Starting over,Dump all or 1/2?

A

Awibrandy

New member
Hi guys, I am starting my 155 Bow front over. Shamefully I've been using tap water for some years.

With that said. I have purchased all new equipment including a 5 stage RO/DI unit, and a reef ready tank.

I am also dumping all of the sand, and starting over with ESV sand. I am keeping my LR which is approx. 5years old. I have lps, softies, leathers, polys, shrooms, zoas, crabs,snails & fish.

My question to you is. Would you use some of the old water in the tank for the new set up, and how much? Or would you just start over with totally new RO/DI water?

Please help me out, I am trying to do the right thing. Could you please hold back the bashings? Thank you.
 
In your case, I'd say to not save any of the old water. You need to start fresh with RO/DI and get rid of all that nasty tap water.
 
Thank you both for your responce.
To answer your question James. I am dumping the sand because I have been told repeatedly to dump it because it is HD southdown for one, and second because it is probably loaded with phosphate & silicate.

Now if I dump all of the water which is what I would like to do. Won't I have a cycle which can harm my corals & fish? Tangs,clown,firefish,wrasses,dragonet.

Please advice.
 
I think once you disturb the SB you could have a problem. A cycle being one of them and releasing sulfur is another, but I do agree that switching the sand is a good idea. I'm not familiar w/ESV sand, I use Caribsea arogonite myself. I think the safest thing is to find a temporary home for your fish and corals while you make the conversion.
 
changing your sandbed is what will give you a cycle. I would leave the sand in. Southdown HD sand is what you want. It might not hurt to stir it up a little when you're sucking all the water out. I wouldn't disturb more than an inch or two of it but I would swirl the water up good. Think 'Hurricaine'!!! Most if not all fish poop that has accumulated will be near the very top of the sand layer.

And yes I would do a 100% water change. Get all the old water out, and do another major water change 50%ish in a week or two max. This will give your live rock and sand bed time to leech anything they're holding out into the water column. Then when you do the 50% change you will remove quite a bit of what's left, and during this change you might want to stir the sand up again before you suck the water out.
 
Unfortunately, I have no where to temporarily house the fish and corals.

The sand bed has been disturbed twice in the past year. Once when we moved. And then again 7months later when my best friend past away, and left me her tank, and animals. I had to empty out my 120, to fit her 150g. tank in.
This will be the 3rd.time that it is getting disturbed. I guess with being upset, and the funeral and all I didn't noticed had badly scratched the tank was.
In any case as I stated before, I am starting all over.

James Home Depot southdown sand was the sand that everyone was ravin about in the early 2000. Now after all this time, the word out is that it contains silicates and should not be used.

By the way please bear with me. It is a little difficult for me to grasp information quickly. I am a cancer survivor, and I am still dealing with chemo-brain. At the risk of being redondant. So with the added information. How can I safely make this move. The tank, and the rest of the materials will be here tomorrow.
 
Are you switching tanks as well?

If so dont use the sand. Set the new tank up and cycle it before you add your livestock. A little sand from the old tank in the new one along with your new sand and maybe a few peices of live rock should do the trick.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9223959#post9223959 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aquarius77
Are you switching tanks as well? Yes, see 1st. post.

If so dont use the sand. Set the new tank up and cycle it before you add your livestock. A little sand from the old tank in the new one along with your new sand and maybe a few peices of live rock should do the trick.
Click to expand...

No where to house the livestock. My 75FOWLR has a dog face puffer, lion, trigger, eel of which none are reef safe.
 
I'd get the second up and running and move a piece of LR or two over every week for a while. No matter what you do it's going to be a major upset to your livestock. You may even acclimate your old LR to the new tank water so that you don't shock and kill any pods or inverts that are hitching a ride to the new tank.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9224287#post9224287 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by socalreefer73
I'd get the second up and running and move a piece of LR or two over every week for a while. No matter what you do it's going to be a major upset to your livestock. You may even acclimate your old LR to the new tank water so that you don't shock and kill any pods or inverts that are hitching a ride to the new tank.
Click to expand...

Two weeks ago when I knew that I was going to go ahead with this project I removed all the LR. The LR has been in 2 - 30g. rubbermaid tubs w/heaters, pump, and the original seaclones I had up in the attick.:D

I don't have the space for 2 - 155 gallon bow front tanks. I am actually using the stand from the old one for the new one.

I'm getting the feeling that this is a bad idea, and I have doomed all my livestock.
 
Some LFS will rent you space for just such times as these. They usually want you to buy equipment from them but worth a try asking. Are you switching tanks also? There are threads on how to make the switch.
 
Reach out to the MR crew. There has to be a couple of people who have tanks/containers they can lend you. Put all of the fish in temporary housing, make the change, let the tank cycle through and start new. Just keep in mind that you are looking at a month to a month and a half.

The other thing you can do is ask people to babysit your corals/fish. I would offer to help you but I just did that myself. Im starting my tank over so I had to ask for some help from local reefers.

Good Luck.
 
Dont lose heart, It can be done. I moved a 55 gallon reef and a 55 gallon freshwater over 400 miles and didnt lose a single animal. Large ice chests with heaters and powerheads work well as temporary housing, if you cant find someone locally that can house yoru animals while you change out the tanks.

On a side note, where are you hearing all of this information about the southdown sand? thats what I have in my 75 gallon and I havnt heard anything about it. Im tearing out all of my rockwork and adding another 30 pounds of cured rock this coming weekend, that would be the best time to replace the sand too if need be. . . let me know where you have seen this info about the southdown please.
 
I've decided to go the long way. I've use the calculator here, and I figuere it will take me approximately 6 months to get rid of the phosphates and silicates. I just does not compute in my brain to get rid of all the water go through a cycle, and the LR will still be leaching phosphates and silicates anyway.
So, what I plan to do is. Do a 50/50 when the switch occurs, and then 10% weekly run phosor in a reactor, chemi-pure in another reactor until until I get rid of all the impurities.

Leoskie, it is MR people that are helping me with this switch. I really cannot ask more of them.

Coral Dilema, if I recall correctly it was on MR that I've heard the bad feedback on HD southdown.
 
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