Sterility Shock--Anyone available to help?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 3:57 pm

I'm cleaning out my old tank to get rid of calci-sand and put my playsand + EE in it. (If anyone can recommend whether to mix or leave half-half, please let me know. My intention is to half-half and let the hermies do what they will).***Anyway, I just realized that I didn't save any of the substrate from my newer tank. I completely replaced all of it 3 days ago when I brought it home (craigslist). Is it better to add some of the substrate I'm taking from my 2 month old established tank or to leave it as is?Thanks. I'm a little worried about sterility shock in my newer tank.

Crabby Abby · Post by **Crabby Abby** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 4:48 pm

I appreciate the topic TammyLynn.While I'm not a fan of calcisand substrates, when new members have been found to have purchased and used them we've recommended in t that they be mixed in small percentage with playsand and/or coconut fiber so that's what I recommend here. What I'm going to suggest though is that you assess it's condition first.One of the reasons that calcisand doesn't make a good substrate is that it packs and sometimes pools and traps stagnant water at the bottom of the tank. We have a member who lost several hermits this way so if you find any pockets of wetness, odor, etc at bottom then just use some of the substrate from the middle.When you add it to the tank, make sure to mix it with whatever you're using. I'd make no more than 25% of the necessary substrate in the new tank calcisand.

Crabby Abby · Post by **Crabby Abby** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 5:15 pm

Yeah, if it seems usable and not tainted, I think the benefit of seeding the new tank with a small amount are beneficial.

lpshiner · Post by **lpshiner** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 5:55 am

I too am a big fan of seeding the new tank with old substrate- but if you cannot, I wouldn't necessarily worry about it too much. On other boards there are a lot of people who don't ever do that and seem to think it is fine. When I set up my last tank I went from a 10 gallon (which I kept as an ISO, so needed most of the substrate) to a 30 gallon. I put about 4-8 cups of the old substrate in the new tank. My crabs did fine, although to me it seemed like they had a *bit* of sterility shock, looking back on it. They took a few days to be active in the new tank, although my crabs do tend to hide a bit when something new is put into the tank. They like to explore it after a few days, though....so maybe they are just cautious<G>. The other thing I noticed is that it took up to a couple of *weeks* before my new tank stabilized in regards to humidity...although the substrate (one half was all EE, the other half was mixed EE and playsand) was properly moistened/sand castle etc when I put it in. Although it seemed like I kept the substrate moisture and water dishes the same all along, the humidity bounced up and down like mad for the first two weeks..then it settled in nicely and has been very stable since (August or September). So your new tank might do the same...