Upgrading to tank with sump

[tharkema]

I have bought a used tank with sump that I will be swapping with my current sumpless tank. I am planning on doing this hopefully midweek. I have a couple of concerns that I am trying to address before I dive into this tank swap.

When swapping tanks...

1. Should I keep any of the old live sand or go with all new live sand (I have purchased a bunch of new live sand already)?

2. How should I go about cleaning the live rock from the old tank before putting into new tank? Just mix a bucket of saltwater and rinse.... any suggestions would be appreciated. I have a couple pieces with hair algae should I isolate them in a sealed bucket for a while to help get rid of it?

3. When using a sump is a filter still necessary? I currently have a fluval 405... and not sure if I still need it or can I sell it with old tank? Please Note: I had an AquaC remora HOB skimmer, but have upgraded to a Tunze 9410 and in the process of adding 2 phosban reactors, one for Rowaphos and one for Carbon.

4. I have a small refugium section in my sump and wondering if I should use live rock rubble or sand bed?

Thanks for any comments and suggestions that may help me out.

[tharkema]

Managed to pick up the last fitting I needed and now planning to start mixing some new saltwater today - if I can get some free time.

[Doug]

I always rinsed the detritus out of any old sand being used in a transfer. Rinsed in tank water though, that was being used for a water change.

Again for live rock, rinse in old tank water and scrub any crap or algae off with a stiff brush. I use a tooth brush. An old one.

No other filters are needed with the sump. Skimmer & your reactors are all thats needed. You can run filter socks to catch detritus or clean it from the sump during water changes. Remember anything like rubble in a sump, will collect detritus. If running a fudge with rubble and/or sand, try have cleaner filtered water feeding the refugium. Its purpose is to provide hidey places and some natural food for the tank , not filtration.

[tharkema]

Doug,

Thanks for taking the time to reply... many of my questions were answered. I will be doing a water change tonite and hopefully starting to take out and clean some of the live rock for the transfer.