How to properly upgrade a tank

[celamb89]

Hi everyone,

i did a couple of Fast (key word) searches but didnt really find some solid info...
I currently have a 125gal DT... I wish to upgrade over the course of this year to a 47x47x23 (inches) reef cube.... The problem is that the tank will sit in the same place my current tank is...

What will be the proper sequence to upgrading, since I have to build the stand again, install, fill, etc...

Should I just look for housing for my corals/fish/livestock?:hmm4:

Thanks!

 

[thegrun]

The process can be accomplished in a day (a very long day). You will need plenty of buckets, ice chests and water storage containers along with powerheads for water movement and small heaters to keep the storage containers warm. Key of course is keeping the fish and corals in water that is heated and has good water movement. Preassembly and testing of the new tank should be done before the move.

 

[celamb89]

What worries me is the cycle... I read that you can experience a mini cycle.. Here is what I plan on doing..

1) Plan the connections, equipment and general design
2) Purchase the required parts and equipment, upgrades will include: skimmer, PH and return pump.
3) Leak test sump, DT
4) remove livestock and place in buckets, tanks with PH and heaters
5) remove current setup
6) install the new stand, tank and sump
7) plumb the heck out of it
8) fill with 50% new water and 50% old water
9) install new equipment
10) place LR and aquascape
11) introduce the livestock
12) Pray
13) Pray again

Or should I look for temporary housing from a friend or LFS, and do the steps above but check the params and other things... Maybe add a day or two to the process for installing, testing, aquascaping... Would still do the change fast maybe a week...

Did I miss a step?

 

[greg1786]

I just went through the exact same thing a few weeks ago. I upgraded from a 55 to a 125. The worst thing for you was the same problem i had which was that the new tank has to go where the old tank is. It makes it so much harder to do. I drained 3/4 of my tank into a brute trash can and the other 1/4 into a 20 long i had laying around. i put all the fish, coral and inverts in the 20 long with a power head and heater. I took out my entire sandbed once the tank was empty and put it into five gallon bucket topped off with a little tank water. I put al of my live rock in another brute trash can where i mixed the new saltwater to help it seed the new water. I took the 55 out of the way and put the 125 and stand in its place. I plumbed out the 125 and put the sump and all equipment in. I added the sandbed and then the water. I put a bowl in the tank and pured my water into the bowl in order to keep the stirring of the sand to a minimum. Once the tank was full i turned on all euipment and let the tank run for a few hours. During this time i built my aquascape. Once the tank reached the same temperature of the water i had my livestock in in the 20 long, i added all that to the tank. The biggest mistake i made was not calibrating my hydrometer and it gave me a false reading. I ended up causing osmotic shock to all of my livestock and lost two sps, my sea star, and my urchin. While the loss was minimal it is still a loss that nobody wants to incur. So the best piece of advice I can give to you is too make a check list so you dont forget to do ANYTHING. The smallest thing can cause catastrophe and when your doing a move of that size its quite a project making it easy to forget the little things. Good luck

 

[Breadman03]

There's a thread somewhere on here where a guy (or girl) used blow up kiddy pools to hold his livestock for a few days.

 

[celamb89]

Thanks for the reply!

Greg, be sure I'll double check the SG after ur post, I'll also work on a detailed check list. I plan on doing doing the swap by the end of the year, nobody at my house knows that's because they're unaware of all the previous work.

Breadman, that is one great idea! A small kiddy pool will do the trick just fine with the proper precautions!

Thanks for the help!

 

[r-balljunkie]

if possible, id move the current tank to an out of the way location verses doing it all in one day. this will buy you some time when setting up the new tank.
you could feasibly move a tank in a day, especially if you can slide the stand and tank, one shot.
pressures on if you do it in one day, plumbing and all.

 

[Cstaricansrfer1]

A kiddy pool worked great for me for holding rock, livestock, heater, PH.
It was even the right height for my skimmer so it ran in the kiddie pool as well. Gave me a little extra time to get the old tank moved and new one in place.