Need Advice - 55 to 75 gallon sand transfer

[Atoll on me]

I will be upgrading from a 55 to a 75 gallon tank. The 55 is about 9 months old. The sand bed is 2-3 inches deep. I also have between 35-50 nassarius snails and a diamond watchman to stir up the sand.

I would like to take the sand from the 55 and transfer it to the 75 for the bacteria. I also don't want to pick out all the nassarius snails from the old sand. I have heard that transferring sand can cause problems. With the sand being less than a year old, not that deep and being constantly mixed by the snails and goby would it be safe to transfer to the 75?

Thank you in advance for any tips!

 

[Utubereefer]

That’s an excessive amount of snails. You should be ok considering the amount of time they tank was up. Just try to be slow and steady. Don’t just dump it in. Use a dustpan to scoop it out and place it in the new tank right off the pan.

 

[Atoll on me]

That’s an excessive amount of snails. You should be ok considering the amount of time they tank was up. Just try to be slow and steady. Don’t just dump it in. Use a dustpan to scoop it out and place it in the new tank right off the pan.

Ive always read 1 to 2 nass snails per gallon.

They sure put on show during feeding time!

 

[Utubereefer]

Ive always read 1 to 2 nass snails per gallon.

They sure put on show during feeding time!

O I bet they do. It’s gotta be like a parade. I would do a dozen tops in a tank that size.
That 1-2 per gallon is written in a lot of places but I don’t agree with it. The snails will end up out competing each other for food and could start dying off. I’d get rid of a bunch when you transfer the sand but that’s just my opinion.

 

[BryanM]

I will be upgrading from a 55 to a 75 gallon tank. The 55 is about 9 months old. The sand bed is 2-3 inches deep. I also have between 35-50 nassarius snails and a diamond watchman to stir up the sand.

I would like to take the sand from the 55 and transfer it to the 75 for the bacteria. I also don't want to pick out all the nassarius snails from the old sand. I have heard that transferring sand can cause problems. With the sand being less than a year old, not that deep and being constantly mixed by the snails and goby would it be safe to transfer to the 75?

Thank you in advance for any tips!

I think the general belief is that your live rock contains most of the beneficial bacteria...

The common problem with moving sand is releasing unwanted toxins and detritus.

In your scenario I do not think I'd be too worried about this, but it begs the question still, is it worth the risk?

If you do end up going with new sand, rinse it first, and rinse it well, or you will have a cloudy mess on your hands that can last days.