28g to 50g-what would you do

kevin21

Active member
Hey all,

I am close to upgrading my system and want to make sure I have everything prepared. I have a jbj 28g nano that has been running for 3 years. It is a mixed reef full of softies with a few LPS mixed in. Everything has been thriving for a long time now (knock on wood). I am worried about the effects of an upgrade.

I believe I am going to upgrade to the 50g fusion lagoon from innovative marine. Not incredibly that much bigger, but big enough where the move warrants a few questions.

1)Do I cycle the 50 with all new water and about 25lbs of live rock first? I am going barebottom. Then when the cycle is complete, I add the live rock and coral from my existing tank? Worried about adding my four fish at once to a newly cycled tank.

or

2) I get the 50g and fill it with 25 gallons of fresh salt water. I then add my 25g of water from my nano along with my live rock, corals, and fish. Like I said, tank is barebottom now and staying that way. I would then need to cure another 25lbs or so of rock and then add it to my system when fully cured.

What do you guys think my best option is? Am I making this too complicated?
 
I've always used the first method when increasing tank size by 30% or more. First cycle any additional rock you will be adding to your new system, either in the new tank or in a separate container like a Brute trash can. After the new rock has cycled, set up the new system with both the old rock from your first tank and the newly cycled rock. In theory if you use new dry rock you shouldn't need to pre-cycle it, but I believe the safest method is to pre cycle the new rock. When you switch over to the new tank you will stir up some detritus, having additional cycled rock in the new system will help safeguard against a new cycle.
I also move as much clean water over from the new system as possible to lessen the shock from the change in water chemistry.
 
I'm in the same boat--readying for an upgrade of my 16G Nuvo to a new 50G. My goal is to buy live rock from the tanks of local reefers, to minimize/eliminate cycling and go with your "plan A" approach.
 
Thanks guys. That may be the approach. See if I can find cured rock already in established systems with no pests. Then use that rock, my existing rock, and as much clean water as possible. Being barebottom definitely helps, but wonder how murkey my once clean water will get during the move.
 
Curious to hear how it goes for you. I'm about 6 weeks from receiving my new tank, so I'm busy researching both the new equipment needs and the transfer process in anticipation...
 
I am about 2 months away as well. As for equipment. I have my mp10 which on full blast I believe can handle the 50 fusion due to the dimensions. If not, can grab another. I have my tunze ato rated up to 55g. So that will work fine. As for my skimmer, I have the old tunze 9002 rated up to 50g. But it is about 7 years old. May need to upgrade that to one that fits in the back chamber of the 50g fusion.

I was more concerned about the actual move.
 
I mean there's nothing wrong with your plan "A" depending on a few factors. The biggest being whether or not you have sensitive animals. It's possible to keep fish and coral perfectly happy in a cycling tank as long as you are on top of parameters and don't mind carbon dosing prime for the first week or so to keep ammonia and nitrites down while the new/existing bacteria spreads. The nice thing about water is that stuff can grow very very quickly in it, especially bacteria; so if the tank is seeded with existing cycled rock in addition to something like stability - you can cycle a tank in less than 7 days. That being said, unless you are ready to test parameters every morning and every night and carbon dose with prime 2-3 times a day I wouldn't even entertain the idea. And don't forget to keep testing twice a day until the ammonia stops showing up for about a solid week. Now, that all being said, comes back to the very first part about whether or not you have sensitive species. I can hatch my clownfish fry in completely uncycled tanks that are never cycled and are only ever carbon dosed - if I tried anything similar with something like an anemone, it would probably die in a few days - QT tanks being an exception.
 
I have a flame hawkfish, a pair of clowns, and a purple pseudochromis. All pretty hardy fish, but I definitely do not want to chance anything. I understand your reasoning, but I would never put any of my fish into a tank that could possibly be cycling. I dont care how many times I test or dose prime, just not risking that. I can't stomach putting my fish into poisonous water, because realistically, that is what it is.

My new tank either needs to be fully cycled and then the livestock added, or it needs to be done where there is no cycle. Is 25-30 gallons of new water and 25 additional lbs of cured rock along with my 20-25 gallons of water and 25lbs of rock enough to stop a cycle from happening? I know others that have done 70% water changes and haven't had a problem.

Definitely an interesting thought process that goes into this.
 
When I switched from my fully stocked(6 fish, and many corals)29G biocube to a 80 cube, I pre cycled dry rock, added everything new(sand, water, rock), let it cycle, then transferred everything in a couple hours. Everything moved over just fine.

I guess my thinking was that my current rock had enough biological to handle the bioload, so that should in theory still be able to handle the bioload even though there was more volume.

FWIW, old water contains very little biological. 99% of the biological bacteria you want is on the hard surfaces of your tank(rock, powerheads, the glass itself, etc). I would never reuse old water, and for the life of me I can't figure out why people do, or where the thought process of reusing old water to help cycle a tank even started.
 
When I switched from my fully stocked(6 fish, and many corals)29G biocube to a 80 cube, I pre cycled dry rock, added everything new(sand, water, rock), let it cycle, then transferred everything in a couple hours. Everything moved over just fine.

I guess my thinking was that my current rock had enough biological to handle the bioload, so that should in theory still be able to handle the bioload even though there was more volume.

FWIW, old water contains very little biological. 99% of the biological bacteria you want is on the hard surfaces of your tank(rock, powerheads, the glass itself, etc). I would never reuse old water, and for the life of me I can't figure out why people do, or where the thought process of reusing old water to help cycle a tank even started.



+1 don't put anything in the new tank that you don't want. It's kind of like a fresh start


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My concern with a fresh start is going through all the algae blooms issues that a new tank goes through. I was wondering if using most of my existing water and all of my live rock, it would basically be like going through a huge water change instead of a complete restart.

So in your opinion, completing starting over is the only option? Cycle the tank with rock, then after the cycle is complete, transfer my rock and livestock? I thought adding 4 fish at a time like that could shock a new system? Also, is dry rock the best option? I do not like the look of established dry rock mixed with live rock. It looks unnatural to me.
 
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