[madman19710]

i am getting a new 40 gallon breeder tank and taking down my old tank. i would like this to be as painless as possible. should i use all my old sand or should i just seed a new sand bed ? should i fill the new tank totally with seasoned water from my other tank or should i add some fresh saltwater in with the old ? one more question i will be putting my fish and corals in my sump and my rock in a rubbermade container so what is the best way to add the sand so that i dont get a sandstorm for days there was a thread on RC that suggested putting the sand into ziplock bags and opening very slowly does this sound ok or is there a better way? thanks for any suggestions.

[kevinpo]

I would put new sand in while the tank is empty then remove about 1" of sand from the top of your old tank and put it over the new sand. Then put in the rock and add 20% new water and the rest old water. If you add the water carefully you will not end up with too bad a milkshake. It should clear in 24 hours or so. I just did a 50 gal tank this way yesterday and it worked very well.

HTH,
Kevin

[Minh Nguyen]

I would second Kevin rec. of using new sand seeded with sand from the old tank.
I would soak the new sand in old tank water for about 1 week. This will keep clowdiness to the minimum and help establish your new sand bed very fast since you coated the new sand with backterial from the old tank water.
Minh

[madman19710]

thanks alot i appreciate your help.

[madman19710]

what about the sand that is already supposed to be coated with bacteria? it is probably mostly dead but it would have a coatig on it of some type. its called arag-alive.

[Minh Nguyen]

Originally Posted by madman19710

what about the sand that is already supposed to be coated with bacteria? it is probably mostly dead but it would have a coatig on it of some type

????
What sand?
Sand from your old tank are likely to have some build up of nutrients. Also a disturbed DSB will release all kind of nasties that can crash a tank. Live sand, like live rock, need to cylce before it can besafe for fish and corals. When you distrub a DSB, there will be die off and this can cause problem.
Minh

[madman19710]

arag- alive is the brand name it comes in 20lb bags

[Minh Nguyen]

Originally Posted by madman19710

arag- alive is the brand name it comes in 20lb bags

Too expensive for me. I would just get the sand you like. I use sicica base sand in my tank. Silica or CaCO3 base sand does not seem to make that much of a different in my tank. If you can get which ever dry sand you like and just soak it in tank water for one week and you will get the same thing.
Minh

[madman19710]

ok thanks alot.