With in the next couple weeks i am going to be transferring my 30 to a 55 gal tank. I am not going to be traveling a long distance or anything like that. I will just be draining the water from one tank taking the LR out and then putting it all back in the 55. My question is can i just re-use my sand. My tank had been running for 7 months and has been a FOWLR tank only and thats all i plan to do with the 55. I have a clown fish a a yellow tail damsel plsu 2 turbo's and 3 nas. snails. I had a goby and a dwarf angel but a high temp jump killed them. But that is all that has been in the tank. all test have been 0's since it cycled. I plan putting the fish in my 10 gal for a couple days just to be sure the tank is ok but i plan on buying more LR and sand. Any suggestions and advice is appreciated.
Transfering tanks...Questions?
- Thread starter cmill4
- Start date
brians4671
New member
i went from 30 to 65 and used my old sand. but i see alot of people advising new sand. what i did was my sand was the last thing i took out of the 30 and the first thing i put in the new tank. so i had to use a seperate bin for the transfer which i kept all the fish/rock/water in. good luck, sorry bout the loss.
padi200
Member
I would strongly suggest new sand! The old sand is ok until you mix it up which is inevitable when you transfer it. Lots of toxin are released and could cause ( may not happen, but why risk it) serious problems!
There are anerobic conidtion at the bottom of the sand bed and that contributes to it.
Get new sand, not a big deal to do!
There are anerobic conidtion at the bottom of the sand bed and that contributes to it.
Get new sand, not a big deal to do!
StupidsReef
Premium Member
You can use your old sand. Just be sure to rinse it very well in only RO/DI water before placing it in your new tank. I have done this many times as I upgraded and helped friends do the same. Take 2 or 3 cups of the sand out then rinse the rest very well in RO/DI water. Rinse very well then rinse very well..........Ok you get it. Place the very well rinsed sand in the tank and then pour the few cups on top of it. It's not as easy as it sound the rinsing isn't fun and you'll lose some of the sand during this process.
This is JMHO.
This is JMHO.
I did what StupidsReef suggested when I purchased a tank from someone, but I rinsed the sand with a garden hose. I didn't know better at the time. Luckily, I moved the fish to another tank while I cycled the new tank. The cycle probably would have been shorter if I hadn't introduced so many tap water chemicals (chlorine, nitrate, who knows what else) while rinsing the sand. Still, everything lived, and the tank is doing fine today.
The Saltman
New member
Make sure to rinse the sand if using old
Everyones Hero
New member
I had no issues going from my 20 to my 55.
Filled the 55g a little over halfway with water & then started acclimating the fish by transferring water between the two tanks.
I moved my LR first & setup the little bit that I had the way I wanted it. Next were the fish, then my inverts.
Filled the tank to about the 2/3s mark with the water from the 20g then started transferring my sand. Once my old sand was in there I added new sand & stirred the two together.
I just picked up some base rock today & now it's in my tank seeding.
Filled the 55g a little over halfway with water & then started acclimating the fish by transferring water between the two tanks.
I moved my LR first & setup the little bit that I had the way I wanted it. Next were the fish, then my inverts.
Filled the tank to about the 2/3s mark with the water from the 20g then started transferring my sand. Once my old sand was in there I added new sand & stirred the two together.
I just picked up some base rock today & now it's in my tank seeding.
Thats what i have in my tank now i have live sand from the LPS. The petstore i go to has been in business for a very long time and i feel they are very trust worthy and wouldnt sell anything bad. But when speaking of cutting short cuts that is why i am concerned about using the old sand. I just want to make sure i dont cheat the tank and mess things up.
