Moving live stock and corals

[DeepSeaBeauti]

I have my 400gal system up , running and stable. Now ready to move everyone over from my 150. I'm looking for tips and suggestions as to what I should move first, how it should be moved, as well as any precautions I should take.


Here's a little background.
The 150 system is an over 3 year undisturbed system with a 4" deep sand bed. The tank is full of rock and assorted soft corals.
At the moment only a hand full of fish some clams and two emerald crabs.


The 400gal system has been running now for close to 4 weeks. I have been slowly mixing the water between the two tanks as well as taking some macro out of the 150's refugium and putting it into the 400's.
I tested the water yesterday and the water is identical to the 150.
The 400 has about 200lbs of new Caribbean sand.
I only have a few pieces of dry base rock in there at the moment.


The two tanks are currently in the same room, so I really am going to take out of one to put in the other within a few feet. My best guess would be to move some rocks first then fish. If stirring up too much let it settle and continue when clear. Then over the course of a few days slowly move the sand. Like I said any tips and suggestions would be very helpful. Thanks everyone.


Cheers,
Will

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

You only need a cup or two of the old sand to seed the 400. You should do the same with your rock.

I would move the corals over first and then catch all the fish later and acclimate them to the new tank.

 

[Jeff000]

You only need a cup or two of the old sand to seed the 400. You should do the same with your rock.

I would move the corals over first and then catch all the fish later and acclimate them to the new tank.

This.

 

[DeepSeaBeauti]

Great, My biggest concern is when moving the corals and rocks it may stir up the bottom to much. Both tanks are still running with full filtration so I'm in no big rush to moving stuff all at once.

 

[dave.m]

I would not move any sand over. Old sand is a time bomb waiting to go off. If you can easily catch any fish in the 150 I would move them over now.

As you have noted, moving corals and rock in the 150 is going to stir up a lot of detritus that you do not want in your new tank. It might be better to start by cleaning up the old tank first since you are not under any sort of time crunch (consider yourself extremely fortunate in this!). Vacuum the sand as usual but pay particular attention to cleaning off the rocks and coral of any settled detritus.

When you move the rocks and corals it is better to keep them submerged in a tub of water than to expose them to the air. That way you will keep any bacteria, algae, sponges or other smaller life alive when you transfer them over to the big tank.

The big thing with both fish and inverts is to take your time and let everything settle into their new home. Expect some fluctuations in water quality and don't overreact. Let things settle down (days) before moving the next item over if you can.

Dave.M

 

[DeepSeaBeauti]

I would not move any sand over. Old sand is a time bomb waiting to go off. If you can easily catch any fish in the 150 I would move them over now.

As you have noted, moving corals and rock in the 150 is going to stir up a lot of detritus that you do not want in your new tank. It might be better to start by cleaning up the old tank first since you are not under any sort of time crunch (consider yourself extremely fortunate in this!). Vacuum the sand as usual but pay particular attention to cleaning off the rocks and coral of any settled detritus.

When you move the rocks and corals it is better to keep them submerged in a tub of water than to expose them to the air. That way you will keep any bacteria, algae, sponges or other smaller life alive when you transfer them over to the big tank.

The big thing with both fish and inverts is to take your time and let everything settle into their new home. Expect some fluctuations in water quality and don't overreact. Let things settle down (days) before moving the next item over if you can.

This sounds like great advice. Im really hesitant to move anything because everyone is rather settled in by now. I think I'm going to start with a few pieces of rock so that the fish can have places to hide since this is what they are accustom to, especially my clowns. They have one rock in particular that they host.

Would you recommend not using the sand at all? To be honest the sand in the 150 has been in there for close to 8 years with no adverse effects, even from the big move to my new house couple years back. The 400 has all new sand but would like to add a bit more depth to it. Ive always had a very deep sand bed and have had great results with them.

Cheers
Will

 

[dave.m]

I would not move the old sand over unless you rinse it out well first. This entails sitting for about twenty minutes running a hose through each pound or so of old sand until it runs clear. As soon as you take the sand out of the old tank's water the bacteria start dying and it quickly turns into a toxic mess within an hour. It seems too much of a risk to me to keep using the old sand.

There's nothing necessarily wrong with deeper sand beds, but I would always start over with new sand (which also should be well rinsed before use) just to be safe. If your weather is anything like mine right now you will probably want to leave off rinsing sand outdoors for a couple more months.

Dave.M

 

[DeepSeaBeauti]

I would not move the old sand over unless you rinse it out well first. This entails sitting for about twenty minutes running a hose through each pound or so of old sand until it runs clear. As soon as you take the sand out of the old tank's water the bacteria start dying and it quickly turns into a toxic mess within an hour. It seems too much of a risk to me to keep using the old sand.

There's nothing necessarily wrong with deeper sand beds, but I would always start over with new sand (which also should be well rinsed before use) just to be safe. If your weather is anything like mine right now you will probably want to leave off rinsing sand outdoors for a couple more months.

Dave.M

What do you mean? Snow storms are perfect for keeping the sand wet right. Good sand packed with snow should take me 15 mins to wash all 200 lbs. :rollface: