Need help

[Tank14]

I am finally almost finished with the tank upgrade. I have finally gotten all the pieces together (not glued yet) and everything cleaned and painted. Problem I have is trying to swap out the 55 for the 120. I have never had to swap tanks before and on top of it, I want to replace the carpet and put in linoleum where the new tank will be.

What is the standard operating procedure with switching tanks?
I know I have to have a lot of fresh saltwater available but can the coral survive without light for a few days?

 

[low riderr]

without light yes,must have flow and oxygen and run carbon

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

If the space and equipment allows you to run both at the same time, problem solved. Run both, get the new tank settled and full, then swap the livestock. Assumming you are moving the rock over and it is relatively clean I don't see a need to "cycle" the new tank. Then again I don't believe in cycling most typical new tanks either...

If not, plan on a Rubbermaid bin or other temporary housing. Doesn't need to be fancy, just needs heat and flow for under a day or two. Add a skimmer and at least some type of light for a few days up to maybe a week. Add full fledged filtration and light if more than a week. Cut these limits in half if you have lots of sensitive sps or anything else demanding.

 

[DustyReefer]

seeing how your in canandaigua maybe you could ask the salty dog for assistance

 

[Foody]

Assuming you are using sand for a substrate, place your sand in a bucket in smaller batches and rinse with water (preferably ro/di) until it runs clean. Partially fill your tank with fresh saltwater. Place your live rock first and and then lay your substrate slowly using a cup. This will cloud your water some, but much, much more if you don't rinse the sand first. If you can run your filter at this point it will help in clearing your water. The rest of your rock and corals can be transferred at this time. Once the tank is clear enough to see the back you can add your fish. Top off your tank with as much of your old water (bacteria) as you can manage.

This is what was recommended to me by Tom (Rochester Reef Shoppe) and it worked brilliantly for me. Of course my previous tank had a crushed coral substrate so moving the rocks didn't cloud my water. If you are afraid of clouding the old tank you can/should remove as much of the old water as you plan to save first before beginning to move your bottom layer of rocks.

 

[SkiFletch]

If not, plan on a Rubbermaid bin or other temporary housing. Doesn't need to be fancy, just needs heat and flow for under a day or two. Add a skimmer and at least some type of light for a few days up to maybe a week. Add full fledged filtration and light if more than a week. Cut these limits in half if you have lots of sensitive sps or anything else demanding.

^^^^ This. I've run my tank out of a rubbermaid horse trough (thank you tractor supply) for months at a time with full filtration/ligthing. It doesn't have to be pretty, just work... Would be much easier to do this in a basement than to try futzing aound if you're re-doing floors. One word of caution since we're coming into fall here. Insulate the bottom/sides of the rubbermaid if you're going to have it in the basement to help with heat loss as things get cooler. ESPECIALLY if you're putting it on the ground.

 

[Tank14]

Awesome info. I wish I had the space to run both. I am going to try to keep the whole move to under a couple days. I will start preparation of the rubbermaid bins. I will also check with the guys from Salty Dog.