Replace live sand or use original?

Hello, I'm purchasing a 125g established aquarium. The question I have is is it better to purchase new live sand or just use the sand that is currently in the tank. I'm concerned that when I add the old sand back in the nitrates will go crazy. But then the old sand has a lot of good bacteria in it. Thanks for your help. Oh, and any other tips on moving an aquarium would help as well.

 

well if its already established then i dont think the sand and nitrates/nitrites would be a problem. and yes the old sand does have a lot of good bacteria in it. If i were you i would just use the old sand IMO. have fun with it!

 

I would use all new (dead) sand and only use a cup of the existing sand to seed it.

 

im in agreement with amcarrig

 

125lbs of sand is not going to be cheap. The only reason to buy new would be if you did not like the grain size or it was not your preferred color. Best bet would be to bite your tongue and deal with it though.

A 125 is heavy. This will require 2 strong men and a truck. That's a tip.
Oh yea, thoroughly plan out where you want your 125....I moved mine twice and it sucked!!!

 

I would go with new sand also, not only for chemical reasons but for looks(pick your color and grain size) and no telling what might get mixed in with the old during the move. A good shop vac will quickly take care of the old sand except what you will need to seed the new sand.I did the crushed coral/sand thing years ago and regretted it. Sand only for me now.

 

I agree all up to the cup part you will want to know the history on the other tank before I would use anything from it. IMO it is just like adding red bugs to your tank I know no oe in here would want to do that. I would buy one bag of that live sand before adding from someone elses tank. soory to rant just my .02

 

I am with Amcarrig. I had a 75g that started leaking....so I got a 90g. I removed the sand and put it in buckets, then just dumped it in the new tank and filled it up with water. WOW!!!! What a HUGE mistake. Cycled for two months. If you want to use your old sand you can, but I would wash it well at least three times. Get everything out of it. You can add a cup of live sand as previously stated or let your LR do the work. The bacteria will seed in due course. You will probably end up with a small cycle anyway, due to the fact that you are losing bacteria that inhabited not only the sand, but all the other surfaces. It will grow back quickly though. In two or three weeks, you should be back in business.

 

Thanks for all of your suggestions

 

i agree with pharm. I would rinse the sand very well and re-use. all that sand would be expensive, but you will disturb the sandbed way too much in the move to just simply re-use it without problems.