushed coral to the top, the same way rocks are constantly pushed to the surface on a farm. 2. 1" to 2" is a much better depth IMHO, 3" is no man's land. You need at least 4" and better 5" of sand to get the benefit of a deep sand bed, 1" to 2" is perfect for a shallow sand bed, 3" just acts to trap more detritus. 3. I would fully cycle the new rock either in a separate container like a Brute trash can or in the new tank before you transfer the livestock from your current 10 gallon tank.

01/22/2016, 11:35 PM	#4
Geissijs Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 61	I'm going to take all of the live rock out of the current tank and mix it with dry rock in the new tank for it to cycle and bring the dry rock to life. I'll leave the fish and cuc in qt separate until the cycle is over. Best place to get sand is... ? The beach?