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bear27
08-08-2004, 07:42 PM
I am going to be switching from a 20 gallon to a 50 gallon with a 20 gallon sump i was wondering what the best method for this is

If i use all new water do i have to let the tank cycle for a month before i put anything in. I will also be getting some new live rock do I let it cure while the tank is cycling this will be my first S.W tank move and any help on the logistics of such a move would be appreciated

marie
08-08-2004, 08:10 PM
All new water shouldn't matter to much provided you let it age and aerate for a couple of days first and the temp. and salinity is the same as the old water but the new rock will have to cycle first because of the die off.

Sorry about the grammer i think i missed that day in school :redface:

bear27
08-09-2004, 12:48 AM
Its not so much the water im worried about its the sand bed im worried about loseing all my goddies in there. So after I make up the water let it age for a bit, Then cure my new live rock I'm still left with out a live sand bed

Dazz
08-09-2004, 02:52 AM
I will be doing the same thing you are, but I'm moving from a 50 to a 120.

I think it really depends on what kind of sand bed you have. If it's a deep one, then it may be a little more tricky because when you stir up the sand bed (depending on it's depth) you may be stiring up alot of nitrates etc. IMO, you should use all your current water, plus a batch of new airated water. This way it wont be quite as shocking to the inhabitants as brand new water would be.

My sand bed is actually quite shallow, it's only about an inch to two inches deep, but I do have a DSB in my fuge.

GL with the move, and I can tell you, you will want more than that 50 very soon ;)

Edit: I didnt say what I wanted to heh. You could start taking out some of your sand now, and slowly decrease your ammount over a period of time. You could keep the sand in a rubbermaid container with a powerhead in it to keep things circulating and if you have one, maybe a home made skimmer. This way, it might difuse the transition of the nitrates. I may be wrong, IMO this is the way I would do it.

bear27
08-09-2004, 02:57 AM
So what do you do with all your corals and fish when your moving your sand bed and old water

Dazz
08-09-2004, 03:00 AM
I will have them in rubbermaid containers. I plan to do the move in a few hours at most. I will have everything prepared before hand.

ps, I edited my last post before I saw your reply :D.

Dazz
08-09-2004, 03:08 AM
Sorry it's late here and I re-read your first post. I would actually cure the new live rock seperately from your tank, either in a rubbermaid container beforehand, or once you have set up your new tank.

Beverly
08-09-2004, 08:55 PM
Andy,

Just did THREE tank switches over the last few weeks :eek:

Pointers:

- cure live rock in a separate rubbermaid container with heater, powerhead and small light. I also added extra calcium during the curing process to help keep coraline alive and maybe even growing.
Make sure new LR is fully cured by the time the tank switch is made so there will be minimal algae blooms in the main tank once it is set up.

- have enough NSW made for the volume of the new main tank. This way, you can keep the two tubs with enough water while doing the sometimes long task of properly aquascaping the new tank with new and old LR.

- have two rubbermaid tubs in operation the day of the switch. One for corals, fish, inverts with a heater, poweryhead and small light. The other is for all the rock. Use a heater and powerhead in this tub too. Use water from the established tank for these two tubs.

- by the time you have filled the above two tubs, you will only have a few inches of water in the original tank. Get some kind of sturdy utensil (I used a large plastic serving fork) to thoroughly mix the sandbed to off-gas the toxic anaerobic (rotten egg smell). Once the sandbed has been stirred up, the water will be the filthiest water you have ever seen :eek: Push the sand to one side of the tank, then quickly siphon out the cruddy water. I got rid of my sandbed, but if I were to have kept it, I would have had extra NSW made to rinse the sandbed a few times.

- I also had a half pail of water from the original tank to swish the rock in before it went into the new tank. Lots of crud comes off the rock during swishing. Make sure to check the bottom of the pail for snails, hermits or hitchhikers when most of the water has been poured out.

- once the sandbed has been cleaned, put it back into the new tank, slowly add the NSW so as not to stir the sandbed too much to cloud up the tank, then begin aquascaping. Take your time with this step to get the look of the rock the way you want it. Have heater(s) and powerhead(s) in the new tank and turn them on while you are taking a break from placing rock. Also, leave them on all night if the job is too big for one day. It's okay to leave the two tubs of old rock and fish, corals and inverts overnight if you partially cover the tubs so you can get the aquascaping the way you want it.

- once the rock is where you want it, you can take some NSW water from the main tank and put it into the coral/fish/invert tub, then fill the tank back up. Repeating this step is like acclimatizing the animals to the new tank's pH, temp, etc. When you are satisfied the animials will not suffer too much shock, add them to the new tank.

Whew! It's certainly easier writing about the process than actually doing it - THREE freaking times :eek: :mrgreen: :razz:

bear27
08-09-2004, 09:19 PM
Thanks alot for the detailed info on switching i see that i have to get some supplies to do this(water containers, power heads and lights) but as long as I'm not in a hurry to make this happen i should be ok.

What is the proper prosedure for cureing live rock

muck
08-09-2004, 09:27 PM
http://www.muiscontrols.com/ryan/eusa_clap.gifhttp://www.muiscontrols.com/ryan/eusa_clap.gif

Excellent info Bev!! If anyone should know... :mrgreen:

Zerandise
08-10-2004, 12:09 AM
somethiung i did both times i moved my tank was to use a plastic bag over the sand. take a garabge bag and rip it so you can place it over the sand bed. then when you poor the water onto it it wont stir anything up. it will cloud the tank very little.

Beverly
08-10-2004, 03:49 PM
What is the proper prosedure for cureing live rock

From my above lengthy explanation, here is how I cure LR. Others may have alternative methods/suggestions:

cure live rock in a separate rubbermaid container with heater, powerhead and small light. I also added extra calcium during the curing process to help keep coraline alive and maybe even growing.
Make sure new LR is fully cured by the time the tank switch is made so there will be minimal algae blooms in the main tank once it is set up.