New sand or old sand or both?

jtp79 · 07/19/2013, 10:02 AM

I am going this weekend to pick up my new setup. It has been up and running for 3 years. We are going to be driving about 5 hours to get the stuff back home. The owner says all of the sand in the aquarium is in great shape. The tank is 90 gallons. Come with over 100lbs of live rock and all inhabitants.
I have already ordered 80 lbs of new live sand.

Question, as in title, should I use only the new sand? Should I reuse his sand? Or should I mix the two? And why?

greech · 07/19/2013, 10:12 AM

No reason to use the old sand. The live rock will contain critters that will find their way to the new sand. The existing sand may be in great shape but stirring it up can cause problems. If you are not taking the existing livestock, I definitely discourage using the old sand.

jtp79 · 07/19/2013, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greech

No reason to use the old sand. The live rock will contain critters that will find their way to the new sand. The existing sand may be in great shape but stirring it up can cause problems. If you are not taking the existing livestock, I definitely discourage using the old sand.

I am getting the entire setup,,,crabs, snails, fish, corals and all. Does that make a difference?

premilove · 07/19/2013, 10:19 AM

it all depends on how you transport the tank..as long as you keep the sand wet, and manage to not stir up the bed when you put the water back in the tank you should, in theory, be ok. there could be snails and other critters living in that sand bed.

BlueSail · 07/19/2013, 10:23 AM

The sand is in great shape until its disturbed. If you have the time and a whole lot of fresh saltwater you could rise/clean the sand until the water is clear. Another option would be to save a couple cups of the sand and mix it in with new sand. Youll run the risk of a cycle by using the old sand unwashed and probably run high nitrates for awhile after.

jtp79 · 07/19/2013, 10:36 AM

I am going to be saving most of the saltwater from his tank. Can i rinse the sand very throughly in that water and then put it into the tank with fresh saltwater?

twelvefive · 07/19/2013, 10:40 AM

Please buy new sand.

I bought a running set up and moved it less than two miles. I ran into a ton of problems, that led to the death of two starfish, an anemone, some lps, etc. It could have all been avoided by using new sand.

Lynxone · 07/19/2013, 10:41 AM

I'm no expert on this but it would seem intuitive to me that stirring up a sand bed that's several years old would be a huge nitrate explosion. I would opt for replacing

Henryz · 07/19/2013, 10:50 AM

I suggest new sand, using old just more problems than benefits

michael.lemke · 07/19/2013, 10:53 AM

New! No question. New sand has a ton of advantages even over completely cleaning old.

greech · 07/19/2013, 10:55 AM

You already bought the new sand. The minimal cost of sand compared to the loss of livestock and/ or algae outbreak is not worth the risk.

The tank is going to be cloudy either way. Granted it might be less cloudy if you we're able to move the tank with then sand in place but that's risky to the integrity of the tank.

Hendrix99 · 07/19/2013, 11:13 AM

I have moved tanks about 5 times now and have always kept the old sand due mostly to all of the live stuff (tube worms, snails etc.) that would be killed by dumping it. I have rinsed it with the old tank water though to get as much of the detritus out as possible (never had an issue with a cycle).
At the very least if you have it in a separate container you can check to see if anything crawls out like nassarius snails and save those if you can over the course of a couple days.

07/19/2013, 10:02 AM	#1
jtp79 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Sparta TN Posts: 125	New sand or old sand or both? I am going this weekend to pick up my new setup. It has been up and running for 3 years. We are going to be driving about 5 hours to get the stuff back home. The owner says all of the sand in the aquarium is in great shape. The tank is 90 gallons. Come with over 100lbs of live rock and all inhabitants. I have already ordered 80 lbs of new live sand. Question, as in title, should I use only the new sand? Should I reuse his sand? Or should I mix the two? And why?

07/19/2013, 10:12 AM	#2
greech Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 3,133	No reason to use the old sand. The live rock will contain critters that will find their way to the new sand. The existing sand may be in great shape but stirring it up can cause problems. If you are not taking the existing livestock, I definitely discourage using the old sand. __________________ ~Graham Current Tank Info: Tank: 40 breeder; 20H sump w/SWC 120; Sicce 3.0 return; Vortech MP-10; Sundial T5, DIY Actinic LED (3W Cree). Livestock: Pair of Black & Whites; Midas Blenny; Firefish; Yasha/pistol; Black Leopard Wrasse; LPS and SPS

07/19/2013, 10:55 AM	#11
greech Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 3,133	You already bought the new sand. The minimal cost of sand compared to the loss of livestock and/ or algae outbreak is not worth the risk. The tank is going to be cloudy either way. Granted it might be less cloudy if you we're able to move the tank with then sand in place but that's risky to the integrity of the tank. __________________ ~Graham Current Tank Info: Tank: 40 breeder; 20H sump w/SWC 120; Sicce 3.0 return; Vortech MP-10; Sundial T5, DIY Actinic LED (3W Cree). Livestock: Pair of Black & Whites; Midas Blenny; Firefish; Yasha/pistol; Black Leopard Wrasse; LPS and SPS

07/19/2013, 10:19 AM	#4
premilove The Empire Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Central Jersey Posts: 776	it all depends on how you transport the tank..as long as you keep the sand wet, and manage to not stir up the bed when you put the water back in the tank you should, in theory, be ok. there could be snails and other critters living in that sand bed.

07/19/2013, 10:23 AM	#5
BlueSail Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Michigan Posts: 24	The sand is in great shape until its disturbed. If you have the time and a whole lot of fresh saltwater you could rise/clean the sand until the water is clear. Another option would be to save a couple cups of the sand and mix it in with new sand. Youll run the risk of a cycle by using the old sand unwashed and probably run high nitrates for awhile after.

07/19/2013, 10:36 AM	#6
jtp79 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Sparta TN Posts: 125	I am going to be saving most of the saltwater from his tank. Can i rinse the sand very throughly in that water and then put it into the tank with fresh saltwater?

07/19/2013, 10:40 AM	#7
twelvefive Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 51	Please buy new sand. I bought a running set up and moved it less than two miles. I ran into a ton of problems, that led to the death of two starfish, an anemone, some lps, etc. It could have all been avoided by using new sand.

07/19/2013, 10:41 AM	#8
Lynxone Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 251	I'm no expert on this but it would seem intuitive to me that stirring up a sand bed that's several years old would be a huge nitrate explosion. I would opt for replacing

07/19/2013, 10:50 AM	#9
Henryz Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Buffalo,NY Posts: 138	I suggest new sand, using old just more problems than benefits

07/19/2013, 10:53 AM	#10
michael.lemke Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: greeley co Posts: 395	New! No question. New sand has a ton of advantages even over completely cleaning old.

07/19/2013, 11:13 AM	#12
Hendrix99 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Florida Posts: 56	I have moved tanks about 5 times now and have always kept the old sand due mostly to all of the live stuff (tube worms, snails etc.) that would be killed by dumping it. I have rinsed it with the old tank water though to get as much of the detritus out as possible (never had an issue with a cycle). At the very least if you have it in a separate container you can check to see if anything crawls out like nassarius snails and save those if you can over the course of a couple days.