what is the best way to move a dsb?

[epon]

I have a thriving sand bed in a 20g, that I recently aquired from a fellow nano-reefer. (lots of little brittle stars, detrivores, etc.)I want to move this sand to a 55g that will be set up in the near future. I planned on adding dead sand to the bottom of the 55 and then place the live sand from the 20g on the top. For the time being I just put some live rock, powerhead, filter, and heater in the 20g untill I decide on the best thing to do.

Here are my questions-

What is the best way to do the move(if even possible)

Will this harm the critters in the sand being moved and buried?

Any tips from someone who has done this before would be greatly appreciated. (I realise this isn't exactly a nano question, I apologize If I offend someone) Thanks in advance -

[lizbeth]

I've never done this but I've heard if moving it in layers. Take off the top 1 inch or so and put it in a bucket, then the next inch in another bucket and so on. When you put it back in the tank put the bottom layer back in and work you way up. That way you are making sure the critters aren't buried.

 

You have much more surface area in a 55 so this might not even be a concern.

[Sahin]

What lizbeth said makes sense, so even though I havent done it myself, I think thats a very feasable solution to maximise survival of the DSB critter populations.

[MKramer]

Anything that's anaerobic will probably be killed by the oxygen exposure, just while removing and replacing the sand. A small percentage will probably survive, though, and hopefully quickly multiply.

[C2187]

Just put the 20 into the 55. It should fit. lol

[Sahin]

C2187:

[epon]

Thanks for the reply. I had considered this approach, but wanted some expert feedback. I'm not sure I'll have the guts to attempt this, and may just innoculate the 55 with a bit of the 20g sand. Any idea how much of a innoculation it will take to get the sand going in the 55g? I planned on roughly 100lbs of dead sand + live sand innoculation. Thanks again. Who knows you might just see this 20g resetup and posted in the tanks section. Depends on if I get the guts or not to move a virtual underwater metropolis. I have never seen this many little critters in one spot before, and the little brittle stars are awesome. Thanks !

[The Unit]

hey its a sand bed your not giving birth......scoop dump scoop dump........everthing will find its place....ya sure u will always have die off but that what reproduction is for........i have done it twice and am about to do it again with my ten to a 15high........gl with whatever approuch u take.....

[glazer]

I'm with the The Unit... (sounds wierd, but anyway)

 

I have moved sand from tank to tank several times and believe me no special care taken. You are talking about sand in a 20 and adding it to a 55... By the time you spread out THAT sand to seed the dead sand in the 55 you are gonna add what... maybe an inch tops to the surface.... It will be fine.

[epon]

Woo Hoo ! finally something is easy? This must be too good to be true. Most of all I just wanted to make sure there wasn't some delicate and stratified system of critters that I was going to "ruin" by mixing it all up. Im still wondering how much of this live sand it would take to innoculate a dead layer of sand in the 55g. Any ideas? This is partialy due to the fact that I'm growing fonder of this 20g and am tempted more and more to set it back up as a nano. If I did this, I was hoping to use part of the 20g live sand as a innoculation for the 55g. Then, add back dead sand to the 20g to make up for the sand I removed for the 55. Does this sound possible or just silly?

[lizbeth]

That's kind of what I said in my post, that with the difference in size it might not be a concern.

 

Sure keep the 20 as a nano. You can seed the larger tank with a few cups and replace it (or not) in the nano. I've been switching sand around in my tanks, so far no problems with it.

 

IMO most live sand is a bit over rated. Most doesn't have many critters in it. Most of those come from the live rock. Notice all the mosts