Quick DSB question

[danschargers21]

I currently have a DSB in a 40 gallon. It has been up for about 3 months. I am upgrading to an 80 gallon. I am getting some more live sand but I would like to use my existing live sand as well. Should I be worried of experiencing any problems when doing so? toxic air pockets or what have you when I move the sand from one tank to another.

Thank you.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Very hard call, IMHO. It kind of depends on a lot of factors you didn't give us. At 3 months old, it shouldn't be too bad, but you didn't tell us how deep the DSB is, was it in a 3 month old new system or added to an existing aquarium, how much live stock, how much you feed the system...

I'd pull the sand out of the old tank last, give it a good rinse in old water from your old tank and then use it. But that's just MHO.

 

[fpv930]

+1 You don't want to trap any detritus in the sand of the new system. Could cause huge issues.

 

[TheFishTeen]

There are potential problems, but if you cannot afford new sand just clean it really well.

 

[psteeleb]

Ron's advice is sound and it's hard to say with just a 3 month old system. Depth may even be meaningless depending on how much flow, dead zones etc as your concern is the release of sulfate and / or anaerobic bacteria that will die once stirred up.

The key to watch or smell for is when stirred up (after everything else is out) if it smells like rotten eggs you will need to do some serious rinsing and that can be a pain as it may take several times to get the sand clean enough to reuse. The initial intent is to remove the dead bacteria and any released sulfate, but with a system only 3 months old you may be okay.

Usually I'll drain the tank to about 1/3 and stir the sand up to release bacteria, sludge etc and remove the mucked up water. I'll even slosh the sand to one side so the dirty water can settle on the other side and then remove. If you can, avoid using fresh water to rinse as it will just kill off more bacteria (aerobic) save some tank water for a second rinse if needed. If it is still stinky then you may need to discard or go into a fresh water rinse operation that gets more tedious as you now need to essentially sterilize the sand.

 

[danschargers21]

Thanks for the responses. I will try your technique psteeleb. I am adding 80 lbs of new live sand (Arag Alive Aragonite). Should I put my existing live sand in first, or after the new sand?

 

[psteeleb]

Thanks for the responses. I will try your technique psteeleb. I am adding 80 lbs of new live sand (Arag Alive Aragonite). Should I put my existing live sand in first, or after the new sand?

Once stirred up and exposed to oxygen rich water and or the air itself it won’t matter as the anaerobic bacteria will be dead if not gone from the rinse

Between the two options placing the new sand on the bottom may be better as it should be more sterile.

 

[bertoni]

I would save the top inch or so of the old sand separately, and make sure that sand gets back on the top of the sandbed. The rest isn't as critical, IMO. The top inch contains most of the animals, usually, and it's worth not burying them, if any survive.