Tank upgrade help..and questions...

Camps23 · 04/09/2015, 05:54 PM

Hi all,
Need some help on a few things.......
I got back into the hobby about 5wks ago. I setup a Innovative marine nuvo 38g with about 30lbs of dry rock and 20lbs of sand. Did a fishless cycle using Dr Tims to help seed and dosed pure ammonia. The tank took 4wks to cycle and currently is sitting at 0ppm Ammonia, 0ppm Nitrites, and 2ppm Nitrates.
I have had my clean up crew in the tank for the last week taking care of the usual diatom bloom.
I have now been offered the tank that I originally hoped for. Its a 36x24x18 rimless 70G setup with a 30G sump. Im going out of town for a week and will be picking the new to me tank up the week of April 20th. I will be transfering over the sand, rock and water from my 38G and using some of the previous owners sand, adding another 30lbs of dry rock and making more water to fill the system.
Some of the questions I have are... will this cause another cycle ? What should I do with the sand that the previous owner is giving me ? Do I need to rinse the sand before adding ? or will this get rid of all the bacteria and critters Im looking to keep ? Let me know any tips or things I should know
Thanks

Camps23 · 04/09/2015, 08:26 PM

Anyone

ChimolaFish · 04/09/2015, 08:35 PM

If the dry rock is ancient reef and hasn't been 'live' for the last several thousand years, just give it a good rinse and plop it in. Depending on how much you add, you might see a tiny cycle, but it should be fine. However, there might be some phosphate leeching, you never know. If it's rock that was live and was just dried out so that it is no longer live, then it will have a lot more die off and will cause at least some sort of a cycle you should let run its course.

When I add rock, i add rock similar to brs reef saver that I get from my lfs (I bet they come from the same quarry) and have no problem dropping it straight into my tank. Howver, I added the extra rock slowly over time just in case.

Your sand should be fine. I did a similar thing when I started my 29 and switched to 90. I wouldn't worry, too much about it, but be sure to test and let the sand settle again. The new sand could start a cycle if it was used as Im assuming it is. Just test, test, and test.

Camps23 · 04/10/2015, 07:38 AM

The sand is used...do I rinse it ?

cleverbs · 04/10/2015, 08:17 AM

DO NOT use old sand...its really not worth it...Maybe use your sand beings its not really old and has only had a cuc in it but do not use his you dont know how old it is or anything. you may or may not cycle, if you do it will be very fast. Sand is one of those things that old is NEVER good. Just go out and spend the money on a new bag. I wouldnt rinse your sand that you have in your tank. I would just transfer it over and add new too. Or better yet go bare bottom

Camps23 · 04/10/2015, 08:31 AM

I always thought it was ok as long as it was rinsed properly ??

cleverbs · 04/10/2015, 09:20 AM

Well you could bleach it....but you will kill everything but the goal is to clean it. Crud in the sand bed is one thing but the other thing is crud in the sand grains. I mean unless you are on a super tight budget I wouldnt spend my time on it. Nothing good ever comes from reusing sand. If you look through build threads you will see that when people upgade or even transfer tanks they always toss the old sand.

ChimolaFish · 04/10/2015, 12:03 PM

The idea with the sand is that no amount of rinsing will get rid of the bound organics, so it would almost assuredly start a cycle. A new bag would have less organics (most likely by a lot), but your sand (not his) should be relatively clean still. I started a tank with used sand and haven't had any issues, cleaned it real well and gave it about a week to settle. I didn't have any issues, but you never know what might happen. I also used cured live rock at the same time, so that helped off set any cycling though, and I did water changes ever couple days and went through a bottle of seachem prime for two weeks to be on the safe side. My eel was always happy.

Since you still don't have fish, I would weigh the cost of the sand vs a new bag(s) and of you want to use his sand, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just rinse it real well and if it starts a cycle, wait it out. You have all the time in the world, really.

cleverbs · 04/10/2015, 12:50 PM

If you rinse the sand really well you arent gaining anything but sand that is packed full of Po4 and No3. you are killing any biological life in it and the amount of benefical bacteria thats in the sand isnt going to change the cycle any. Dont take advice on using the sand its a bad idea and not worth it at all. 95% of the community will agree with me never to use old sand. Its been seen time and time again that it never turns out well in the long run. The benefit of sand is it absorbs some of those no3 and po4 in the tank after it fills up it explodes the tank causing algae issues. That wont happen if the sand bed is well cared for but honestly you have NO idea how the guy before you took care of his sand.

NMSREEFER · 04/10/2015, 03:37 PM

A new bag of live sand should not cause a cycle having the bb in it.

04/09/2015, 05:54 PM	#1
Camps23 Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Canada Posts: 185	Tank upgrade help..and questions... Hi all, Need some help on a few things....... I got back into the hobby about 5wks ago. I setup a Innovative marine nuvo 38g with about 30lbs of dry rock and 20lbs of sand. Did a fishless cycle using Dr Tims to help seed and dosed pure ammonia. The tank took 4wks to cycle and currently is sitting at 0ppm Ammonia, 0ppm Nitrites, and 2ppm Nitrates. I have had my clean up crew in the tank for the last week taking care of the usual diatom bloom. I have now been offered the tank that I originally hoped for. Its a 36x24x18 rimless 70G setup with a 30G sump. Im going out of town for a week and will be picking the new to me tank up the week of April 20th. I will be transfering over the sand, rock and water from my 38G and using some of the previous owners sand, adding another 30lbs of dry rock and making more water to fill the system. Some of the questions I have are... will this cause another cycle ? What should I do with the sand that the previous owner is giving me ? Do I need to rinse the sand before adding ? or will this get rid of all the bacteria and critters Im looking to keep ? Let me know any tips or things I should know Thanks __________________ Custom 60G cube, Vertex Omega 150 skimmer, Vectra S1 return pump, 2x Nero 3's, 2x AI Sol Blue, Reef Keeper Previous: 140G Custom Miracles 52x26x23 w/C2C Overflow

04/09/2015, 08:26 PM	#2
Camps23 Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Canada Posts: 185	Anyone __________________ Custom 60G cube, Vertex Omega 150 skimmer, Vectra S1 return pump, 2x Nero 3's, 2x AI Sol Blue, Reef Keeper Previous: 140G Custom Miracles 52x26x23 w/C2C Overflow

04/09/2015, 08:35 PM	#3
ChimolaFish Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 560	If the dry rock is ancient reef and hasn't been 'live' for the last several thousand years, just give it a good rinse and plop it in. Depending on how much you add, you might see a tiny cycle, but it should be fine. However, there might be some phosphate leeching, you never know. If it's rock that was live and was just dried out so that it is no longer live, then it will have a lot more die off and will cause at least some sort of a cycle you should let run its course. When I add rock, i add rock similar to brs reef saver that I get from my lfs (I bet they come from the same quarry) and have no problem dropping it straight into my tank. Howver, I added the extra rock slowly over time just in case. Your sand should be fine. I did a similar thing when I started my 29 and switched to 90. I wouldn't worry, too much about it, but be sure to test and let the sand settle again. The new sand could start a cycle if it was used as Im assuming it is. Just test, test, and test. __________________ 300 Penninsula: Mixed Reef, 3 Hawaiian Dwarf Morays, 3 Watanabe Angels, 4 Molucca Damsels, 3 Staghorn Damsels, 1 Sgt Major, 1 Springer's, and 1 Magnificient Foxface.

04/10/2015, 07:38 AM	#4
Camps23 Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Canada Posts: 185	The sand is used...do I rinse it ? __________________ Custom 60G cube, Vertex Omega 150 skimmer, Vectra S1 return pump, 2x Nero 3's, 2x AI Sol Blue, Reef Keeper Previous: 140G Custom Miracles 52x26x23 w/C2C Overflow

04/10/2015, 08:31 AM	#6
Camps23 Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Canada Posts: 185	I always thought it was ok as long as it was rinsed properly ?? __________________ Custom 60G cube, Vertex Omega 150 skimmer, Vectra S1 return pump, 2x Nero 3's, 2x AI Sol Blue, Reef Keeper Previous: 140G Custom Miracles 52x26x23 w/C2C Overflow

04/10/2015, 08:17 AM	#5
cleverbs Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Nebraska Posts: 1,041	DO NOT use old sand...its really not worth it...Maybe use your sand beings its not really old and has only had a cuc in it but do not use his you dont know how old it is or anything. you may or may not cycle, if you do it will be very fast. Sand is one of those things that old is NEVER good. Just go out and spend the money on a new bag. I wouldnt rinse your sand that you have in your tank. I would just transfer it over and add new too. Or better yet go bare bottom

04/10/2015, 09:20 AM	#7
cleverbs Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Nebraska Posts: 1,041	Well you could bleach it....but you will kill everything but the goal is to clean it. Crud in the sand bed is one thing but the other thing is crud in the sand grains. I mean unless you are on a super tight budget I wouldnt spend my time on it. Nothing good ever comes from reusing sand. If you look through build threads you will see that when people upgade or even transfer tanks they always toss the old sand.

04/10/2015, 12:03 PM	#8
ChimolaFish Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 560	The idea with the sand is that no amount of rinsing will get rid of the bound organics, so it would almost assuredly start a cycle. A new bag would have less organics (most likely by a lot), but your sand (not his) should be relatively clean still. I started a tank with used sand and haven't had any issues, cleaned it real well and gave it about a week to settle. I didn't have any issues, but you never know what might happen. I also used cured live rock at the same time, so that helped off set any cycling though, and I did water changes ever couple days and went through a bottle of seachem prime for two weeks to be on the safe side. My eel was always happy. Since you still don't have fish, I would weigh the cost of the sand vs a new bag(s) and of you want to use his sand, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just rinse it real well and if it starts a cycle, wait it out. You have all the time in the world, really. __________________ 300 Penninsula: Mixed Reef, 3 Hawaiian Dwarf Morays, 3 Watanabe Angels, 4 Molucca Damsels, 3 Staghorn Damsels, 1 Sgt Major, 1 Springer's, and 1 Magnificient Foxface.

04/10/2015, 12:50 PM	#9
cleverbs Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Nebraska Posts: 1,041	If you rinse the sand really well you arent gaining anything but sand that is packed full of Po4 and No3. you are killing any biological life in it and the amount of benefical bacteria thats in the sand isnt going to change the cycle any. Dont take advice on using the sand its a bad idea and not worth it at all. 95% of the community will agree with me never to use old sand. Its been seen time and time again that it never turns out well in the long run. The benefit of sand is it absorbs some of those no3 and po4 in the tank after it fills up it explodes the tank causing algae issues. That wont happen if the sand bed is well cared for but honestly you have NO idea how the guy before you took care of his sand.

04/10/2015, 03:37 PM	#10
NMSREEFER Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Corinth, Mississippi Posts: 118	A new bag of live sand should not cause a cycle having the bb in it.