just upgraded.....now what?

[livfortoday]

OK, so back in 2008 I noticed that my son, (who was two at the time) took a liking to fish tanks. I thought it would be neat to pick up a 10 gallon tank to set up in his room so he could look at it and.....well torment the fish I guess.

Well that 10 gallon freshwater tank never happened, instead it turned into a 65 gallon saltwater tank that I talked wife into saying it is much more colorful and entertaining for our son.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, I started to get the bug to go bigger....seems like the natural progression from those I talked to. I have casually looked at CL and this site for something in the 90 gallon range initially based upon a 90 gallon cube tank I saw that was only 3 feet tank, ( floor space is at a premium).

Well last week I stumbled upon a 150 gallon tall tank that came with a 40 gallon fuge, (if I remember correctly) all quick connect plumbing, new return pump and a nice looking stand. Upon seeing the tank, I was very impressed with how nice it was and to be honest its size......seems pretty big.....in fact I believe I said out loud when I saw the tank, my wife is going to shoot me.

Long story short, I tore the car seats out of the van, put the stow&go to use and loaded the tank up and drove home.

Tank is still in van, wife does not know about it yet and I am left wondering how I am going to make the switch with out her noticing!

Seriously can I just empty my old tank into buckets, replace the tanks, fill new tank with old sand as well as new, add rock and livestock and see how long it takes her to notice? Or is there more to making the switch.

Any tips on the transition would be great. Also will be looking for a 4 ft light if anyone has something laying around.....any suggestions on t5 vs halide? He tossed in a 2 tube t5 light he had from another tank but I know that will not be enough. Looking to keep soft coral, mushrooms, zoo etc.

 

[BBoley24]

screwed.






IM KIDDING!!!! She better like it LOL! I have some retrofit stuff but no fixture. There is no hiding a 150g from your wife.

 

[hybridazn]

you can def. use all the stuff from your old tank and just put it over to the new one,but with that much fresh saltwater being mixed you might have a mini cycle and could possibly lose some livestock. when i switched all my stuff from my 75 gallon to my 120 gallon temp. setup i had a flame angel and bicolor blenny not adjust with the move.

best of luck!

 

[acer]

Ray was selling a 4 foot light for a great price. Good luck with the wife, that is part of why my 180 is still in the shed.

 

[cloakerpoked]

Ray sold his light. I talked to him about it at the meeting. That was a great fixture, but was not cheap to get running with the needed ballasts and what not not included. In any case, halides won't be necessary for what you're saying you want to keep in the tank. Not sure how deep those tanks are (and too lazy to go look on a website at the moment) but I would imagine that as long as it's not more than 32", with soft coral you should be ok with something like 4 t-5 bulbs. Flow will be more important than anything else.

I've moved tanks states or switched out tanks and not had any huge problems, and never had a livestock loss. I would run lots of carbon and also be prepared to do more frequent than usual water changes for the first 6 months or so until you get your parameters under control. Softies will be a lot more forgiving than SPS though, so I would be suprised if you lost any as long as you were being careful about mixing up salt that is close to the same salinity and temperature as the old tank water is.

I would suggest that you use some of your old sand, but not all of it, unless you intend to rinse it really well. Sand beds of deeper than 1 inch tend to accumulate zones that are totally undisturbed and become septic "leech fields" that will hold a lot of nasties that you don't necessarily want floating around in your water again. Using a few cups off the top of your old sand bed would be better/quicker/safer. That said, I have recycled entire sand beds before, without disastrous consequences, so it can be done. Let me know if you need any help, maybe we can work a day or an afternoon or something out.

 

[livfortoday]

OK so I finally got around to telling the wife we are the proud owners of a new tank, however it is in the shed now and she has not seen it so I don't think she fully understands what I got......sounds like I should be ok.

So while I am still searching for a light, I am hoping that I can get some insight on water.

I think I pointed out in my other post, the new tank has to go where the old tank is, so that means doing the switch in one day. I have read / been told that even if I use all the water / rock / sand from old tank, that much new water could be disasterious for my current livestock...(of which we are kinda fond of). IS THIS TRUE?

If so, can I do a series of water changes over the weeks leading up to the transfer and store the water, in garbage cans with lids for use in the new tank? I assume I would need to heat and have circulation in the cans as well. How long will the water be good using the method.

Just trying to map out a plan for the big day....

 

[cloakerpoked]

The only issue is if your water parameters (temperature, salinity, pH primarily for fish) need to be pretty close to the old water in order for them to adjust. If fish is all you're primarily concerned about, you could use your old water, and fill up the tank over the course of two days or so to lessen the impact on the fish. Taking your time with acclimation would also allow them to adjust to even a fairly significant change...

 

[jg2269jg]

I have moved several tanks and the water quality is usually the biggest issue. the other issue comes in when you add new live rock to an established system you throw the tank into a mini cycle. So if you are adding more rock to go with the bigger tank cycle it in a bucket before making the switch and have heated and salinity the same water to add to the new tank because when you move your rocks you are going to get alot of detritis in the water column. The rock holds all the denitrifing bacteria not the water. So the last time i switched tanks i set up a bunch of water with the same salinity and temp as my old tank and toke a good amount of my old water before removing the rocks, then i added new regular sand with some of my old sand for the critters. then i place my rocks in the new tank and then i place my new and old water and acclimate my livestock. this method has worked for me. i have found that if you move all your old water and all your old sand you get alot of detritis which creats a mini cycle which stresses your livestock. Sorry for the long winded post

 

[bmiller1234]

Do you have an option of moving your old tank off to the side and setting up and filling the new tank? This is def the best way if you are able to have both tanks up and running at the same time. even if you just have them near each other for a week or so you can move a good portion of your current rock and new rock into new tank and let it run and check it for any crazy cycling parameters. If all looks good after a week you can just take a day and basically make your old tank a acclimation chamber and start taking watwr from new tank and adding it to old one.. You could do a few gallons an hour until your old tank has all new tank water and then switch everything over.

 

[livfortoday]

Looking for advice on the light. I am thinking 8 54watt t5. Given the 48X24X30 size, will this be enough to keep mostly softies and potential a few sps in the future?

Anyone with experience / opinions on Tek Light vs Current Nova Extreme? or is there something else I should be looking at.

I have Halide now but think t5 will be better on the electric bill

 

[cloakerpoked]

To be honest, if you were strategic with your rockwork and SPS placement, you could probably keep most of what you're looking for under 2x175MH, but after the inefficiencies of the ballasts, you're probably looking at close to the same power consumption, so that t-5 system would work just fine. As for the lighting, you'll be completely fine with SPS placement pretty much anywhere in the tank. If you only want a few SPS, you may be better off with a little less light, like 6 T-5's instead of 8. Still, you'll get better coverage with the 8, it just seems like overkill for your stated goals.

 

[raynist]

Looking for advice on the light. I am thinking 8 54watt t5. Given the 48X24X30 size, will this be enough to keep mostly softies and potential a few sps in the future?

Anyone with experience / opinions on Tek Light vs Current Nova Extreme? or is there something else I should be looking at.

I have Halide now but think t5 will be better on the electric bill

I would look into the 8x54w ATI Sunpower or Powermodule, check with Dave's Aquastock, that is where I got mine. They will trounce the Tek or Nova Extreme when it comes to output. The tek light doesn't have fans unless you get the Elite and the Sunpower is better anyways.