I decided to go Bigger

[Beldarr]

After all the wonderful help on this site and much work I can say my 125 gallon tank was a success over the last 8 months or more.

I decided to buy a 180 Gallon tank and am starting to cycle it today. Would it hurt to take sand out of the old tank and put it into the new refugium on my new tank to help with cycling, or is this a bad idea?

 

[Pet Detective]

It's not a bad idea but it won't "help" the cycling.

 

[Beldarr]

So it wouldn't add the bacteria I need to the tank then lowering the cycling time you think?

 

[Jeff4777]

I mean it could speed it up.. but patience is the name of the game in this hobby imo

 

[AUFishGuy]

It will help a little but not much. If you added a good bit of rock from an established tank it would help a lot but a little sand in the sump is just gonna be a small boost

 

[Pet Detective]

So it wouldn't add the bacteria I need to the tank then lowering the cycling time you think?

No, no it would not, the bacteria colonies fluctuate or expand & contract depending on the bio load put upon them, just putting sand or live rock from an established tank does not guarantee you are even putting ANY nitrifying or denitrifying bacteria into the new tank, it's impossible to know for sure what surface these bacteria(s) have colonized....just let nature do the trick, that way there are no surprises.

 

[skeeter_ca]

No, no it would not, the bacteria colonies fluctuate or expand & contract depending on the bio load put upon them, just putting sand or live rock from an established tank does not guarantee you are even putting ANY nitrifying or denitrifying bacteria into the new tank, it's impossible to know for sure what surface these bacteria(s) have colonized....just let nature do the trick, that way there are no surprises.

Sorry, but the bacteria will be on everything. Not just some rocks or some sand. They will be on all the rocks, all the sand, the glass, the pumps. anything in the water will have bacteria growing on it. Sure if the bioload is small there will be less bacteria, but the more you add from the old tank the more bacteria you will have and that can shorten the cycle. Whether you can notice if the cycle is shorter or not would be up for debate because all tanks cycle at a different rate. Too may variables to calculate.

 

[sde1500]

Im am switching over to my new tank this weekend hopefully, adding all the sand and LR from my current tank to the new tank. Doing that will absolutely help with jump starting the tank. I think a better message is to not rush things. Sure it will help, there is no way it wouldn't help to add established bacteria and substrate to a tank. But the tank will still cycle, probably somewhat faster than starting brand new. Just like when people use all Florida LR they sometimes have little to no cycle.

 

[Foooz]

I have moved/transferred 2 tanks in the recent past. Both times I moved as much water, rock and sand from existing tank to new tank. Neither time did I end up with a cycle. Nitrates did increase as expected but quickly came down to normal levels. That being said there is a lot of feedback from knowledgeable people here on the site that transferring the sand can cause problems.

 

[lifeoffaith]

Keep an eye on PH though when moving old rock to the new tank. PH swings kill.

 

[Swensos]

sorry, but the bacteria will be on everything. Not just some rocks or some sand. They will be on all the rocks, all the sand, the glass, the pumps. Anything in the water will have bacteria growing on it. Sure if the bioload is small there will be less bacteria, but the more you add from the old tank the more bacteria you will have and that can shorten the cycle. Whether you can notice if the cycle is shorter or not would be up for debate because all tanks cycle at a different rate. Too may variables to calculate.

+1

 

[scooter31707]

If you move everything over from the old tank you will probably not see a full cycle. You will probably get a mini-cycle, meaning you will probably have a small ammonia spike due to stirring up the sand.

 

[Pet Detective]

Just use the iphone 6 instant cycle app...no waiting, in fact buy the fish first or have Amazon drone them over, so that you won't have to waste any time....then INSTANT gratification for 2 days until the ADD kicks in & then on to the next instantaneous project...raising a child perhaps?

 

[sde1500]

I decided to go Bigger

Just use the iphone 6 instant cycle app...no waiting, in fact buy the fish first or have Amazon drone them over, so that you won't have to waste any time....then INSTANT gratification for 2 days until the ADD kicks in & then on to the next instantaneous project...raising a child perhaps?

You always feel the need to direct such comments at people that have different opinions than you? Any post I see where someone says something different than you results in sarcasm like this or criticism. It's not very constructive.

 

[skeeter_ca]

I can't find that app. How do you spell it?

 

[Pet Detective]

You always feel the need to direct such comments at people that have different opinions than you? Any post I see where someone says something different than you results in sarcasm like this or criticism. It's not very constructive.

The clear problem of the outlawing of insult is that too many things can be interpreted as such. Criticism, ridicule, sarcasm, merely stating an alternative point of view to the orthodoxy, can be interpreted as insult.

 

[Pet Detective]

I can't find that app. How do you spell it?

LOL finally someone gets my humor...& for the record, your post was absolutely correct, bacteria does form on all surfaces, I guess my point was that you never how how much or which type you may be transferring, hence it's harder to tell if the tank is actually cycling or mini cycling or just adjusting to a larger bio-load.....to me, starting a new tank, is just that, starting a NEW tank, I prefer to go the natural path, I understand I am in the minority here but it doesn't preclude me from having an opinion on the matter.

btw try spelling it N.O.O.B. (Nitrifying Online Ocean Bacteria)

 

[uncleL]

I just recently set up a little 20 gallon tank. I added 10 gallons of my old water and 10 gallons of new also I added 4 cups of old sand from my 90 display tank. I let it run for 24 hours then I added to clownfish Nemo! I use Instant Ocean BIOS Spyro and Instant Ocean Reef accelerator. I let it run for 2 weeks and added two pieces of live rock to my base rock. It has a2 inch sand bed and 20 pounds of rock. After doing weekly testing all is well and I'm starting to get coralline algae.