Adopting a used SW tank

[jus68]

I'm a newbie and I'm sooo excited as I'm 2 weeks away from getting a used SW tank. :mrgreen:

It has a 75G Display with 25G Sump and a small refugium.

I've spoken with several staff from LFS and I'm getting different opinions regarding how to move the tank and its contents (live rock & water) and now more confuse then ever :eek: and would love some feedback on this.

Questions:question::

Should I keep the preexisting water or make new water? Should I cycle the tank all over again? There are 50lbs of live rock and some live sand, should I keep the live sand? (i've been told it could be contaminated) What are things I should look for before and after moving the tank? Any others tips...

Thanks in advance for your time and comments.
Alex

[ferret]

Mostlikely I will replace 50% of water at least and put a few snails + one damsel fish as trial to test the water condition and wait for a few weeks, when nothing happen then you may keep the live rocks and sand as to save some money for the future addition. ( This suggestion is only good for FOWLR only not reef tank )

[Midknight]

Hey Alex, The first thing to do is... Hey everybody, I moving a tank. free beer for those that help.
Then I would say when do you need the help. :wink:

But really, where are you moving it from and too?
How deep is the sandbed? A good rinse would be Ok if it not too deep.
Then borrow lots of buckets and move the live rock in the water you want to keep.
Also is there any livestock or corals that need to be dealt with?
Hopes this helps.

[wil0311]

When I moved my tank the biggest mistake i made was keeping the old sandbed. Once you disturb all the trapped crap the sandbed holds, my nitrates and who knows what else went through the roof. I would premix 50% of the water and fill the rest with the aged water you transfer the rock with. Really no need to worry about a cycle afterwards. Just add fish.

[mark]

I moved my 75g across town and had no problems but had the advantage of being able to have 80-90g of fresh heated SW available at the new house.

Drained about 25g of the original tank water into 5g pails (one for fish). Put the LR into large plastic tubs, covered with tank water. Caught the fish and placed into one of the 5g pails. Was going to scoop up the top inch of the DSB to re-establish a new DSB but decided to go BB so didn't bother. Drained the rest of the water, took out all the sand and gave the tank a good cleaning.

Once at the new place, set the tank back up, got it leveled then added the water from the pails, placed the LR (discarding the water from the tubs), topped up with the SW I had waiting. Drained quite of bit of the water from the one pail with the fish then added water from the tank to acclimatize. Once acclimatized, added fish to tank. Topped the tank back up with the remaining mix.

No losses, no problem.

[jus68]

Thanks for everyone's comments.

Ferret, my intension is to introduce some corals once the tank is stable... so could you please elaborate on why your suggestion is only for fish only with live rock?

One more week until I get this SW baby... can't wait..

[Myka]

Personally, anytime I move a tank I replace the sandbed. Just keep a few cups of the old stuff to "seed" the new stuff - sprinkle it on top.

When I move a tank, I remove the inhabitants (bags or Rubbermaids). Then I remove the rocks into Rubbermaid containers with tank water wetted sheets draped over them, and the lids on. If possible, keep the rocks underwater (old tank water) the entire time, but often just not feasible. I try to keep as much old tank water as possible, up to 50%. If there are filters that have sponges or other biolgoical media keep those underwater (old tank water) the entire time.

When I get to the new place I give the tank a good scrubbing as well as the skimmer, powerheads, and pumps. Put the rock in the tank, and set it up as you would like it, then drape the wet sheets over it again. Try to keep the rock out of the water for as little time as possible. Put the old tank water in the tank. Add as much new saltwater as needed to cover the rocks, not higher, and not enough to go over the overflows. Remove the wet sheets. Put a heater temporarily in the tank.

Add the new sand as carefully as possible to try not to cloud the water excessively. If you use "live" bagged sand it is prewashed and not as dusty. Put the whole bag into the tank down at the bottom, then cut it open, and gently slide the sand out. If you use non-live sand you need to rinse it VERY well before putting it in the tank, and use a container to take the sand to the bottom before dumping it. Add a few cups of the old sand sprinkled over top. Let stand for an hour or so, then turn some powerheads on blasting them mainly at the rocks.

Hook up the sump and all the plumbing, get the skimmer ready. Fill the sump with fresh saltwater, and get the skimmer going. Fill the rest of the tank with saltwater, get your return going, and all the rest of the gear. If you have a calcium reactor, don't turn that on for a couple days. Hopefully the tank will clear up at least so you can see the back in a few hours. At that point you can start drip acclimating the livestock. Drip them for a couple hours, and add them in. Don't turn the lights on until the next day.

Do you have an RO/DI unit yet? If not, go buy one and start making water. Don't use tap water. The fresh saltwater you're going to need needs to be circulated for 24 hours before putting it in the tank.

[kwirky]

My tank moves are most successful when I prepare enough water ahead of time for a 100% change at the new house. Myself, I use a duplicate aquarium, but you can also use rubbermaid bins. Duplicate the water for salinity and alkalinity, have it aerating at least 24 hours before-hand.

The reason I don't move the water is that it's going to get real dirty when you pull all the rock out. VERY dirty. There's no point moving this nitrate ridden water, really. Plus I swish the rocks real well in the old water as I'm pulling them out, cleaning them as well as I can. It's a great opportunity you don't want to lose out on :)

The "live" sand's not worth the trouble of keeping. When you stir it up it's going to explode. Try not to stir up the sand when you're moving everything. When you move your rock, go bare bottom for a while until your rock's been re-cycled. Once it's cycled you can add sand back in if you want. But this way the die-off you'll get from moving the rock won't mix in with any sand and you can just siphon it out.

[jus68]

Thank you everyone for their comments! I got the tank yesterday and I'm lovin it!!!! I ended up buying sand and tossed out the old sand.

Now.. I have to figure out all the stuff in the sump... UV Sterilizer, Phosphan reactor, Refugium and protein skimmer....

[jus68]

I think I have too much live rock... could I get some opinions pls?

Also, when I change the water, can I syphon the sand and stir it up or not?

[rstar]

Tank looks good! I dont think you have too much live rock in there, and it all helps with filtration, one thing you might want is more flow depending on what you plan on keeping, 1 hydor pump i dont think is enough for a 75 gal, i generally dont stir up my sand bed, but i have a sand sifting goby who pretty much does that job for me, keep up the work on it, its looking good!

[Myka]

I think I have too much live rock... could I get some opinions pls?

Also, when I change the water, can I syphon the sand and stir it up or not?

Here's your pic:
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=3181&d=1220381433.jpg

I think you have a bit too much rock. If I were you I would try to make the rock more spacious on the left side with more caves, and less rocks. I don't like the rocks come so close to the glass in the middle. I like to try to keep a good open swimming area for fish in the front by keeping the rocks towards the back. It looks great on the right side.

You can siphon off the detritus from the surface of the sand, but you don't gravel vac it. You can stir your sandbed up ONLY if you do it regularly, and don't do the whole thing all the time. I gently drag a piece of bamboo through 1/3 of my sand on each waterchange. I only do the front of the tank where the sand is viewable. I don't stir it up really, just enough to keep the surface nice and white, and I only stir up the top 1/2". If you don't do it regularly (at least once every couple weeks) then you will get anaerobic areas which are good, and you need them for denitration which is why you shouldn't do the entire sandbed. If these anaerobic areas are stirred they will release toxic compounds and gases into your tank which can lead to a tank crash.

So, to sum it up...if you do stir it up, do it regularly, only stir the surface, and don't stir the entire sandbed. OR don't do it at all. :)

[Marlin65]

There is not enough sand in the tank for it to become anaerobic. You need 3" minimum for it to work for your NO3 reduction any less keep it at 1/2"

[jus68]

Thanks for everybody's inputs... greatly appreciated..

Another dire question I have is, could someone please ID the brown stuff on the rock.. I don't think its hair algae :eek::eek: but I'm uncertain whether if its good for my tank..

Thank you so much in advance..

[Myka]

Here's your pic:
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=3182&d=1220414235

Put at the beginning of the URL to your photo and at the end of the URL to post the pic directly in the thread.

I can't tell what brown stuff you're talking about...? I see reddish stuff and white stuff...?

[jus68]

ok let's give this picture a shot

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=7082&cat=500&ppuser=4844

Its the white branchy stuff on the red..

[jus68]

one more time

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/IMG_3291.jpg

sweet.. sorry for the extra post... practice makes perfect..

again.. i'm not sure if the white branchy stuff are good for my tank or should I wipe them off my rocks?

Thanks!!