upgrading to a larger tank

[Allmost]

Hello all.
so right now I have a 65 G (3 foot) 35 G sump and a 25 G seahorse tank, all connected together.

the SPS have grown too much and need more room, so was thinking of going for a longer tank, perhaps 4 foot or maybe 5 !

now here is the question, I dont want to cycle the new tank again, so want to move everything from this tank to the new one, plus a new Sand bed, some more live rock and of course extra water.

so if I get a 4 feet tank, about 95 G would this cause any Issues ?
its like adding a 30 G Fuge to an already established tank no ?

was thinking of doing a 20 G water change,. and keep the water circulating and heated for a week or two, and then do the upgrade so I would use only 10-20 G new Salt water and the rest from the old system.
of course new sand bed will be laid. and I will be adding more Cured live rock to the system (100lbs already, will need another 50 lbs)

so will this cause any Issues ?

I could also use teh 15 G water I saved from the tank water change and use taht to cure the new 50 lbs of live rock even more, for a week or two, and then move all ?

Please let me know if you can think of any simpler ways. highly appreciated, as I like to do this in one move and not have to set up the tank somewhere else and cycle the bigger one ... l.
any advice /opinion is welcome and appreciated

 

[cromedogg33]

All tanks will cycle it just depends on how harsh of a cycle they will go through.

 

[Stroob]

There is always a chance of complications on a new tank setup even using existing equipment. That said, you should be fine as long as your rock you are adding is ready. If it is still curing then you will be asking for trouble.

Remove as much of the current water as you can into tubs/buckets/totes along with the fish and corals. If you can use the new rock as base rock then add it and the new sand before moving over your live rock from the current setup. After the sand storm calms down you should be able to move the corals and fish in.

 

[Allmost]

All tanks will cycle it just depends on how harsh of a cycle they will go through.

I dont think u understood the question

if I use same water and rocks, just add more water, then what is being cycled ?

the extra rocks that I need to add, maybe.

 

[Allmost]

There is always a chance of complications on a new tank setup even using existing equipment. That said, you should be fine as long as your rock you are adding is ready. If it is still curing then you will be asking for trouble.

Remove as much of the current water as you can into tubs/buckets/totes along with the fish and corals. If you can use the new rock as base rock then add it and the new sand before moving over your live rock from the current setup. After the sand storm calms down you should be able to move the corals and fish in.

yea exactly what I was planning thanks fro wording it nicely lol

so now I want to know is 30 G increase too much ? that's 30% increse in water volume

also, would saving water from water changes have any positive effects ? as its umm aged saltwater (or live water) lol


also

 

[Stroob]

yea exactly what I was planning thanks fro wording it nicely lol

so now I want to know is 30 G increase too much ? that's 30% increse in water volume

also, would saving water from water changes have any positive effects ? as its umm aged saltwater (or live water) lol


also

I went from a 75 to a 180 in a few days time from a seam busting while I was out of town so 30% shouldnt be a problem. Since I wasn't able to plan it ahead, I didnt have the water made in advance and had to keep everything in the smaller containers while my RO caught up.

I used all of the current live rock but new sand and used a mix of the old water in with the live rock totes and the rest new water. Your filtration is in the rocks and sand so keeping old water isn't really helping by being "aged". The part that the old water can help with is making sure the swing in parameters from current water to the new water isnt too severe.

 

[Allmost]

I went from a 75 to a 180 in a few days time from a seam busting while I was out of town so 30% shouldnt be a problem. Since I wasn't able to plan it ahead, I didnt have the water made in advance and had to keep everything in the smaller containers while my RO caught up.

I used all of the current live rock but new sand and used a mix of the old water in with the live rock totes and the rest new water. Your filtration is in the rocks and sand so keeping old water isn't really helping by being "aged". The part that the old water can help with is making sure the swing in parameters from current water to the new water isnt too severe.

wow 75 to 180 ehh ? sorry to ask but did u loose any live stock ?

yea, I thought of next watr change, I keep the water and get more live rock and just cure it more in the old water for a week then make the move, I already got huge tubes to make aout 60G of extra SW just in case.

thanks, good inspiration

 

[Stroob]

wow 75 to 180 ehh ? sorry to ask but did u loose any live stock ?

yea, I thought of next watr change, I keep the water and get more live rock and just cure it more in the old water for a week then make the move, I already got huge tubes to make aout 60G of extra SW just in case.

thanks, good inspiration

Yea, luckily I was overkill on my lighting so it worked for a while on the 180. I also had a friend stocking up to put together a 120 and had all of the supplies to put a larger tank together. I was back in my hometown during a snowstorm and got a call that the tank was "leaking". When I got home and started making calls the water level had lowered about 6 inches before I was able to get the water and stock out. I was able to get the LFS owner to bring me a 180 (I drive a car) that night. The next day the friend helped me build a stand and plumb. The only thing I lost was my kole tang who just stressed himself out in a small holding tank before I could get him back in the larger one. As for corals I lost a few heads on a candy cane but that was it.

I would use what "clean" water you have in your current system to move over and anything that gets too stirred up just get rid of. If you save some water from a change I would only add it back in if you run short of the clean current water and the new water you have to put in.