Looking for Advice on Tank Transfer

[CHEAPREEF]

Originally Posted by DKoKoMan

Ok well that works. I was planning on going to AI as they carry the Carib sea argonite which I’m currently using. I like this grain as I haven’t had an issue with it blowing around in the high flow areas. I believe they are all sold as live sand though in the plastic bags. Online vendors have some different dry sand options but the shipping would be as much as the bag of sand.

Just remember AI will price match anywhere in Canada so double check the prices before you buy.

[DKoKoMan]

Awesome! I will look in to that.

[albert_dao]

Don't start it with sand. You can always add it later, and you'll have a far easier time starting the tank bare bottom.

[gregzz4]

Starting bare bottom is definately your safest option.

I recommended using as much old water as possible as this will, in my opinion, cause the least amount of stress to your corals.
Whatever new water you need to use, make sure you test and dose it first to get the big 3 matching your old water - Alk, Ca and Mag. And aerate it well to off-gas the CO2, bringing the pH up. I do this overnight as it's part of my routine before a WC.
I use a Maxijet breaking the surface for this.

[DKoKoMan]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

Starting bare bottom is definately your safest option.

I recommended using as much old water as possible as this will, in my opinion, cause the least amount of stress to your corals.
Whatever new water you need to use, make sure you test and dose it first to get the big 3 matching your old water - Alk, Ca and Mag. And aerate it well to off-gas the CO2, bringing the pH up. I do this overnight as it's part of my routine before a WC.
I use a Maxijet breaking the surface for this.

Ok well it seems that the safest is adding sand after the fact. A couple questions regarding this method:


1. How do I pour the sand evenly out of my bad without getting it all over my LR and corals?

2. How do I get the sand in all the tight spaces (caves, overhangs, tunnels etc).

3. How long do I have to wait before I can start adding sand?

4. Can I add my whole 1” sand bed at one time?

5. What bacteria additive should I add to the new tank?

[ReefMadness]

when I moved my stuff from house to house I made sure not to interrupt the rock in the sand until I was had 90% of the water out and discarded the rest. i made sure to add a bottle of start-up bacteria and didn't add coral or fish until the tank was at temp in an effort to keep things less abrupt. in the end I didn't lose anything and it wasn't more than a week before things looked good again.
as for sand, I used all new sand adding just enough for my wrasses and then basically added the rest over a few weeks slowly in a Tupperware so It didn't dust my tank out completely.

[gregzz4]

You didn't answer a question I posed to you awhile back ... Is this going to be a 1 day transfer? If not, it'll be a piece of pie, or easy as cake ...

There are others here who I hope chime in as I'm no expert ...

Ok well it seems that the safest is adding sand after the fact. A couple questions regarding this method:

1. How do I pour the sand evenly out of my bad (hand?) without getting it all over my LR and corals?
I use a small measuring cup with the pumps off. Bucket full of sand wet with some tank water nearby and scoop with said cup. Then slowly dunk the cup in the tank 'till it's submerged. Go near the bottom and tip the cup, pouring as you go. Gravity will do the rest. It will literally 'pour out'. A turkey baster after the fact is good to clean sand off stuff.

2. How do I get the sand in all the tight spaces (caves, overhangs, tunnels etc). As above. Pour it near the space and the volume will fill it in. It will find it's way into spaces. Use your hand to push it around, wave it around. You'll be surprised how easy it is.

3. How long do I have to wait before I can start adding sand?
I'd personally wait a couple weeks. Others may tell you different. After adding sand, the system will be cloudy overnight. Changing socks will help. Don't panick. It will eventually clear the next day.

4. Can I add my whole 1” sand bed at one time?
If you're starting out Bare Bottom, I don't see why not. As long as the new sand is clean and 'new'. Rinse the heck out of it in (hopefully) a laundry tub using a small (2g) bucket. Rinse a couple gallons at a time with the tap running to 'overflow' the bucket. Swirl it around in the bucket with your hand, pour it out. Repeat many times. You'll be surprised how 'cloudy' new sand is.
You'll never rinse it 'clear'. I do 5-6 rinses per 'clump'

5. What bacteria additive should I add to the new tank?
My suggestion was Seachem Stability. Follow the bottle directions.
5ml/10g tank water on day one. Then 5ml/20g tank water each day for 1 week. This is to get you over the Ammonia hump. Any use after 1 week is a waste of money, unless you have am Ammonia problem.
And you're only doing this if you're adding livestock. It will not seed the tank.
It's only meant to combat Ammo from livestock.

[DKoKoMan]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

You didn't answer a question I posed to you awhile back ... Is this going to be a 1 day transfer? If not, it'll be a piece of pie, or easy as cake ...

There are others here who I hope chime in as I'm no expert ...

Sorry I missed answering your question on the previous post. Ideally I would like this to be a one day transfer leaving a 12 hr day open. To convince my wife with multiple tinkering between two tanks would probably be impossible. I figured pouring the sand in the tank would fill in the gaps etc. but wanted to confirm.

I picked up some AmQuel Plus to dose and assist with any ammonia that presents. I will pickup a bottle of the seachem stability to use for the first while as well. I’m also goIng to try my best to transfer LR from on tank in to the another keeping the LR ‘wet’ to try and prevent further die off. The last tank transfer I did the LR was out of water for approximately 15 mins.

If majority of the ammonia spikes are caused by live sand die off I’m prepared to go bare bottom for the first bit. I will have to find a jar for the goby and dual pistols if I go this route.

Thanks for chiming in gregzz, it’s appreciated!

[Dash]

Hey you’ve been following my tank transfer, right? Now you know what NOT to do

Anyway, best thing for me was being able to run both tanks side by side for a while so I could move a few things over to start it off. I guess I’m in the minority here in that I wanted to keep my sand. I moved some over to help seed the bit of new sand, and then the rest of the sand on transfer day I swirled around & rinsed in the old tank (after livestock was out) before taking it out by net. It was not a lot of work at all & settled quickly.

Anyway just wanted to wish you well on your transfer!

[DKoKoMan]

Originally Posted by Dash

Hey you’ve been following my tank transfer, right? Now you know what NOT to do

Anyway, best thing for me was being able to run both tanks side by side for a while so I could move a few things over to start it off. I guess I’m in the minority here in that I wanted to keep my sand. I moved some over to help seed the bit of new sand, and then the rest of the sand on transfer day I swirled around & rinsed in the old tank (after livestock was out) before taking it out by net. It was not a lot of work at all & settled quickly.

Anyway just wanted to wish you well on your transfer!

I have been following your tank thread and it’s coming together nicely . For me I will have to buy more sand for the larger tank and don’t really want all the extra work of washing my sand bed. If it was summer I could leave the hose run with water to help rinse off. I’m super stoked to get the new tank setup with some different things (learning the hard way) however my wife really doesn’t want to lose or larger fish which some have been with us for around 5 years. The new tank is for the larger fish to allow for more room with the external overflow and extra length / width.