tank tranfser: sand bed stay or go?

[H2OLUVSME]

i just had to move my 29 over to a 75, due to an unforseen water ecapage (leak) from the 29. i purchased three 20lb bags from the LFS, but need more. can i reuse the sand from the 29? it was set up for 6mo. i had 40lbs in there. this is all carib-a-sea arag-alive sand of different sizes.

so my questions are:
can i reuse my SB?

should i clense it first?
will this kill the life? or save my new tank?


im emptying it into buckets of the last bit of tank water now. should i put it in my tank, garage, or trash?

TIA
landon

[Kratos]

I may be wrong but I think the 'old' sand will seed the new tank. A quick rinse in some tank water to remove ditrus but I'd be ready for a small die off from new tank syndrome. As for the 29g I'd keep it and seal the crack, if possable, and use it as a sump.

[H2OLUVSME]

i bought a 30 for the sump as the 29 was too tall, and most of all i needed to put it in the stand before i set the 75 up, which wasnt really an option. my thoughts were on reusing the SB, but some one told me that they had a tank crash, trying to move one over. i dont see how, if i dont transfer over all the detritus, but id like some more input. im glad you agree with me on the seeding though, thats exactly what i thought. im definatley going to transfer some over, just not totally convinced i can save the whole thing unless i rinse it down :confused:

landon

[Blown 346]

Take as much sand out as you want but rinse in tank water like in a bucket. Go throught it with your hand and get as much crap out as you can, and ditch the water. Take a cup and start putting it into your new tank. The only reason a tank would crash is if you didnt rinse the sand, since you would be digging up all the nitrates and releasing them in the system.

[bertoni]

Since the tank is only 6 months old, I'd reuse the sand. You can take the top two inches, which holds most of the animals, and use it as the top of your new sandbed. If you rinse the sand, you'll likely lose many of the animals in it.

If the sand has been sitting out of the water or at low temperatures for very long, I'd ditch it altogether, though.

[H2OLUVSME]

thanks all! im off to rinse.

bertoni i put two cups of the original sand in before i mixed it all ina bucket.

landon