Tank move question

[diverbh4]

So I just moved everything to a new house the other day, the fish/LR/corals are all sitting in a separate tank than my display for now.

I pulled out the sand, and was wondering if its better to just get new sand or clean it? Wouldn't cleaning the sand kill off any nassarius/bristle worms etc as well? How long can I keep the sand in water before die off happens?

Would it be fine to get new sand and reseed it using the live rock? Or is there something more to the live sand?

Any thoughts to the outlet issue I have of they are all 2-prong only? Should I try to install a 3 prong/GFCI or just use an adapter?

 

[dannyp02908]

Regarding the sand. Common practice is to use new sand and seed it with a couple cups of old sand. The sand you have will not die as long as it is fairly shallow and has flow like it is a normal tank. in a 5 gallon bucket, a day or so and you will start to smell it.

Regarding your electrical. If you have 2 prong outlets, chances are there is no ground wire in the back. In this case, a GFCI will not work. You can use an adapter but that defeats the purpose of a grounded appliance. Especially around water. If you own the house, I would say now is a good time for an electrician, at least for the aquarium.

 

[diverbh4]

I am renting Although I am going to see if the owner will upgrade to at least grounded outlets.

 

[dannyp02908]

depending on what floor and the wiring behind the wall, it could be a big job. I always get nervous with aquariums and unknown wiring.

 

[Ruge13]

If you had a deep sand bed that you think was storing nitrates (generally old matured beds) I'd consider replacing but if not, I'd reuse it. I would not clean it. I'd only be suspicious of this
Disturbing your bed may cause a bit of a cycle though so if you have the time, I'd add the bed to the new tank and some live rock, watch for a cycle, if stable after a week add the rest of your tank back.

If you want to change the sand, maybe don't like the look of the old, it is also fine to use new and the old rock to see etc. But it will take more time for it to mature again and gain back the filtering/life you may have had before if your bed was deep enough to have stratified. Either works.

 

[diverbh4]

If you had a deep sand bed that you think was storing nitrates (generally old matured beds) I'd consider replacing but if not, I'd reuse it. I would not clean it. I'd only be suspicious of this
Disturbing your bed may cause a bit of a cycle though so if you have the time, I'd add the bed to the new tank and some live rock, watch for a cycle, if stable after a week add the rest of your tank back.

If you want to change the sand, maybe don't like the look of the old, it is also fine to use new and the old rock to see etc. But it will take more time for it to mature again and gain back the filtering/life you may have had before if your bed was deep enough to have stratified. Either works.

I only had 1-1.5" of sand but decided to take it out to move it down 3 flights. So now it is stirred up.

Do you think it will be fine just putting it back or at this point would cleaning it/replacing it be necessary?

Also, the sand in my sump wasn't moves and there is a section with 1.5-2" of sand still.

 

[FishHead]

i agree , would just use the old sand.

 

[stingythingy45]

I've always just rinsed the sand out really good with old tank water and reused it.

As far as 2 prong plugs.
I had this issue with my house. I've changed them all out. In my case the romex wire had a ground,but the box was grounded not the recep.
So in reality the recep was grounded,but,through the screws(metal box).
So the ground wire was screwed to the bottom of the box.
I pig tailed from that ground wire to the recep.
Easy fix,maybe somebody can help if you're not cool with doing it. I had a licensed elec. co-worker that went over it with me.

*** Make sure the power is off before you goof with anything electrical***

 

[Ruge13]

Its hard to say without knowing your system. If you have no reason to think there are advantages to starting new, for example needing to dump in the new tank with inhabitants and forcing them to endure a cycle, or some contaminant issue you think might lurk in the sand, then I see no reason why you can't just reuse the old sand. There is no hard and fast rule that says don't reuse sand.