Moving from 20G to 30G have ???

[rreynell]

I've had this tank up and running since 11/2004. I have just
bought a 30G cube with a sump and would like to move all
the contents from the 20G to the 30G....
That includes a pair of perc clowns and one goby....live rock, live sand and assorted corals...
Question is: Can I just move everything over and than add freshly made saltwater to make up the diff and not worry about any type of cycle problems....
Probably will add 15 gallons of new water and have to add a little sand..but can wait and add sand slowly...

What do you think.....


Thanks, Roger...

 

[FOSELONE]

maybe you shouldnt have to add that much water if you add a few peices of rock also

 

[flfirefighter13]

I would recomend useing new sand and seeding it with a small amount of your old sand. Every tank I have moved and reused old established sand it has caused cycle and algae issues. new sand and 20-50% new water and everything else should be good.

 

[cschweitzer]

You do not have to worry about cycling due to water change. The cycling is actually in the sand and rockwork as it builds up the nitrifying bacteria and the dead stuff "dies off" and get filtered by the growing biological filtration.

The biggest worry is moving the sand and stirring up excess nasty stuff that can get trapped in the sandbed and the rocks. Everything else should not be a huge issue. My one recommendation is to use "new" live sand. By this I mean use already cycled sand so that you can get it in the tank and let it settle before moving everything else over...

 

[cschweitzer]

FF13 has been beating me to the punch quite a bit lately...good advice

 

[flfirefighter13]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10063927#post10063927 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cschweitzer
FF13 has been beating me to the punch quite a bit lately...good advice

Its a tough job but someones gotta do it

 

[rreynell]

Thanks guys...Always nice to have a place to come and get some quick help....

 

[rreynell]

I bought a 30g oceanic..Have you heard of anyone drilling the back glass and putting a bulk head and small overflow near the
top?

 

[flfirefighter13]

If its not tempered your all good, best to contact the manufacturer and find out for sure though, drilling tempered glass is a quick way to make a pile of small shiny stuff.

 

[InLimbo87]

Only the bottom is tempered on the oceanic 30g cubes. The back is fine to be drilled. However, just like all glass, caution should be taken when drilling/installing overflows into it. Good luck with the tank. Hope everything goes smoothly.

 

[mfp4073]

Just to add to this, I have moved 2 tanks recently...moved them more than 1 hour drive so total time torn down was like 6 hours from takedown to full restart. No algae or other problems from reusing my sandbeds and rock. As a matter of fact, my two clowns stir my sandbed every 15 min some days with their little "fan dance".

 

[rreynell]

Thanks Ian, I appreciated the help with tank, and thanks for the info on the tempered glass. I think that's the route I'm going.

Yes Chad your right about the clowns, I have two maroons in my 125g and they are rearranging my sand bed every couple of hours...Drives me nuts....

Thanks, Roger...

 

[mfp4073]

yeah, have never figured out if you are not supposed to reuse a sandbed because disturbing it will crash your tank...how do you keep the fish from doing it and why does that not crash the tank?

 

[TheGrog]

If I may chime in, I had a big move last year with my 125 with a 40 sump/fuge. It was down over 8 hours total. I totally had to remove not only the sandbed in the DT but the DSB in the fuge as well. The only spike I got was my nitrates went to 0.8 (usually 0.0 I use a low range test kit)

Prior to that, I moved my tank from a 55 to my current setup and transfered the sandbed without any problems either.

So, I would say use the same sand bed, just add some more to cover the increased area.

I will be doing a 36-hour move in a week so we'll see how that goes as far as any spikes but I don't anticipate any.

 

[Brazengrrl]

So, what are you doing with that 20?

 

[chrisstie]

For the age that the tank has already been setup I'd still go with a new sandbed and seed with the aerobic part (top part) of the sand bed.

Fish poop, snail poop, other bad yucky stuff settles to the bottom of the sand and when you stir that up it *can* (not necessarily will but can) cause a cycle.

Better to be safe than sorry with such a nice setup you're upgrading!