Tank migration

[patters1978]

Hi peeps

I want to migrate my tank to a bigger one but unsure on the steps I should take given my situation...

Current cycled tank

45l
hob filter with purgen/phosguard/floss
Wave maker
Livestock 3 hermits and a turbo snail
5kg live rock
Live sand

New tank

90l + 30l sump
1 return pump

Now ideally in my situation (lack of space) I'd love to just empty the 45l into the 90l but I have been researching this and I guess I can't do that?

Is my only option cycle the 90l then add rock/sand livestock from 45l

Any help?!?

Cheers

 

[Titans_Reef]

How old is your current set up and how deep is your sand bed? Do you clean your sand bed also? Is the only livestock 3 hermits and a turbo?

 

[shesacharmer]

I moved a 75 gallon tank with three fish, LR, and a lot of sand, two hours away. Carried the water in barrels, rock in water in buckets, fish in a bag. Got home and reassembled the whole lot and put the fish back in that night. I did use the garden hose to clean my sand before putting it back in. The whole process took more than 12 hours. No harm, no foul, fish survived. The sand made a heck of a mess but no worse than a hurricane I guess.

 

[thegrun]

There is no reason you can't move the contents of your 45l directly into the new 90l provided you cycle the new live rock you are going to need in the larger tank before you make the transfer. I would not reuse the sand, it will contain a lot of trapped detritus that if released could start a new cycle, killing off all your livestock. Start fresh with dry sand. Be sure to wash the sand well before using it. To wash the sand place 5 pounds or so at a time in a 5 gallon bucket. Use a garden hose at full flow to agitate the sand. The finer grains of sand will overflow the top of the bucket, leaving the larger grains behind. Continue to agitate the water until it runs clear. I would not use "live" sand as it can contain more dead than live organisms and has the potential to start a new cycle (and cost more to purchase since you are paying for water). Try to reuse as much clean water from the old system as possible to lessen the shock of new water chemistry on your livestock. Once the water from the old tank starts to get murky from stirred up detritus, don't reuse that water. Have plenty of new premade and preheated saltwater on hand to make up for the lost water. I would plan on pre-making 50% of your display tank's volume and have it ready for use. 5 gallon buckets with lids are your best friend for a tank move. Anything larger becomes very heavy to move. Start by draining half of the water from your 45l tank and transfer it to the new 90l tank, then refil the old tank 3/4 with new heated saltwater and also fill the new tank to the halfway mark. Then add the rock from the old system and the new rock you cycled into the new tank. Once you have the aquascape how you like it, add the nes washed sand to the new tank. Catch the fish and trasfer them (assuming you have the salinity and temperature closely matched in both tanks. Some fish will burrow into the sand to hide so if you come up short on your fish count you may need to sift through the sand to find the missing fish. Tank moves take much longer than one would first suspect. Plan on a very long day. Best of luck and keep us posted with your results!

 

[patters1978]

Hi thanks for the reply guys..

I only have 3 hermits and a turbo no fish.

The tank is about 6-7 weeks old

I was kinda hoping to save the sand tbh..

Ideal situation for me is to transfer all into bigger tank then use 45l to cycle more live sand/rock as it can be put out of the way so to speak..

Other than that what about buying sand/rock from a donor tank someone I know is selling 5kg of rock and sand?

 

[E46Twist]

I have done this and it is straight forward. Add enough new SW or old tank water to start setting up your aquascape, keep it submerged as much as possible. You should see no cycle. I will leave the sand to others to answer.

 

[thegrun]

The sand will be fine to reuse if the system has only been up for 6-7 weeks. You may want to swish it around in a bucket of saltwater before you place it in the new tank to remove any detritus, but it will be good for you to use.