Use old or new sand when upgrading tank??

[tennisjad3]

Hey all, I'm upgrading from my 20 gallon to a 29 gallon. My question is should I transfer sand that's in my 20 gallon over or should I buy new sand for the 29 and only transfer my live rock/corals/critters?

I've been reading people buy new sand and then transfer everything over, but wouldn't that just cause the tank to re-cycle since the sand has no bacteria growth or anything? I could be, and probably am, wrong in thinking this.

Thanks!

[Gig 'em @ NDstructible]

As long as you're transferring over your matured live rock, the cycle period won't be as intense. The risk you run with transferring over your current sand bed is stirring up all those nutrients that have built up in the sand bed. You'll have an ammonia/nitrate/nitrite spike and any other compounds stirred up from the anaerobic conditions of the sand bed. It's a lot safer/easier to just start a new sand bed and sees it with some of your old sand.

I have moved a sand bed before, I just rinsed it really well with tank water to remove as much detritus as possible. It takes a while, but then you save some $ by not having to buy new sand. It's all up to you and how much work/risk you're willing to put up with.

[jestep]

My vote goes for New.

It takes an absolutely ridiculous amount of rinsing and there's still a chance for enough sandbed die-off to cause a soft cycle. The live rock is the primary source of nitrification so it usually works as long as you rinse it enough. But, "enough" is just a heck of a lot of work. Especially in the case of this size tank, it's not like you have to buy several hundred dollars of it, so I'd save the time and slight risk, and just get new.

[tennisjad3]

As long as you're transferring over your matured live rock, the cycle period won't be as intense. The risk you run with transferring over your current sand bed is stirring up all those nutrients that have built up in the sand bed. You'll have an ammonia/nitrate/nitrite spike and any other compounds stirred up from the anaerobic conditions of the sand bed. It's a lot safer/easier to just start a new sand bed and sees it with some of your old sand.

I have moved a sand bed before, I just rinsed it really well with tank water to remove as much detritus as possible. It takes a while, but then you save some $ by not having to buy new sand. It's all up to you and how much work/risk you're willing to put up with.

My vote goes for New.

It takes an absolutely ridiculous amount of rinsing and there's still a chance for enough sandbed die-off to cause a soft cycle. The live rock is the primary source of nitrification so it usually works as long as you rinse it enough. But, "enough" is just a heck of a lot of work. Especially in the case of this size tank, it's not like you have to buy several hundred dollars of it, so I'd save the time and slight risk, and just get new.

So should I even mix any of the old sand in with the new or just start totally fresh with the sand? This is the best news ever, made my move a hell of a lot easier if I can use all new

[tennisjad3]

Also wait I need to rinse off the live rock as well you said? Or were you referring to the sand? Sorry for all the questions

[jestep]

Just rinse the sand if you plan on reusing. Move the rock as is. You can swish it around before removing if you want to remove any detritus on it, but you don't have to.

New sand is inert so it won't cause a cycle, it just needs to build up bacteria which is will do on its own. You don't need to mix any old sand with it.

[Dan H]

Use new sand, but seed it with some of the old. I see it as a risk equation. New sand has low risk of failure, but costs more. Old sand has higher risk of failure but saves some money. Usually in those equations I prefer less risk and sadly fork out the dough.

[Sascha D.]

I agree with Jestep.

It takes a ridiculous amount of rinsing to clean sand. You will literally have to remove the sand a pound at a time, rinse it for 5-10 minutes, and then move it to the new tank. If you use freshwater, then you kill all of the organisms while you are rinsing it and they later decompose in the new tank to create nitrate spikes. If you use saltwater then you'll likely spend 50% of what you would have spent on new sand to buy salt mix and you give yourself 10 times more work.

Sand in a 29g will be pretty cheap. You don't necessarily need live sand and you don't need a deep sand bed. Most people don't even use DSB anymore because the risks are too high. They were popular in the 1990's before we had all of the high tech equipment that we have now. I would stick to 1" of sand for decoration unless you want a jawfish.

[tennisjad3]

I'm assuming new sand means new live sand right? Not like some home depot stuff correct?

[FarmerTy]

You can but the live sand is a waste of money IMO. Just go to any fish store and they'll have options. I like the Caribsea special reef grade sand myself.

Don't use the home depot stuff.

[Gig 'em @ NDstructible]

You can do either. Buying new live sand would certainly shorten the cycle time and reduce risk of any spikes. I believe you could get away with buying dry sand, rinsing it well, and seeding it with your old sand and silk being fine with your transferred live rock.

[jestep]

You want aragonite based sand which is basically crushed coral and shells (calcium carbonate), not silica based sand which is what you find at HD for sandboxes, landscaping, or masonry.

I second the dry special grade reef sand. Particle size looks great but it's large enough not to get blasted around like the oolite oir sugar size sand that's also available. I do think these sands look amazing, they're just really tedious to work with in a reef tank.

The live sand they sell for tanks is fine, but it's just a little more expensive and has is usually in water already. It doesn't need rinsing like dry sand though. Dry sand will produce a ton of dust in a tank if you don't rinse it well.

[tennisjad3]

Alright perfect, thank you so much everyone for the help!

[Neon Reefer]

I am sorry but IMHO I disagree w/ using "LIVE" sand. There is nothing in it really alive. At best just a lot of once alive but now dead organic materiel which would contribute to beginning a cycle, unlike plain dry reef sand. I think in transferring to a new tank you would not want to add this decaying organic material which will at most increase ammonia and likely cause to some degree a mini cycle above what the rock can handle. Especially in a small tank with limited rock..

But a half bag of reef sand from Jake over at RCA for cheap and play it safe.