Switching to sand

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mc925

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Messages
10
Hi guys,

I will be moving my 90g tank in about 2-3 weeks (just bought a house...woohoo) anyways, I want to switch over to live sand from crushed corals. I will try and take as much water as i can possible during the move. my question is when i add the sand and carefully replacing the established water (fresh saltwater would be added as well), is it safe to add the fish back into the tank or is there a cycling process?
 
From what I have read from the experts, live sand in a bag is really not live at since it has been sitting on a shelf. Personally, I would go with aragonite, it will become live over time anyways. CC is no good either so make sure you do get rid of it as it does increase nitrite levels.

Hope this helps! :bowl:
 
Almost had it right, shark...it will trap waste and increase nitrAtes.
I agree with the live sand...don't spend the extra money on "live", get the dry stuff.
Mc, the water host very little of the beneficial bacteria so that is not as important as keeping the bacteria alive on your rock. My suggestion would be to move the LR in buckets with your water, have your critters in another bucket(s) with water, take a scoop or two of your CC with you to seed the new sand. You can keep the CC in a mesh bag when you put it in your tank just, leave it there for a few days so the beneficial bacteria can seed the sand and remove it. If you have enough cured LR, you probably don't even need the CC.
Make sure you have some fresh PWC ready for after the move.
 
PWC just in case you have any spikes in water parameters.
 
You can bring some of the water for your tank but as Scott said dont think you are bringing any of the vnitrifying bacteria with you. If you keep your LR wet then you are bringing the bacteria with you. The good bacteria stays on surfaces like LR, Glass and equipment.
 
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