Restarting due to blue clove polyps

[KrisReef]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/official-sand-rinse-and-tank-transfer-thread.230281/

 

[Fish Fan]

Do you think I can keep those fishes in a temp tank of size 60x30x30 ( roughly 50 litres) for a few weeks till i cycle the new rock and sand in main display tank?

60 cm is about 24 inches for us Imperial folks, and yes, I think that's large enough for a temporary home for those fish. But, you might have aggression issues with two clowns and two damsels. I'm honestly surprised you don't already have aggression issues with this group of fish.

My worry is mainly about die off from adding Caribsea sand on the day of transfer causing another ammonia spike.

I don't think that sand will cause a large ammonia spike, but you can rinse it to remove any organics just to be safe.

I wont be using the old rock and sand, I want to start fresh. But I dont know how and where to move fish and corals till I cycle the new rock. There is no one around who can help me keep the fish and corals for the time being.

Get creative, think storage bins and totes. We have these here in the US, these are perfectly reef safe to use as a temporary tank:
https://www.homedepot.com/pep/HDX-2...o6knCb9pydJz_fklkvaCnY10krgPCQoBoC_UAQAvD_BwE

 

[dart]

60 cm is about 24 inches for us Imperial folks, and yes, I think that's large enough for a temporary home for those fish. But, you might have aggression issues with two clowns and two damsels. I'm honestly surprised you don't already have aggression issues with this group of fish.

Yeah, that was a beginner mistake.I got the fish before doing the proper research. There's some aggression here and there, especially around feeding time and territory, but it's never escalated to real damage. They've have been in the same tank together for over a year now. I will have to ask my LSF if they can take the damsels back.

I don't think that sand will cause a large ammonia spike, but you can rinse it to remove any organics just to be safe.

Sure , I will give this a try.

Get creative, think storage bins and totes. We have these here in the US, these are perfectly reef safe to use as a temporary tank:

Amazing, I was able to find something similar here. I think I'll just get them and cycle the rock in a temp tank or move the livestock over until the new rock cycles. Thanks for the lead!

 

[dart]

Have you read the "Sand Rinse Thread" on here?

With new sand, even "live sand" in a bag I would focus on rinsing the fine dust from the new sand until it runs clear, and then add it without having to deal with cloudiness when-ever the gravel is stirred in the tank. Rinsing in tap water, multiple times until the fines are removed does not remove live bacteria completely.

The new sand should not cause an ammonia spike unless it comes with an ammonia source. A proper rinse should remove any waste or funk that might biodegrade.

Thanks for the pointer about the sand rinse thread. It makes sense that rinsing won't kill off the bacteria completely and good to know it should prevent an ammonia spike as long as there's no ammonia source already in it. Appreciate the info!

 

[KrisReef]

Thanks for the pointer about the sand rinse thread. It makes sense that rinsing won't kill off the bacteria completely and good to know it should prevent an ammonia spike as long as there's no ammonia source already in it. Appreciate the info!

I bought our fish tank fully loaded from a family that had lost their way and were selling their tank to replace it with a home gym. That was a sad case, but I got some really nice sand that I rinsed bucket by bucket until there was no clouds, and the sand settled immediately in the bucket with clear water over head. That one action has allowed me to neglect the fish tank sand, and now when I clean the sand it gives up the detritus in the siphon vacuum more readily and without causing those clouds that I used to get when I had unwashed sand. It's once and done. Best tip for folks who have a sandbed in their tank.

The other thing, is that even after I rinsed the sand, a huge population of little planktonic like shrimps and pods were visible in the system shortly after the move. A refuge population of inverts made the transfer in the overflow that I did not bother to clean, (or over looked?)

 

[dart]

I bought our fish tank fully loaded from a family that had lost their way and were selling their tank to replace it with a home gym. That was a sad case, but I got some really nice sand that I rinsed bucket by bucket until there was no clouds, and the sand settled immediately in the bucket with clear water over head. That one action has allowed me to neglect the fish tank sand, and now when I clean the sand it gives up the detritus in the siphon vacuum more readily and without causing those clouds that I used to get when I had unwashed sand. It's once and done. Best tip for folks who have a sandbed in their tank.

The other thing, is that even after I rinsed the sand, a huge population of little planktonic like shrimps and pods were visible in the system shortly after the move. A refuge population of inverts made the transfer in the overflow that I did not bother to clean, (or over looked?)

Appreciate you sharing that. Glad that the tank found a good home with you.

I will get new sand and do a proper rinse before adding it to the tank this time. I will mostly get the CaribSea special grade. My plan is to add the new sand on the same day I transfer the cycled rock, then test water params before deciding to add livestock. Does that sound reasonable or would you wait a bit between steps ? I'd really like to move livestock in as soon as possible so I'm not keeping them cramped in a tighter space for too long

 

[KrisReef]

Appreciate you sharing that. Glad that the tank found a good home with you.

I will get new sand and do a proper rinse before adding it to the tank this time. I will mostly get the CaribSea special grade. My plan is to add the new sand on the same day I transfer the cycled rock, then test water params before deciding to add livestock. Does that sound reasonable or would you wait a bit between steps ? I'd really like to move livestock in as soon as possible so I'm not keeping them cramped in a tighter space for too long

IF you are using fresh salt and RODI water to mix the parameters will hopefully be solid shortly afterwards.

Parameters will sometimes drift, especially with "new rocks" that often take up alkalinity until the chemical matricies in the aragonite are saturated. I might add alk and test, then after a day or two retest in the cycling buckets to evaluate the status of the new rocks and alk uptake. Once it's stable, the new water and rock should be similar to the established. Test often until stability is observed.

 

[Tcook]

No waiting necessary. Get the rock scape stable then add the sand.