Changing sand cause a spike?

[Craig1089]

Will changing sand to new sand cause a spike?

[CronicReefer]

It's very possible and more than likely.

[Psychosis]

That all depends on how old the sand is and how much you're replacing at once. Slowly pulling out the old stuff one corner at a time before adding the new stuff should only cause negligible spikes, again depending on how much, how old it is, and how big your tank is

[Craig1089]

I replaced it all because recently I did a tank move, I bought the tank off someone else all setup, fully cycled etc. But ever since I set it up it had ammonia 0.25 nitrite 0.25 and nitrates of around 50. So I was told on here my only options were to either ride it out and risk loosing live stock or replace the sand as that was probably the cause. So today tore my tank apart took all live rock, corals and live stock and placed them in another thank, then used a net to clean out the old sand and the siphone whilst draining the water to clean all the bits the net couldn't get. I replaced it with fresh new crushed coral after I'd soaked it to remove the dust etc. Then I changed 80% of the water, added all the live stock back in. The tank is approx 6 months old, but iv only had it for 3 weeks since the move. And it's a custom made nano tank that's drilled with sump It holds roughly 130 litres with both.

[Psychosis]

In that instance, removing it all at once was the right call. Sand beds trap nutrients, and if you're moving the tank disturbing the sand bed is inevitable, and it can wreak havoc on your parameters. I would avoid adding any new critters for the next few weeks so that the tank can stabilize, and obviously water changes would be in your best interest during this period. Good luck with it.

[Craig1089]

My levels are now even worse than before, ammonia .25 nitrite 0 and nitrate 80!! How is it getting worse iv been dosing no3po4x and it hasn't done a single thing!! Really struggling now

[Psychosis]

My levels are now even worse than before, ammonia .25 nitrite 0 and nitrate 80!! How is it getting worse iv been dosing no3po4x and it hasn't done a single thing!! Really struggling now

 

Can you give me all of the system specifics? Size, livestock, lbs of live rock, etc etc.

[Craig1089]

100 litre tank 20 litre sump, two clown fish, two hermits, 1 sand sifting snail and 1 turbo. Two green star polyp colony's 1 leather finger coral and one rock with mushrooms on. Two power heads 2500lph, and nano 900 korallia. As I spoke about yesterday changed all the sand as thought this was the cause, but my nitrate is now even worse than yesterday

 

15kg live rock

[CronicReefer]

Your nitrate will continue to increase because you are rebuilding the bacteria colonies you lost that were present in the sand. Give it time and water changes and you will see improvement.

[Psychosis]

I suspect cronic is correct, I was trying to assess how large a bioload the system is catching up with. You're essentially going to have to soft cycle the tank, ie frequent small water changes. These are all of the dangers associated with disturbing an established sand bed, and although not ideal your current livestock should be able to weather the storm with out a hitch. I'd recommend 5% changes daily for the duration of the cycle, however if that is impractical larger changes less frequently will suffice. The key thing is to not panic and start changing things up that may aggravate the issue.

[Craig1089]

Iv just tested water again with another test kit and after all these water changes etc i somehow had two faulty test kits, my nitrate reads 15ppm now ammonia 0 nitrite 0. I can't actually believe it. My finger coral is drooping though is this normal as iv had to handle it a couple of times in last few days