Is Transferring Aragonite during tank upgrade worth it?

[GrampsReef]

I will be transferring the content of my 4.5 month old 55 gallon tank to my new-used 110 gallon tank in a couple of days and could use some advice about reusing the aragonite.

I want to use as much from the 55 as I can in hope of eliminating or at leas shortening a new cycle. One item I am concerned with transferring is the aragonite.

I it is 40 pounds and is around 2 inches deep in the 4 month old 55 gallon tank. There is quite a bit of surface algae on much of it. I plan to get rid of that portion and vacuum the rest out to partially clean it so it will keep the bacteria. I'll use that with a 20 pound bag of Special Grade Arag-Alive by Caribsea.

It is worth it to reuse the aragonite or should I buy new? If reuse, is my method above good?

Thanks

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I will be transferring the content of my 4.5 month old 55 gallon tank to my new-used 110 gallon tank in a couple of days and could use some advice about reusing the aragonite.

I want to use as much from the 55 as I can in hope of eliminating or at leas shortening a new cycle. One item I am concerned with transferring is the aragonite.

I it is 40 pounds and is around 2 inches deep in the 4 month old 55 gallon tank. There is quite a bit of surface algae on much of it. I plan to get rid of that portion and vacuum the rest out to partially clean it so it will keep the bacteria. I'll use that with a 20 pound bag of Special Grade Arag-Alive by Caribsea.

It is worth it to reuse the aragonite or should I buy new? If reuse, is my method above good?

Thanks

In a word, NO!
The only way I'd reuse the sand is if it was rinsed totally clean. The amount of waste in that sandbed, even if you vacuum it thoroughly, will make the new tank need to cycle. There is not enough bacteria in the sand to make up for the gunk it will put into your new tank.
Best bet is to buy new, rinse it well to minimize dust/cloudiness in the tank (so don't bother with "live sand"), and rely on your rocks and other media for bacteria. Add a bottle of Dr. Tims, and you'll be back in business.

Edit: This advice comes from personal experience moving my 90 gallon reef tank. I took the shortcut and regretted it.

 

[polyppal]

im on the fence with this one, I have reused most of my same Tahitian sand from my last 3 tanks and it has definitely aided somewhat in cycling/stability/maturity of the new systems. It also ads an instant amount of phosphates that you have to be ready for... But I super thoroughly clean it with fresh saltwater in buckets until it runs clear (which is a lot of labor and many gallons of saltwater)

The fact that you mentioned it has lots of algae would prob lead me to decide against cleaning/reusing the old sand and id just start fresh. If you do decide to reuse it, soak it in freshwater RODI to kill the marine algae, thoroughly clean it, and put it at the bottom of the sand bed with new sand on top. You will loose the beneficial bacteria, it'd be more about the economic value of reusing sand.

*I am talking about larger grain/argonite/special grade sand size. If its real fine, get rid of it.

 

[GrampsReef]

In a word, NO!
The only way I'd reuse the sand is if it was rinsed totally clean. The amount of waste in that sandbed, even if you vacuum it thoroughly, will make the new tank need to cycle. There is not enough bacteria in the sand to make up for the gunk it will put into your new tank.
Best bet is to buy new, rinse it well to minimize dust/cloudiness in the tank (so don't bother with "live sand"), and rely on your rocks and other media for bacteria. Add a bottle of Dr. Tims, and you'll be back in business.

Edit: This advice comes from personal experience moving my 90 gallon reef tank. I took the shortcut and regretted it.

I was wondering about that. Thanks.

 

[GrampsReef]

im on the fence with this one, I have reused most of my same Tahitian sand from my last 3 tanks and it has definitely aided somewhat in cycling/stability/maturity of the new systems. It also ads an instant amount of phosphates that you have to be ready for... But I super thoroughly clean it with fresh saltwater in buckets until it runs clear (which is a lot of labor and many gallons of saltwater)

The fact that you mentioned it has lots of algae would prob lead me to decide against cleaning/reusing the old sand and id just start fresh. If you do decide to reuse it, soak it in freshwater RODI to kill the marine algae, thoroughly clean it, and put it at the bottom of the sand bed with new sand on top. You will loose the beneficial bacteria, it'd be more about the economic value of reusing sand.

*I am talking about larger grain/argonite/special grade sand size. If its real fine, get rid of it.

I was planning to remove the sand with algae and pitch it. It is not real fine it is Caribsea dry aragonite. This is a picture of it wet when I put it in the tank.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

I was planning to remove the sand with algae and pitch it. It is not real fine it is Caribsea dry aragonite. This is a picture of it wet when I put it in the tank.

As polyppal said, if there's the option of rinsing the old sand completely clean using saltwater (I'm assuming lots and lots of new saltwater), you could conceivably save some of the bacteria in the sand... But that is a TON of work for the cost of a couple new bags and a bottle of bacteria.
When I finally tried rinsing my sand with just a hose, it took more than 6 hours (ok, I took a couple breaks), and it still didn't end up clean enough.

 

[polyppal]

yeah it looks like there isn't much benefit in terms of bacteria, it'd be just about saving a little money on another bag of aragonite.

To clean sand, I like to fill about 1/3 of a 5g bucket, add enough water to bring the bucket up to around 2/3 full, then just violently swish it around with my hand and pour off what comes out of the sand as its swirling around, before it can resettle. just keep adding water and keep going until it runs pretty clear

 

[Reefahholic]

From a person that has done it several times…it’s not worth it.

I would save two cups if it’s established to seed the new tank only if there’s nothing you’d be worried about bringing over into the new system.

 

[GrampsReef]

I appreciate all of the advice. I'm going to follow it and get some new sand. This actually makes the transfer a lot easier.

 

[nereefpat]

I'd save/reuse it, but I'm cheap.

 

[dedragon]

Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread

If you are reading this thread to cure a tank invasion from a link I sent you, we do not need to identify your type of invasion here we do not need you to test anything at anytime regarding nitrate, phosphate etc Above all, we do not need to see a microscope slide picture of your invasion at...

www.reef2reef.com

This thread might help a bit, GL

 

[nereefpat]

Keep in mind, that guy doesn't have a saltwater fish tank.