Moving to new tank questions

[WatDatThing]

There are thousands of threads regarding this topic. But the advice are all over the place. Most threads are old. So I hope the gurus here will chime in and maybe we have learned something new from the past that may make the move less risky.

Background - I'm going from a 55g, sumpless, skimless to a 120g with sump and skimmer (got a good deal from a local reefer).

1) Do I transfer the water from the old tank to new tank?
2) Do I use new sand only, or a mix of old and new sand?
3) If I rest the rocks on the glass before adding sand, will the pressure cause the glass to crack/break?
4) Does the new tank need to go through cycling again?
5) Should the sump and skimmer be running before moving LR and livestock?
6) With regarding to water parms, beside matching pH, salinity and temperature, what else am I missing?

 

[Crooked Reef]

I'm not an expert but will chime in from my experience.

1. I would use new. Clean water is always better.
2. New sand. You can release bad stuff in the water with old. If cost is a factor I would clean the old sand thoroughly which will kill any beneficial stuff in it anyway and it will essentially be new sand. I would save a bit of the old, like a cup or two, to seed the new though.
3. I have never had an issue with rock on the glass. People do barebottom tanks with a lot of rock.
4. Going from a 55 to a 120 you will be adding more rock, more or new sand. There will be a cycle but if you are using all of the rock from the old system it will be shorter.
5. Rock I say no. It won't hurt anything but the less flow you are dealing with while putting the rock in the less detritus will blow around. I would start them prior to livestock. The skimmer can wait but you should get the sump moving.
6. Nitrites and ammonia, ammonia being the biggest concern. Nitrates as well but ammonia will kill quickly.

 

[rocsec1]

New sand
Nothing wrong with using the water
I went from 75 to 120
I put egg crate down to rest the rock on. More afraid of rock shifting
Clean the rock by rinsing in new saltwater to clean before adding it to thore new tank
Add more rock

 

[thegrun]

1) Do I transfer the water from the old tank to new tank?
You can transfer water over when you transfer your livestock as long as the water is clean. Doing so will not help prevent a cycle but it will be close in water chemistry to what your livestock is used to.
2) Do I use new sand only, or a mix of old and new sand?[/COLOR]
Use new dry sand, your old sand is going to have a lot of trapped detritus in it and reusing it unless you clean it very well could start a new cycle.
3) If I rest the rocks on the glass before adding sand, will the pressure cause the glass to crack/break?
No, but I think its a good idea to lay down a piece of plastic egg crate (light diffuser) to help lock the rock in place so it doesn't slide around and cause a rock slide.
4) Does the new tank need to go through cycling again?
It can, it's safest to cycle the new rock you will be adding before you set up the new tank.
5) Should the sump and skimmer be running before moving LR and livestock?
Yes
6) With regarding to water parms, beside matching pH, salinity and temperature, what else am I missing?
I would match the alkalinity, not the pH.

 

[sdbc]

I went through this in December, although I had a sump and skimmer on my 50G. A few answers:
4) Yes, it will cycle again. If you are going for some new rock and new sand, let it cycle before adding your old rock and livestock.
5) Everything should be running to make sure it all works and to check for leaks in the plumbing. With a new skimmer, there is a breakin period when it will skim erratically and its best to get past that.
6) Get your salinity and temp to what you want your targets to be in your new tank and then acclimate your livestock. Marine animals don't like it when you mess with either of those, so get them adjusted once and leave it. If the other params are close to your targets, great, but I don't think they are as critical initially.

 

[WatDatThing]

Man....I was hoping I don't have to go through cycling again. I hope the seam on my tank hold for another month. I can't have a tank sitting in the middle of the hall way.

 

[thegrun]

Use Dr. Tim's One and Only, you can cycle your new tank in two to three days.

 

[Crooked Reef]

I've never used Dr Tim's, but used smartstart complete with rock from my old tank and the cycle was done in a couple of days.

 

[walt13]

Hey guys following along. My 55 tank has been running for 16 year. yesterday I noticed the center brace was broken and tank bowed a little. I will need to buy a new tank and sand. would it be better to use the old rock, current water plus new and a couple cups of old sand in new tank and keep fish and corals in 10 gallon QT tank during the cycle? or keep fish, corals, LR, inverts in rubbermaid tub with old water while the tank with new water and sand cycles? thanks Walt

 

[thegrun]

Hey guys following along. My 55 tank has been running for 16 year. yesterday I noticed the center brace was broken and tank bowed a little. I will need to buy a new tank and sand. would it be better to use the old rock, current water plus new and a couple cups of old sand in new tank and keep fish and corals in 10 gallon QT tank during the cycle? or keep fish, corals, LR, inverts in rubbermaid tub with old water while the tank with new water and sand cycles? thanks Walt

Walt, do you plan on going to a larger tank? If it is the same sized tank and you keep your rocks wet during the transfer you should not have a cycle at all as long as you use new dry sand. If you are going to a bigger tank and add new dry rock and dry sand again you should not have a cycle but there is a little more risk with that scenario since there is a possibility the new dry rock has dried on organics in a large enough quantity to overwhelm your existing bacteria and start a new cycle, but that would be rare. What could start a new cycle would be if you tried to reuse the old sand (I would not bother with a couple of cups of the old sand to seed the new sand, your old rock will have plenty of organisms that you want in it),or transferred water that was murky with detritus you stirred up during the transfer. If you are up sizing the safest way to go would be to go ahead and transfer all your live rock and livestock to the new tank and cycle any additional rock you want to add in a separate container and then move the new into your new tank once it is cycled. Your old rock will have enough bacteria to handle your current fish population, just don't add more fish until you get the additional newly cycled rock into your tank.

 

[walt13]

Walt, do you plan on going to a larger tank? If it is the same sized tank and you keep your rocks wet during the transfer you should not have a cycle at all as long as you use new dry sand. If you are going to a bigger tank and add new dry rock and dry sand again you should not have a cycle but there is a little more risk with that scenario since there is a possibility the new dry rock has dried on organics in a large enough quantity to overwhelm your existing bacteria and start a new cycle, but that would be rare. What could start a new cycle would be if you tried to reuse the old sand (I would not bother with a couple of cups of the old sand to seed the new sand, your old rock will have plenty of organisms that you want in it),or transferred water that was murky with detritus you stirred up during the transfer. If you are up sizing the safest way to go would be to go ahead and transfer all your live rock and livestock to the new tank and cycle any additional rock you want to add in a separate container and then move the new into your new tank once it is cycled. Your old rock will have enough bacteria to handle your current fish population, just don't add more fish until you get the additional newly cycled rock into your tank.

Thank you so much for your help

Same size tank. I was planning to upgrade but decided buy a challenger instead. Cheaper in the long run. This is a replacement as the interior brace broke and the tank is bowing. I will use all new sand and new tank. I will use all the clean tank water and fill with new water. Fish, inverts and corals are of the fairly hardy. My clowns will probably stop spawning for a while, otherwise hard part will be catching all the snails!

Walt