I will be moving in a few weeks, and while I have a plan to move my fish, corals, etc....what about the sandbed? Should I remove/rinse in RODI the existing sand, or get new sand, and if new, should I rinse first?
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Rinse the sand, do you plan on adding new water during the move? If so use your “old” water.
Rinse bothRinse new or old sand with the old water?
How old is the old sand? That will determine if you should rinse it, or replace it.
@brandon429 has threads about this that track many tank moves.Rinse new or old sand with the old water?
Bacteria live mostly on your rocks, not the sand. As long as the bioload doesn't change, and you keep the rocks wet, you'll be fine.
Live sand is one of the biggest gimmicks in the hobby, and people buy into it lock, stock, and barrel.
Bacteria lives everywhere sand and rocks/glass. Live sand is not a gimmic it has live bacteria that will help him setup the tank and not have the tank cycle. I also believe in bio-diversity so getting bacteria from different sources is a good thing. I also buy my sand from amazon so it cost me the same are regular sand and it’s delivered to my front door so it’s a no brainer for me.
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How did you get through multi-day moves with a reef tank? I’ve got another one coming up next year some time and I’m contemplating selling all my livestock and starting over, but I’ve got some things I’d really like to hold on to.I’d rinse the sand very well. If the move is more than a few hours dry it out and reuse. I have done 4 cross country moves, 2 were multi day. You can definitely reuse the sand but if you keep it in a bucket without water flow it quickly turns anoxic and hydrogen sulphide builds up rapidly. Not only is it toxic if not very thoroughly re rinsed but it will stink to high hell!