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View Full Version : total sand change: informational.


Sk8r
02/28/2007, 11:09 PM
I'm moving in a couple of weeks. Re how to move, I presented the option of washing the sand in salt water, etc., but the advice from my lfs [master reefer] is that at this point I can actually have a shorter cycle [with my really ancient rock] by totally replacing the sand. I hate the sand I have: it's got puka shell in it, and it gets to the surface and turns red from algae and collects crap.

So I'm going to get very fine aragonite sand and totally clean out the tank during the move, wash the new aragonite in ro/di, and have myself a new sand base. Eggcrate first, then the rock, then the sand, with maybe a cupful of the finer old sand saved just for the bacteria. My lfs says with the old sand being overturned and rinsed I could expect a cycle of maybe 10 days max, but with brand new sand and a fresh start, maybe 3-5 days. And he'll babysit my fish and corals until the cycle's done.

Sounds like a good deal to me: I've wanted rid of this sand so badly from the first month I had the tank up and all the puka shell floated to the surface.

So anybody out there who's got this situation, you might consider it. I'll post and let everybody know how fast I get through the situation. A couple of weeks yet before The Move, but this should be interesting when I do it. I'm going to sift out most of my stray worms and the two conchs and the several nassarius for rescue, and the rest goes.

Myrphie
03/01/2007, 12:35 AM
I guess I'm not clear on why this guy says you'll have a shorter cycle with new sand versus old sand. I mean... I guess it does depends upon your definition of "cycle". What really matters is the sand and rock's ability to process the nitrogenous waste your fish produce. There's no way a fresh start will yield more bacteria for your tank in less time than your pre-existing sand.

Am I making sense here?

Sk8r
03/01/2007, 12:54 AM
As I understand it, because my sand is pretty crappy, even washed, it's going to have quite a bit of dieoff if I put it back in, and that would be the source of the longer cycle. I questioned this too, having just your reaction. Now, understand, my rock is many years old, heavily corallined, inherited from another reef. My sand is one year old, but, partly due to a really underperforming skimmer, it's pretty nasty.

The theory is that the brand new sand will colonize in a few days, and start working,whereas if I just washed the old sand, I'd have a lot of moribund bacteria hanging on and fouling the water. I'm nervous about this myself, but this guy has been doing reefs since the 70's, has set up some really beautiful ones, and he assures me this is the easiest way to go.

So I'm being Mikey and trying it first...not urging anybody else to dive into this territory until I report back that my tank has indeed done the miracle-cycle and come up safely. But my lfs has promised to keep my fish and corals for me until it does, so I'm good---we'll just see how long it takes.

Myrphie
03/01/2007, 12:57 AM
That's a good point. A large amount of well-establish rock could potentially have enough bacteria to compensate for the new sand. I know I've played with that in smaller tanks in the past with good success. Let us know how it goes!

Tron87
03/01/2007, 01:14 AM
I'm moving over the summer. I might try this out. I'm really looking foward to a great chance to rework my system. Maybe even upgrade.

Sk8r
03/01/2007, 01:30 AM
Wait for my report! ;) But I'm hoping it will all go well---