20 Year Old Tank Replacement

[fisher]

I have a 20 year old 55 Gallon FOWLR tank (I've had the tank for 10 years and bought it used). The tank itself is fine, but, the particle board stand is showing signs of wear and I don't need 55 gallons of saltwater flowing through my kitchen

I keep my bio load low - one tomato clown fish that I've had for 9 years, three damsels and a six line wrass and about 30 pounds of live rock with a ton of mushroom coral. The tank's substrait is dolamite (spelling?).

My filtration system is extremely simple. I have a UG filter, a AquaClear power filter and a CPR backpack protein skimmer. I think it may be a good opportunity to upgrade some of this equipment as it's age varies from 8-10 years as well. I'd love to ditch the UG filter but fear making a mess and don't want to killthe many critters that live in there. That said, I'd love to create sand bed as I like the way it looks.

I've had only minimal problems with water quality and disease over my decade of fishkeeping using this setup.

My plan for swapping the tank is as follows:

1. Get 11 5 gallon buckets
2. Remove as much water as possible, live rock and net the fish
3. Remove UG filter and dolamite bed
4. Swap out the stands
5. Add sand (can I do this and leave the dolamite?)
6. Put the water back

Will this work without killing my fish or critters that live in the bed?

 

[ladyshark]

I would say try to work it so you move the tank as little as possible to avoid stress on the seams and creating a leak. I would be concerned about using new sand over old--if new sand is on top, you may block the bacterial benefit of your established bed and/or create nitrite/trate problems under the new sand. On the other hand, you might get a cool DSB effect--I am not sure about this, but have read enough about it to suggest that you research this first. Of course, you want all that good established bacteria in your current dolomite to stay in the tank.

As long as you keep the fish in the same water they are in, and return the same water back, you should be ok as far as they go. You would want keep everything the same for a week or so, in terms of your filter components, etc. until the stress of the move has passed. If you change anything, and your fish get stressed, you will not be able to tell if it was the change or the move that caused the problem.

I think as long as you move quickly, and have everything ready so the fish are out, back in quickly, they will be ok.

BTW, a trick to keep dust down from puttiing water into the new tank is to place plates on top of the sand before pouring, or so I have heard.

If you are worried about releasing toxins from your dolomite due to stirring up the bed, maybe think about dumping half or three quarters of the dolomite, and mix the rest with the new sand to keep some of the bacterial effect.

I am not as experienced or knowledgable as most folks on this board, but that is my .02

Good luck--

 

[fisher]

Thanks ladyshark - that's great advice

 

[tbittner]

I think I'd dump all of the dolomite and replace it with the sand. I wouldn't use "live sand" either but I'd use dry aragonite. In a month of so, it'll become live sand anyway.

Attempting to save the dolomite may stir up a lot of stuff that, like ladyshark said, may cause a mini cycle. Most of your natural filtration comes from the LR anyway.

I also wouldn't get enough sand to make a DSB. The more I read about them, the more it makes sense to have a DSB in a bucket and have water run through the bucket and back into your system. About every six months to a year, you'd throw the sand in the bucket away and fill it up with fresh sand. Otherwise, a DSB is a potential time bomb waiting to kill everything in your tank.

That being said, I wouldn't do a DSB.

When you pull the LR out of the tank, try your best to keep it IN water the entire time. Otherwise, some of the nitrifying bacterial on/in the LR will perish from being exposed to oxygen. This too can cause a mini cycle.

I wouldn't sweat it too much though. People move tanks all the time with a lot of success.

Good luck!

 

[ladyshark]

One more quick thought--I do not know what you have on your LR, but if you have sponges, thats another reason to keep your LR under water at all times. If sponges are exposed to air, they will die. You probably knew that already, but the last post reminded me.

Since the only thing I can keep alive in my tanks are fish, bacteria and sponges, I try to protect them.........

tbittner, thanks for the thougt on putting a DSB in a bucket and running water through--thats a good idea and I will look into it for my larger system.

 

[CaptainCoral]

I would consider keeping the dolomite substrate and UG filter, but in reverse flow like PaulB.

 

[sunfishh]

I second what Captain said.