If all goes well i'll be setting up a new tank in a few months. I'm debating on using all new rock in the display and putting a few pieces from my old tank in the sump, or use half new rock and half old rock. The only issue with the old rock if you would call it one would be bubble algae, but its no big deal at this point. If i do it with mostly new rocks i can take more time working things out though. For people that upgraded, did you use all your old rock or did you start fresh?
should i reuse my rock
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MeghanisradxD
New member
I'm in the process of upgrading, but have killed off everything on my rock first, so it's like starting fresh with all dead rock. I'll grab a piece of live rock from my LFS or a friend's tank to seed the new tank.
I'll still be using at the least 3 or so old pieces in the sump and maybe a piece or two in the display, my whole issue is if i use the current rock, it will be one long day and i won't be able to make any adjustments if it's in and i'm not happy with the scape. either way i'll be fragging all the coral in the display and they will be remounted elsewhere in the tank, but again having the other one all set up and ready i can take my time with it. The more i think about it though, the hardest part will be the amount of time i have to move everything and using half the old tank water during the transfer, or if i keep my parameters the same as far as alk, calc, and mag, will it make a difference using old tank water? My biggest concern would be any shock to the sps i have, i would like to not lose any of them.
Not really necessary to reuse the old tank water. 2 weeks ago I had to move my 240 from one house to another since my new tank wasn't finished yet. Since I have been fighting dinos I went ahead and used all new water. I had zero coral losses from the move and next morning after the move everything looked great. I know some people recommend using as much old water as possible to keep parameters stable I don't think it is necessary. Think about how many add new sps corals to their tank; temp acclimate, dip, rinse and add, no drip acclimation for other parameters. Just try to match temp and other parameters as best you can and you shouldn't have issues.
On the rock, I have always reused my old rock with each move or upgrade. It is a long day but you don't have to have your final scape done that day. You can place corals temporarily and rescape half your tank at a time.
Now with all that said, I am going to go with all new live rock on my new build for some of the same reasons you are considering it; pests (specifically dinos in my case) and the ability to take my time and not rush the build.
On the rock, I have always reused my old rock with each move or upgrade. It is a long day but you don't have to have your final scape done that day. You can place corals temporarily and rescape half your tank at a time.
Now with all that said, I am going to go with all new live rock on my new build for some of the same reasons you are considering it; pests (specifically dinos in my case) and the ability to take my time and not rush the build.
billdogg
Well-known member
When I upgraded from my old 60 to the current 120, I used all new dry rock so that I could get it looking how I wanted. I transfered a good portion of the sand to the fuge section in the sump and also seeded the new sand in the DT with a couple cups. I put a few pieces of LR from another tank in the fuge section as well. (couldn't use the rock from the 60 - there were no problems with it other than it was pumice and pumice FLOATS!)
In any case - I had no cycle at all. I did have to suffer through the whole new tank algae/diatoms/cyano thing, but that's a normal part of any new tank IME.
In any case - I had no cycle at all. I did have to suffer through the whole new tank algae/diatoms/cyano thing, but that's a normal part of any new tank IME.
