Last minute move questions

[skae310]

Hey guys I am moving my tank tomorrow meaning I am packing it in the early morning. I have a 14 gallon biocube and plan to empty the tank into two containers. One holding rocks, the other holding fish and corals. I plan on just carrying the biocube empty. Due to the old sand kicking up some nasty stuff I plan to change it. Then when I got there I would add the rocks and water, then fish and corals. However I know changing the sand then adding water is going to be a mess...So this leads to my main question. Do you think it would be ok to remove the old sand (after all stuff is taken out) and then just have no sand in the tank till after I set it up in the new location?? Then add it slowly over time. Basically I would be without a sand bed for the first 24 hours or so. Then I would add it over the course of a week. That way I could keep the cloudy water to a minimum. Because im not positive, but I doubt throwing corals and fish into a completely cloudy tank is a good idea...and leaving them in a container isnt either.

 

[pat8you]

That won't be a problem. Many people run thier tanks bare bottom all the time. I would consider keeping a scoop or two of your old sand to seed your new sand bed. Good luck with the move.

 

[skae310]

Wow I hadnt been on aquarium advice for a while and I forgot how much I love the almost immediate responses And thanks thats what I think I will be doing then. I replaced a sand bed a while back. It wasnt too bad. Anyways I will let you guys know how everything works out. Its a 5 hour ride from Pittsburgh to Rochester. And then the clowns will be livin the college life haha. Still have no clue what the roommates gonna think.....but we will see

 

[iDream]

great advice, doing the same in several months, exact same tank and ride length, central FL to tallahassee =]

 

[skae310]

Sweet! well I will let you know how it goes. And give you any suggestions I have. hahah because I am sure after doing it once I will have a way to perfect it. (I gotta move it back in May so I better! haha)

 

[milhous3er]

Take a net, one thats used for Brine shrimp and rinse out your sand. Rinse it pretty good under water for around 30-60 sec. and place it into the water. I did mine this way and the water was only cloudy for about an hour or so. It won't hurt the fish, it just doesn't look that good to the eye.

 

[skae310]

Okay I will make sure to do that as well. And I wasn't sure if when the sand settles on coral how they'd react. That was my main concern.

 

[milhous3er]

The sand doesn't settle on the coral. Its just the dust that gives it the cloudy look. Run some carbon and some nice filter floss for a couple hours. Just remember to clean every 30 min or so. Should clear up nicely for you.

 

[skae310]

Ok sweet. I will make sure to do that. Thanks a lot. Im feeling pretty confident about moving this tank

 

[Jimbo7]

Sand can settle on the coral, and it will make them slime something terrible, further making your tank nasty. Use a piece of PVC pipe when you add your sand to pour down so it goes right where you want it. Cuts down on cloudyness a TON.

 

[milhous3er]

Sand can settle on the coral, and it will make them slime something terrible, further making your tank nasty. Use a piece of PVC pipe when you add your sand to pour down so it goes right where you want it. Cuts down on cloudyness a TON.

What I was saying is that when I put the sand into the tank, with it being wet it just sank straight to the bottom. Now your idea of using PVC is a great idea, if you just use the net and turn it inside out you can place the sand where you need it.

I hope the OP wasn't implying to just let the sand loose on the water surface. If you do that then yeah you can get sand on your corals. So OP, don't do that !!

 

[Jimbo7]

Haha, sorry that came off a bit harsh on you milhouse, not what I meant. I just wanted to be sure of the same things.

 

[milhous3er]

It didn't come off that way towards me. Just trying to help a brotha out !!

 

[David S]

All I did when I cleaned out my tank and changed the sand was to rinse the sand empty straight into the empty tank put some filter media over the sand completly covering the sand,put a plate in upside down and fill up,remove plate and media,just about no cloud.