shifting from small tank to larger tank

sorry if im asking to many questions, but i just cant see how sand caused phosphate issues. it is sand meant for reef tanks. im not doubting your expeirence with tanks at all but could it have possibly been to much feeding/lack of CUC that caused the phosphate spike? i was quick to blame my substrate when i first started and found out it was just my water source and feeding schedule were beyond bad.

 

It could have been, but with my very first reef tank i made the mistake of using tap water to start it and had major phospate issues in there and upgraded less then 6 months later to a 75gal tank swapping all the sand from my old tank to the new one and not using the old water I had diatom issues within a week in my larger tank and i used only RO/DI water in the 75gal. So the only thing I can come to the conclusion is the sand was the issue.

Now when i moved the movers cracked that 75gal and I had to rush out and buy a new tank that is a 75gal also its been up and running for 3months now used 90lbs of new sand except literally a hand full of the old sand from the tank that broke. I havent had any diatom or algae issues to date and the only thing that has changed is my skimmer and its just bigger. There is already coralline trying to cover all the walls that i keep scraping off. IMO every tank is different but that is what worked for me. Hope that helps 8)

Oh i forgot to add my feeding hasnt changed either I still feed 5star reef bar and red sea reef products only twice a week and seaweed for my tang about every other day.

 

The sand can be a problem because it will absorb phosphate just like your live rock since they are the same material just in a different form/shape. Reusing the sand will bring whatever is in the sand over unless you meticulously clean it out.

 

i agree.
im just stating that its not the sand thats the problem, it is getting the phophates from somewhere (as stated above Tapwater).
im just telling the OP that if there current tank is say..2 months old, there is no reason to go out and buy new sand. now if its a established tank i more than agree with all of you.

 

Generally, I'm all for saving sand if possible. I've moved entire, well-established reef systems, sandbed and all, with no issues. However, that's only with a shallow bed that has been well-maintained and if there have been no problems with nutrients or toxins. In this case, the sand is a year old and the OP has had issues with nitrates, and as stated earlier, the sand will absorb nutrients and carry them into the new tank...

I recommend the sand not be disturbed until everything else is out of the tank.

 

thank you guys for all your comments. well i was gona buy all new sand for my new tank. there are live rocks in my old tank that has no corals attached so will be shifting them. im only scared of using old water coz my nitrated remain 30, the reason is over feeding but if i dont feed my blue devil damsels, they pick up on my corals. im planning to givee them away but not before i buy a new tank as fishes here are very expensive. any suggestions on it? what if i add my old tnak water, will the nitrates go down? my old tank is 15 gal nano, new will be 35 gallon.

 

any more suggestions??