New sand into a old tank

[tomjof]

So I will be upgrading my tank from 86 gallon system to a 130 gallon system and right now in my system i have about 70 lbs of live sand with 20 lbs of crushed coral, 100lbs of live rock and lot of algae and what not. I will be taking out the crushed coral and putting in 80lbs of live sand into the new system and that will be the only change really. Do you think I'll have any issues.

 

[Dan_P]

What I have read about upgrades suggests that the new system can behave like a brand new aquarium. There is a potential for an ammonia spike, so, be ready for that situation. Then there are some upgrades that proceed with no issues. There is rarely enough information to see a pattern.

 

[evoIX_Reefer]

You are better to slowly adjust the tank place the old sand in a different area/etc of your tank and slowly remove it. New sand tend to have silicates which cause part of the diatom bloom in the beginning stages of a tank. I would expect a slight diatom bloom which will last a week or two until the silicates diminish then get starved out/eaten by your cleanup crew.

Obviously, the above is the ideal way and could help prevent issues.