Moving sandbed to new tank...

I was planning on moving the sandbed from my 29 to my new 75 but having read some of the old posts there is an indication that this might be a problem. Should I just scrapped the old bed and start fresh? Hate to waste what I have but want to do it right.

 

Firstly Welcome

IMHO, I would start with a fresh sand bed, but would keep approx a cup or 2 of the old sand bed to seed the new one.

Regards

John

 

Great advice John!

 

I took my 30 Gallon Tank Bed and Water, and put it in my new 65 Gallon. Tank is doing Great and had no break in period. Why would you not use your old bed?

 

Depending on its age there can be pockets of hdrogen sulfide which if disturbed could nuke the deal. This is the bettter safe than sorry approach. In addition, sand over time will bind up detritous, nitrates, and phosphates and removing it would be the king sized water change for ultimate dilution, eh?

 

Malachi,

What you experienced is somtimes the case, but the suggestion provided was in answer to a general question. In nearly all other cases it is better to replace all of the substrate for the reasons that Craig outlined above. Just keeping a small amount to seed the new bed.

John

 

Is it possible to re-use the old sand if you give it a good wash with freshwater? Any need to use vinegar? How about drying it out in the sun?

Or should you toss the old sand and put in completely new stuff?

I'm asking because I just bought a used system and now in the process of putting it back together after cleaning the hair algae infestation out. It would be a shame to toss the sand.

Thanks.

 

I would avoid the hassle as there could be lots of nitrates, phosphates, and other metals that have sunk into the sand. Not worth it in my opinion, save for a scoop from the top to seed.

You could recyle it at the beach, eh?

 

Hi Craig - thanks for your wisdom. I'll recycle the used sand and start with some new stuff. Cheers.

 

Sounds good! Keep us posted on your new sand and post pics!