Water from old tank question
- Thread starter looneywun7
- Start date
Hey Brian,
I might have missed it in another thread but you didn't mention the size of your old tank and the new one here. Most off the good bacteria that will keep your new tank from going into a cycle is on the surface of your live rock and in your sandbed, not so much your water. Your old water is good for your livestock as it is used to its parameters already. If your new tank is bigger and you are having to add a lot more water, your new tank will likely cycle especially without your old live rock. Also, depending how much new water you are adding you might want to drip acclimate your coral to prevent shock. In any case I would keep some bacteria, clean saltwater, carbon, and maybe even something to fight ammonia and nitrate if you are adding your livestock to the new tank without giving it time to cycle. I would hate to see something spike in the middle of the night and you be without the tools to offset the problem. Good luck with the new build!
-Nick
I might have missed it in another thread but you didn't mention the size of your old tank and the new one here. Most off the good bacteria that will keep your new tank from going into a cycle is on the surface of your live rock and in your sandbed, not so much your water. Your old water is good for your livestock as it is used to its parameters already. If your new tank is bigger and you are having to add a lot more water, your new tank will likely cycle especially without your old live rock. Also, depending how much new water you are adding you might want to drip acclimate your coral to prevent shock. In any case I would keep some bacteria, clean saltwater, carbon, and maybe even something to fight ammonia and nitrate if you are adding your livestock to the new tank without giving it time to cycle. I would hate to see something spike in the middle of the night and you be without the tools to offset the problem. Good luck with the new build!
-Nick
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I have read in many places that the bacteria are primarily on the sand and rock. I don't know if that is correct or not. It makes sense that a layer (perhaps slime layer ) of bacteria adhere to hard surfaces. On the other hand, there are bacteria in a bottle to either help cycle or clean up gunk in a tank. Do those bottle bacteria just settle on hard surfaces or do they stay in he water column. Also when you overdose carbon,you get a bloom in the water. I wonder do you get a layer of white funky bacteria on the rock and sand with a carbon overdose as well. It simply makes me wonder whether we really understand the dynamics or not. There is so much myth science and voodoo intermixed in our knowledge and experience that I wonder or question some of these statements. Never understood how if phosphate is bound in rock and algae and if your phosphate reading is low that is considered an error. If it is bound and not available for testing isn't it like it's really not there. Just musing out loud, sorry to hijack the thread
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When i tank transfer i always bring the old tank water. I feel like its too much perfectly good water to waste. Old tank water has good stuff in it that takes time & energy (light hours), like organics, plankton, & some denitrifying bacteria (how did they get into your tank in thr first place?). Imo theres more good in the old water than bad, which makes it worth it. Obviously same with LR which had most of the denitrifying bacteria on it. Live sand is a toss up. I bring that too, but last, after i rinse it in a lot of salt / fesh water and let it air dry on a tarp for little while; a small portion of LS is spared this treatment and kept in fresh saltwater bc this will be added last to the cleaned LS to seed it (not really needed as i bring the old LR which is seeded.
If youre worried about aiptasia & ich filter the okd water through a sock. If you cant get a handle on keeping aiptasia / majano & ich in check your days as a reefer are numbered.
If youre worried about aiptasia & ich filter the okd water through a sock. If you cant get a handle on keeping aiptasia / majano & ich in check your days as a reefer are numbered.
