Tank Upgrade Dillema

[straightrazorguy]

I've had a 55 gallon mixed reef for about a year and a half now. It has a 15 gallon Oceanic sump. It's also plumbed inline with a 33 gal refugium for pods and additional filtration. The tank looks great and the params are good.

I plan on upgrading to a 3 ft cube (150 gallon). The problem is, the cube must replace the current tank, in the exact same spot. I don't have the luxury of setting up the new tank somewhere else and cycling it for months, because of lack of real estate (welcome to Vancouver!). I have a bunch of corals and 6 fish: a copperband butterfly, a tamarin wrasse, a coral beauty, an anthia and a pair of mated percula clowns.

I plan on getting rid of the old sand and buying new. I would like approx 1.5 inches of brand new sand and I want to reuse the existing live rock, as a lot of the coral is encrusted on it. I plan on having an aquascape with a lot of open space (existing tank is kinda cramped).

I am seeking advice on how to effect this move with minimal losses. Has anybody else successfully made such a move? Will I have problems with the new sand and the existing rock? Can I transfer everything in one day? I don't have a lot of room to hold stuff in. I plan on buying a whole bunch of 32 gallon Brute bins to hold the existing water, rock, corals and to mix the additional required water.

[mark]

I moved across town so effectively setup 2 tanks with no losses. Save the water to reuse with plans to make new to make up for the difference and should do ahead so it's up to temp.

Remove livestock and rock into tubs, break down and set up new. I added the old water to new tank, restocked and stuff wanted kept wet on the bottom, then new salt water slowly until topped up. Once water topped up do final arranging.

[gregzz4]

I moved across town so effectively setup 2 tanks with no losses. Save the water to reuse with plans to make new to make up for the difference and should do ahead so it's up to temp.

Remove livestock and rock into tubs, break down and set up new. I added the old water to new tank, restocked and stuff wanted kept wet on the bottom, then new salt water slowly until topped up. Once water topped up do final arranging.
Sounds good

I haven't done it yet, but if I were to, I would just;
Take all critters out of tank and add to tubs/buckets etc to keep warm and aerated
Remove old DT and Turf sand
Move new tank into place, fill etc
Add new sand
Move critters back to DT

So many peeps have had no issues doing this

The only time I've read of issues is when things get moved from house to house, or city to city
Or things get forgotten/left in environments they can't handle

Basically, you need to keep the water warm and aerated, and don't keep stuff out of the water for much more than a few minutes

[Cujo#31]

With your challenges, esthetics are not as important as getting the job done. You will definately experience a significant level of cycling in the new system even with same rock new sand. Keep a couple handfulls of sand to help establish new sand. I say move all your livestock into totes and keep as much water as you can. Empty and clean your old tank and move it to garage or other room and set up as bare bottom minimalist "life support" until u can be guaranteed your new set up is established and stable. I made the mistake of doing a one day shot swap and lost a couple nice colonies due to too many peram swings. If u were closer I have a coupke tanks on hand I could loan...sorry.

[gregzz4]

You brought up some good points Cujo, but because I know the OP and know He's familiar enough, I skipped some of the details that a newb would need to know ...

[monocus]

i sometimes baby sit people's tank until their tanks cycled. if you have big rubbermaid tubs that would be the easiest way to go

[straightrazorguy]

Thanks for the advice, guys. I'm hatching a plan. The problem is I don't have any big tubs. I wonder where I could borrow some for a couple of days...

[mark]

I've got 2 -55g pickle barrels but to far away, but sure there's lots of reefer on the coast willing to help. Why don't you try another post "looking for barrels/tubs to borrow" in subject line.