what to do with sand and new rock..

[turbotone]

tearing down my 75 gallon tank to transfer it to another 75 gallon tank (top brace in the middle snapped in old tank)

taking this time to do a few upgrades

bought a 40lb of live sand and they sent it with a broke bag... called the company the immediately sent me another no questions asked and told me to keep the old one...

i dont want to throw the sand away is there any way i can treat it , clean it or cycle it so i can use it?

will putting live sand in my tank when i do the transfer be a good or bad idea? are there any steps i should take to do it right?

also want to buy more rock? should i go live or dead? my tank has been running for a year and im just worried about the cycle due to the fact of my coral and fish...

any help will be greatly appreciated

 

[KathyC]

tearing down my 75 gallon tank to transfer it to another 75 gallon tank (top brace in the middle snapped in old tank)

taking this time to do a few upgrades

bought a 40lb of live sand and they sent it with a broke bag... called the company the immediately sent me another no questions asked and told me to keep the old one...

i dont want to throw the sand away is there any way i can treat it , clean it or cycle it so i can use it?

will putting live sand in my tank when i do the transfer be a good or bad idea? are there any steps i should take to do it right?

also want to buy more rock? should i go live or dead? my tank has been running for a year and im just worried about the cycle due to the fact of my coral and fish...

any help will be greatly appreciated

On the bag that broke...trinse it well, no reason you can't use it.
Using the 'live' sand in the bag they sent you is fine, it should cause no issues as used directly from the bag.

If you are going to add rock to this newly set up tank, I would either go with live rock - that has not been out of water - at all so that you don;t create more of a cycle.
If you go with dry or dead rock - you should cure it before adding it to the tank.
Hopefully you'll find someone nearby on here that is selling live cured rock. Be sure to keep it submerged when you move it and get it right into something (the tank/a tote) with circulation if you aren't putting it into the tank right away.

When you do the change over, do watch the new tank for any signs of a small cycle and take action immediately - do have new SW on hand to complete a water change if the ammonia begins to rise.

One thing - move the fish to a tank/tote while doing the change and add them in after the sand has settled in the new tank, do be sure to have a circulation pump and heater and a source of air in whatever you put them in..and it is a good idea to keep that vessel covered as fish tend to jump when they feeling stressed by the move.

Are you using the same sump & plumbing from the old tank?

 

[turbotone]

Thank you for this info I'm gonna search on the forums a week or two before the transfer for someone selling live rock... When I decide to buy I should bring my own tub with water in it for the transport correct? I have two 20 gallon tanks (1 for my water change the other for my hospital tank) I was thinking of putting the new rock in the hospital tank till I do the swap.. Do I filter the water or do water changes to it in that curing process?

what should I rinse the sand off with? RODI OR SW? How much time prior the swap should I start rinsing?

As far as plumbing I was going to use my original sump but I don't know if it's adequate for the upgrades I'm planning on doing an algae scrubber, phasban reactor and later on a calcium reactor..I have an in sump skimmer and was thinking of upgrading to a bigger tank so I have room to grow but I'm scared to go thru a big cycle due to upsetting the 6" of sand an mud i have in my sump and 20 mangroves growing plus i have fish and coral in my DT with two sensitive ammonia fish.. But plumbing is going to change some what but I haven't designed it yet

 

[KathyC]

You can also post a thread in the 'Want to Buy' forum to look for rock

Always a good idea to bring water to put the rock into. Those cheap styrofoam coolers they sell in supermatkets are good for moving rock - unless you have a rubbermaid ot tote you can bring with you. best to keep the rock totally submerged as live rock will begin to die off immediately when it is out of water

If you have to cure the rock, yes, you can do water changes on it . a good idea is to use the water you are discarding from your current tank when you do water changes on that (as long as your parameters are in order of course!)

Rinsing the bag of live sand that opened? Rodi is fine, whatever was in there that was alive is dead now anyway.

hmmm,..a 6 inch sandbed - you sincerely do NOT want to disturb that during the move.
You should be able to build the algae scrubber above your sump and the phosban reactor can hang on the outside of the sump. Not sure what to tell you about the Ca reactor..can they be plumbed externally so it won't cause you to make changes to the sump?

The most important thing is to be totally READY when you make the change, prep as much as possible in advance and leave yourself plently of time to do it (it will take twice as long as you think!), having a reefer friend along also helps Make sure you have plenty of new water ready and write out a plan.

 

[turbotone]

You are great! Will do that on the post for the rock

As far as the calcium reactor I'm going to look into that bc if I can run it outside it would be better for me even if I have to run a bulk head on the side I can do that...

The planning is definite I have a bunch of bins big and bigger to put the water, frags and big rocks was going to put some fish in one of the bins with a pump and heater and a few fish in my water change tank or hospital.. Then fill the buckets with sand and water... Then I guess work backwards

Should I mix the new sand with my old sand?
When do I clean that broken bag sand? The day of the move?

 

[KathyC]

Awww shucks ...:tongue:

You can rinse that sand beforehand..it's dead now anyway, no reason to wait until the last minute.

Regarding your question about mixing your new sand with your old sand...just how old is your old sand? If a year or more, I would pitch it entitely and just keep a cup or 2 to re-seed your new sandbed.

After seeing the pics of your current sump, I would keep that going. When you do the move disconnect it from your system and keep a powerhead in there to keep the water circulating until you get it hooked back up.

It is ONLY the tank you are changing - correct? The stand/sump will remain in place?

 

[turbotone]

The sand is a year exactly June 21
Why should I throw it out? Is it no good?
I was planing to use the sand to go for a taller sand bed and just mix both sands... Is that not a good idea?

As far as the stand I'm in the process of redesigning and building a taller stand to have more work space and better looking view point.. Want to do better plumbing and make everything neater

 

[Imbarrie]

When you transport that rock keep in mind that saltwater and cars do not go well together.
I would use buckets with good lids and put them in a rubbermaid tub with a good lid.

 

[turbotone]

When you transport that rock keep in mind that saltwater and cars do not go well together.
I would use buckets with good lids and put them in a rubbermaid tub with a good lid.

Thanks I definitely will.. Plus the way that I drive will give it good circulation lol

 

[Imbarrie]

You can get 5 gallon buckets and lids from Home Depot or Lowes.

 

[turbotone]

Will do... I think I have a few in my house to use...