hello im buying a new tank, im transferring all my stock from one tank to another but not sure if it will start a new cycle if I move the water and rock and with a sump but don't want to take to long is there a way I can make the cycle faster or will I be lucky and not have to cycle my tank again as im just transferring?
how can i make my system cycle quicker?
- Thread starter Bazza2401
- Start date
anthonys51
New member
dont reuse the sand, buy new live sand you should be good, you might have a mini cycle, but you should be ok. i upgraded many tanks, i simple add new live sand. live sand little more money, but you don't have to wash it and wont cloud the water as much if any. then i move rocks and add the old water, and new water. i know some will say use all new water, that there is nothing good in the old water. but i always used old water will very little cycle.
mcgyvr
New member
:thumbsup:
Elricsfate
New member
As ever, attempting to learn from other people's questions and answers...
Why not use the old sand? If it's in a functioning tank with his fish, and he's moving those fish to a new tank, why can't the sand go with them?
Green Chromis
New member
:fish1: You can use the old sand, but you would need to clean it in saltwater to keep the bacteria and other life on it alive. If you ever cleaned out a tank, the sand is most always full of detritus and other waste, and needs to be cleaned before reusing. It may not be cheaper, but is a lot easier to use new live sand. I just changed out the sand in my tank this last summer, and removed about a 1000lbs of sand, and replaced it with all new fresh live sand from the reefs off the Florida Keys. You would not believe how dirty the 14 year old sand was, even after vacuuming it, before every NSW change. :fish1:
sde1500
Active member
It also depends on how old the sand is I'd say. I transferred almost all the old sand from my first tank to my current one. But it was only a year old, and the bio-load was very light. I kept it well vacuumed so there wasn't much chance for detritus to build up. I wouldn't do the same on 10 year old sand.
davered00ss
New member
Waste trapped in the sand and disturbed could cause an ammonia spike. Not worth the trouble for the cost of new sand.
Elricsfate
New member
I guess I get that.
This! In addition if your old system had elevated levels of phosphates, phosphate will be trapped in the sand and then released into your new tank.
Elricsfate
New member
So...what are all the critters (starfish, snails, crabs, pods, other stuff I can't think of right now) that are supposed to be stirring the sand and eating detritus doing all day?
davered00ss
New member
I used live rock, fresh live sand, and rinsed ceramic filter media from another tank, and never saw ammonia spike. Highest it got was .25
If you have a slightly dirty sump with live rock, one way to jumpstart a new system is to connect the old sump to the new tank, sort of like an organ transplant. A mature sump-fuge can bring a system live pretty fast.
Keep a bottle of Prime on hand and test frequently for ammonia.
Keep a bottle of Prime on hand and test frequently for ammonia.
anthonys51
New member
they are eating, but they arent a garbage truck, ready to haul away all the junk and crap we put into the tank. plus eat of those eat a certain things, some eat algae, some eat each other, some eat detritus but none will eat it as fast as we can put it in. wish it was that simple
