more moving questions

[ufcd98]

thanks to matt and brandon regarding my previous question regarding moving my existing sandbed.
the sandbed is 5 months old.
should i bother moving it? It's 40lbs of sand. This would cost me around $30 of new aragonite. And as was pointed out, that's alot of nutrients to have released when slopping the old sand into the new tank.

also, when it comes to adding more LR-
Into my new 40long, I'm bringing over all my existing rock from the old 10gal, which leaves 30gal left to fill with rock. should i buy and add enough new rock at once to fill the tank and do lots of water changes, or should i add some every other week to slowly change things?

Thanks everyone.
steve

 

[Anonymous]

Hmmm, these are some good questions, and they mostly come down to what suits you. What kinds of coral are you moving BTW?

I would save ALL that sand. Most of the critters will live. The release of nutrients isn't a big deal if you do it the way I described. Nutrients go into the water column, sand settles, do a 100% water change, and this takes care of the released nutrients. You can then add the rock, the water from your rubbermaid, and the fish.

Another way, you could always just keep your sand live in a separate container with some water and a powerhead and slowly add small amounts at a time over a couple months to your tank. Adding as many critters as possible to get your sandbed fauna started will help alot.

After looking at your locale, I just thought of something....where in FL is Sarasota exactly? How warm is the water this time of year? When I was in Miami in Jan, the temps were like 70 or so, perfect temp for grabbing sand from the beach to seed your tank. If you can find an area like a mnagrove swamp or soft sediment seagrass area, even better. That's what I would go with personally, and mix with aragonite.

Same situation with the LR, it's pretty much up to you. You could let it cycle in a separate large container, and the add small amounts. You could also let it cycle in the main tank, and then add your existing corals/fish.

Personally, I would do this. Order your 30 lbs. of new live rock. The day it comes, have 35 g or so of new salt water ready. Take all your rock/fish/water from your 10, put it in some 5 gallon buckets for a few minutes. Drain out as much water as possible, and leave the sand. Now dump that sand into your empty 40 gallon. Pour in your 35 g of new salt water over a plate to not stir up the sand. Add your new live rock to the 40. Place everything from your 10 back in the 10 gallon (minus the sand of course)...

Now just let everything sit as normal for 6-8 weeks, before transferring the rest of the stuff from your 10 to the 40. The length of the cycle depends on where you get your live rock. I think www.harboraquatics.com has the best live rock out there, well worth the price. It is pretty much ready to go right out of the bag, with hardly any die off.

HTH

 

[ufcd98]

your personal plan is obviously the best way of managing things, and would never have thought of it. Of course, it involves waiting 2MONTHS before finalizing the transfer. i am not a strong enough man to withstand the wait.

sarasota is on the gulf (west) coast. it's a wealthy retirement town. I most certainly could obtain some sand to help seed things, and this seems to be a phenomenal idea. I've collected 3 snails from the rocky point off the beach at a depth of about 8ft, and they certainly went to town on the tank cleaning things. (past tank)

i'm gonna start ruminating, the tank/stand arrives hopefully by friday.

thank you again for the advice.

steve