Moving to a larger tank - the final steps!

[awilds]

Hello all,
After about a year's work (off an on) I finally have my 120 gallon tank up and running. This is an upgrade from my current 55 gallon tank. I have some questions on the final steps of this very long project - primarily dealing with moving things from the old tank to the new one:

1. Should I let the tank run for any period of time, before I "seed" it with some sand from my old tank and a piece or two of live rock from that tank as well to get the cycling process started?


2. During the cycling process, should I run the lights on their full day/night cycle or just a few hours a day, or not at all?

3. When the time comes to begin moving livestock from the old tank, what is the recommneded order? I have live rock, fish, and softies (xenia, mushrooms, yellow star polyps) or should I just move everything at the same time once the new tank is cycled? My concern is, I don't want to upset the balance of the old tank and risk losing something while in the process of getting everything in the new tank.


4. Once everything is moved to the new tank, should I gradually increase the exposure to the new lights over a period of days or weeks? My concern here is that the fish and soft corals are going from a tank w/ VHO only into a tank that has MH lights. I just want to be sure the more intense lighting won't be harmful in the beginning.

That's all I can think for now - thanks in advance to all for your help!

 

[Untamed12]

IMO.....

1) No need to wait any period of time before starting to move. Just ensure the water is the same SpG and temperature.

2) Once you transfer things in there, you may not experience any cycle at all. Have lots of SW ready. If you begin to cycle, it should be short and you can minimize any losses by doing large water changes.

3) Move everything at once. The existing tank rock is healthy and well populated with bacteria. No reason it shouldn't just continue to function in the new system. You didn't specify if your old tank has sand. That is where you need to be careful. I think it is pretty common advice NOT to transfer the sand. This is mostly because disturbing the sand can release a lot of nastiness, very quickly.

4) Yes, acclimatize everything to the new lights slowly. You don't want to shock anything.

As you are moving from a small tank to a larger one, you are likely going to add additional rock. That is another area where you will need to be careful. Your new system will absorb the demand from additional rock, but only if you add the new rock in small bits...not too much at once.

 

[drparker]

I've done the upgrade move twice. Here's a recent post where I outline how I did it. upgrading tanks