Tank swap nuked tank

[Phanntom]

Story so far:

Did a tank swap 2 weeks ago and this is how i did it.
- took 50% of the water and put it in totes
- took the fish, rock and corals and put it in that water
- took the remaining water and sand and put in new tank
- but the rocks, fish and corals and water in new tank
- went from a 50 to 80 gallon tank so I added 30g of new water

Here was my mistake, i never washed the sand enough so I had a huge ammonia spike which killed all my inverts, coral and a few fish.

- I took the remaining fish and put them in my quarantine tank.
- I put the rock into totes (was washed, scrubbed and rinsed) and am leaving it there untill the ammonia goes down, doing water changes every 2 days.

I set my tank up as new, used new sand and water and 1 ten lb piece of new live rock.

Here is my question: How long should I leave the old rock in the totes before I return it into the tank and should I add it all at once or slowly? I like the rock in the totes as it is easier to do a water change in a 15g tote then a 80g tank..

I know i missed some important info so ask away and I will do my best to anwer.
Ammonia level at spike: to high to measure (over 4)
ammonia level of live rock now (before water change) around 0.6 (if i'm reading it correctly)

Thanks in advance for any and all info

Bill..

[tim the toolman]

This is interesting to read and Im hoping some others chime in with their experiences. I am about to do something very similar with my current 180. I am planning on removing everything into totes/another tank I am setting up temporarily to hold my fish while I do some upgrades to my tank.

So I guess my questions are:
1. did you rinse the sand at all beteween tanks?
2. How long did you have your rock or sand out of the water during transfer
3. How old was the original tank

Anyone with safe transfer info who would share their insight would be appreciated.

[Scythanith]

Hey Bill,

Walt Smith recommends only do the water changes on the live rock after they have "cycled" and there is no detectable ammonia and nitrites. Once those test come out negative, do a ~25% water change and test again in a week. If you're tests come out clear you're good to go.

If it tests clean, you can add it at once.

[Phanntom]

This is interesting to read and Im hoping some others chime in with their experiences. I am about to do something very similar with my current 180. I am planning on removing everything into totes/another tank I am setting up temporarily to hold my fish while I do some upgrades to my tank.

So I guess my questions are:
1. did you rinse the sand at all beteween tanks?
2. How long did you have your rock or sand out of the water during transfer
3. How old was the original tank

Anyone with safe transfer info who would share their insight would be appreciated.

1 - I just swished the sand around in the water then removed the dirty water

2 - just 10 to 20 seconds, just long enough to move it from tank to bucket.

3 - About a year, liked the tank so much I wanted a upgrade

I think if I would have used new sand there wouldn't have been a problem.

[Phanntom]

Hey Bill,

Walt Smith recommends only do the water changes on the live rock after they have "cycled" and there is no detectable ammonia and nitrites. Once those test come out negative, do a ~25% water change and test again in a week. If you're tests come out clear you're good to go.

If it tests clean, you can add it at once.

Thats what I thought but I also read that anything over 0.5 can continue to kill the rock and do more harm then good. I was going to leave it as soon as I got a lower reading the that. But thats why I posted my problem here, looking for any and all ideas I can get.

[tim the toolman]

I was planning on using my existing sand but doing a very thurogh cleaning of it before hand. I am now reconsidering this.
What would you say the benefit is of using new sand rather than giving the old sand a heavy rinse and using it again?
Anyone who can answer tis feel free.

Also to the op, if you would like I will open a new thread with my questions so I am not hijacking yours.

[Phanntom]

I was planning on using my existing sand but doing a very thurogh cleaning of it before hand. I am now reconsidering this.
What would you say the benefit is of using new sand rather than giving the old sand a heavy rinse and using it again?
Anyone who can answer tis feel free.

Also to the op, if you would like I will open a new thread with my questions so I am not hijacking yours.

I originally had very fine sand, hard to clean. I am too new to this to give a good answer but for the $50 it cost me for new sand versus the hundreds I lost in stock, I will never reuse my sand.. But thats just me..

And I don't mind if you ask your questions here, its all about the same thing...

[The Grizz]

I was planning on using my existing sand but doing a very thurogh cleaning of it before hand. I am now reconsidering this.
What would you say the benefit is of using new sand rather than giving the old sand a heavy rinse and using it again?
Anyone who can answer tis feel free.

Also to the op, if you would like I will open a new thread with my questions so I am not hijacking yours.

I have wash out sand & reused several time with no issues. I used a large fine fish net, 2 - 3 cups at a time rinsed under the tap until water was clean.

When switching tanks I try to remove all the rock I can WITHOUT stirring up the sand to a big tub with tank water in it first, then remove all the tank residence to another large tub or 2 with tank water. Next remove as much water as possible still WITHOUT stirring up the sand. Once I get to the point that I have no choice to stir up the sand all the remaining water goes down the drain. Finally I remove all the sand to a bucket to wash THOROUGHLY. Before returning any rock to the tank I mix up a new tub of fresh SW & rinse the rock in it removing any loose debris.

[tim the toolman]

That's good to hear Grizz. I was planning on doing something very similar to what you outlined there so I am confident going forward as planned.

I also hear what your saying phantom. The 50$ price point would be my first choice for sure, just with a larger tank it's gets up close to 200$ fairly quick lol.

I guess I just need to make sure I'm being thorough in my sand cleaning and careful with the rock removal.
Thanks for the info.