New Member with question

[lkilgore]

Just wanted to say Hi to everyone. I have been reading the forum for awhile and decided to go ahead and join this morning. I actually live on the GA/AL border about 3 miles inside AL near I-20. Atlanta area is really the closest place to me for "real" fish stores though.
Question: I have had a 38 gallon reef tank with soft corals and polyps, etc. for about 3 years. I finally upgraded to a 120 tank. I got the sump running, added the saltwater, about 1 inch of live sand, and I am going today to buy some more live rock. I don't know the lbs but my 38 gallon is full of live rock. How is the best way to make the transfer to my new 120. If I gradually transfer the LR, live sand, and water from my old tank to my new tank, will it help? Also, what time frame am I looking at for transferring my fish and corals? Just wondering if already having some established water, live rock, and live sand would shorten my conversion time. Thanks for any ideas.

 

[derek_s]

Since you are making such a big size change, you'd probably be safer letting the 120 cycle with all the new live rock before transferring anything. How much additional live rock are you adding? Your biggest problem may be dieoff if you are having to transport it very far.

Another option that I think might work is to transfer all your stuff over immediately, except maybe the sand since you already have it in the new tank? The sand traps most of the detritus and junk, and that quick transfer should be pretty safe. The only disadvantage is that you will either have to slowly add more live rock over time, or totally cure it at home in a cooler or something (even if it is pre cured) to be sure you dont cause any dieoff related spikes... and then, you will be adding it while trying to avoid crushing your pre-existing corals and such. Option 1 is my preferece...

 

[xyzpdq0121]

First off, Welcome to the club.... Glad to have ya around!!! Second, Congrats on the upgrade.

Having an established tank will make starting a new tank so much easier. My advice: get all the new LR you are going to need and get everything up and running. I would not transfer ALL your rock and livestock over till you are sure the new tank is stable. So get your extra 100 lbs of LR, add it to the new tank with some pieces of your already established rock. Give the tank about a week or two to check for any die off or ammonia spikes. If all is well, move the rest over along with the livestock and you should be good to go. Just remember, when you move the live stock over, it might be a good idea to acclimate them to the new tank. Most people forget this step.

 

[wbholwell]

I also think you should let the new tank cycle before transferring anything. Moving LR from the 38 won't really help speed things up, imo. Go ahead and buy all the LR you will need, and start the cycling process. Then once your nitrites have been at zero for a couple weeks you can start acclimating your livestock to the new tank. Transferring the LR from an established tank to the 120 shouldn't pose a problem. Throw out the old sand.

 

[wbholwell]

Bah, ya beat me to it, Brandon!

poo

 

[ralph atl]

welcome!

 

[lkilgore]

Thanks for the advice. I've got the new rock added and I'm gonna just wait and test my water every couple of days and see what happens. I don't think I am going to move anything from my old tank until I'm sure the new tank has cycled. Don't want to risk losing anything if I can help it. My 38 has several different kinds of polyps, hammer coral, frogspawn, trumpet, neon trumpet, leather, mushrooms, red/green brain, etc. I have a mated pair of clownfish that lay eggs regularly, one small red hawkfish, and a fridmani. The corals are absolutely growing out of the tank is the main reason I upgraded. I'll keep you posted when I make the big move. Once again, thanks for the advice and glad to be a member.

 

[wbholwell]

Sounds good! Post some pics when the new tank is set up!

 

[linda lee]

I just moved from a 55g to a 90g and used new sand in the display. Didn't throw away the old sand though. I put a lot of it in my refugium to make a nice deep sandbed and the rest I'm giving away. Reefers are always looking for used, well-seeded sand for fuges, etc.

I pretty much transferred everything over the course of three weekends.

Weekend #1
~ Prepared new saltwater in a 50g Rubbermaid Brute container and left it to brew for a week with a heater and a power head

Weekend #2:
~ rinsed, rinsed, rinsed (and rinsed some more) the new (not live) sand
~ did a 50% waterchange on the 55g
~ added the used water from the 55g to the 90g
~ topped off the 90g with SW that had been brewing in the Brute.
~ took enough of the used sand from the 55g for a DSB in the new fuge
~ added LR, cheato and mangroves to the 'fuge.
~ set the dial to "set it and forget it" and let it perk

Weekend #3
~ Moved all LR from the 55g to the 90g. None of my rock was huge, so I was able to submerge containers into the 55g to collect rock and carry it to the 90g completely submerged to keep the sponges, coraline, tiny critters, etc. alive. I had no die-off from the rock.
~ Moved fish and corals in a large shallow plastic tub that floated in my 90g. Every 15 minutes (setting the timer) I took a cup of water out of the floating tub and replaced it with a cup of the new 90g tank water. I kept a square of eggcrate on the tub to keep fish from jumping out.
~ After 2 hours, I released the fish.

Nothing has died. Everything seems happy.

The only thing I'd do differently is I would <u>not</u> take sand for the fuge like I did out of the 55g with the fish still in there. As carefully as I tried to do it, I stirred things up way too much and for an hour or so, I could barely see the poor fish. Luckily, everything lived through my dumb mistake.

My swimmers (they all wear little T-shirts that say "I survived the 90G Move"</em>):
~ Pair of occelaris clownfish
~ Pair of yellowtail blue damsels
~ Pair of bangaii cardinalfish
~ flamehawk
~ bi-colored blenny
~ yellow tang
~ 6-line wrasse
~ hasselt's goby
~ extra-large cleaner shrimp

 

[Creation Reef & Aquatics]

Linda,
I just upgraded from a 75 to a 150, it's a lot of work but rewarding. My fish and corals now have room to breath (under water of course).

 

[Creation Reef & Aquatics]

Welcome!