New sand bed question

[SMACKERS4]

I am going to be moving my tank at the end of the month to a new place. I already purchased a fresh bag of Reef Flakes to replace the existing sand bed. Is there anything i can do in the next couple of weeks to seed the new sand before i put it in the tank? Is it necessary to do anything besides rinsing it when adding fresh sand to a somewhat established reef tank? What else should be considered? Thanks!

 

[Seanytotha]

When I moved my tank to a new location I also replaced my sand bed. What I did was take a couple scoops of the top layer of the old sand bed and kept it on the side, I then set the tank up as normal with new sand added first followed by as much original tank water I tried to save as well as new water. I then poured the old sand I scooped up into the sand bed to let all the critters that were in my old sand bed scatter into the new sand this way you'll get a head start at repopulating your sand bed. You'll experience a small diatom bloom since there will be a small amount of die off but not anything significant.


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[TangPolice]

When I moved my tank to a new location I also replaced my sand bed. What I did was take a couple scoops of the top layer of the old sand bed and kept it on the side, I then set the tank up as normal with new sand added first followed by as much original tank water I tried to save as well as new water. I then poured the old sand I scooped up into the sand bed to let all the critters that were in my old sand bed scatter into the new sand this way you'll get a head start at repopulating your sand bed. You'll experience a small diatom bloom since there will be a small amount of die off but not anything significant.


+ 100 Same here

 

[Flying Turkey]

When I moved my tank to a new location I also replaced my sand bed. What I did was take a couple scoops of the top layer of the old sand bed and kept it on the side, I then set the tank up as normal with new sand added first followed by as much original tank water I tried to save as well as new water. I then poured the old sand I scooped up into the sand bed to let all the critters that were in my old sand bed scatter into the new sand this way you'll get a head start at repopulating your sand bed. You'll experience a small diatom bloom since there will be a small amount of die off but not anything significant.


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I'm starting up a my first tank and I am buying dry sand from Marco Rocks and dry rock from Reef Cleaners and I was trying to figure out the best way to seed the sand. I was planning on just using 10 lbs of live rock, but now I think I need something else to help seed the sand. Do you know of any LFS that will sell a few lbs of actual live sand with micro/macro fauna?

 

[Seanytotha]

If anything live rock will be more than enough to get your cycle going while also seeding the dry rock of coralline and the beneficial bacteria you'll need. It'll also get your sand populated as well but it's also a good choice to populate the sand just like I had said earlier since you'll get more diversity. I don't know of any LFS that sells sand from their systems but your next best bet and the one I highly encourage is looking for some local reefers that live in your area or close to you. I'm sure they'd be more than willing to give you a scoop or two from their established systems to jump start yours.


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[Flying Turkey]

If anything live rock will be more than enough to get your cycle going while also seeding the dry rock of coralline and the beneficial bacteria you'll need. It'll also get your sand populated as well but it's also a good choice to populate the sand just like I had said earlier since you'll get more diversity. I don't know of any LFS that sells sand from their systems but your next best bet and the one I highly encourage is looking for some local reefers that live in your area or close to you. I'm sure they'd be more than willing to give you a scoop or two from their established systems to jump start yours.


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Awesome thanks!

 

[Seanytotha]

You're welcome!