so after all the caos, I've broke down the display tank and crammed all my rock and corals into an extra 55 i had empty. I wanted to change a few things with the tank and now was about the best time i will get with no fish in there. I'm basically not taking any chanced and will be replacing 100% of the water. Everything will get dipped prior to transfer back to the 92. I've heard of people doing 100% water changes before and it not affecting their coral, so basically i'm seeing if anyone can say yes i have done this or no re-cycle and start everything over? I don't have anything to hard core for corals a bunch of zoa's, paly's, hammer, ric's, doughnuts and 1 green plate.
Let me know what everyone thinks please!!

I do 50+% water changes with no ill effects.

Answer this question. Which is more stressful on corals?

1) Being packed into a small bag and shipped by air 13+ hours from SE Asia to YVR, then go through customs, the wholesaler & into the retailer's tank, all in roughly one day?

2) OR, being taken out of your tank, and placed back in within a couple of hours with all new clean water at the correct temp, pH & salinity.

As you stated, most of your corals are of the reasonably hardy variety. SPS I would worry about. The stuff you have should be ok as long as your new water parameters are good.

We all take corals out of one tank & into another all the time (that's what happens everytime we buy or trade for a coral). Its not like the corals are going from good water to bad water, but the opposite. The new water should be better than what they were living in before.

JMO & JME,

Anthony

Just so you know replacing 100% of the water won't get rid of the ick. The cysts settle on the substrate and can take up to 6 weeks to hatch into the parasite that infects fish. The best way to insure an ick free tank is to leave it fishless for 6 to 8 weeks and quarantine and treat if necessary all new fish.

In my opinion, i would not replace 100% of the water. I have not personaly gone throught what you have described through out this thread, but i have had to compleatly disasemble my 75gal bow front and reassemble due to moving to new houses three times. I have always kept about 50% at all times, and this is due to the reliance of the built up bactiria in the water aswell Ls,Lr. The way i look at water is the more seasoned it is, the better it is for our little eco systomes. Just like wine the older the better.

On another note i'm truly sorry for your loss, my brother inlaw just went through a simaler desaster ..... it was not easy for for him and it was not easy for me to have to uthinize the ones that were suffering.

Feel this should be said....tank water contains little to no beneficial bacteria.

sorry on my mistake, this is not what i had bin informed apon.

I was not shooting on solving ich by draining my water, It will still run fishless for another 6 weeks, i Seen this as an oportunity to change a few things with my setup and in order to do it the tank needed to be drained to move it. I've kept 55 gallons of old water with my corals but was just curious if i should return that to the setup or go with 100% new water?

p.s. The old setup had about a half inch of sand only at the front, nothing under the rocks and i'm thinking now i'd like to go with a cleaner no sand set-up, how much does everyone think this will throw things out of whack for the first while?

In that case go ahead and use new water, as long as the salinity/temp is the same and the new water is well aerated I don't see a problem

awseome!!

p.s. I really do appreciate all the tips and advise everyone offers!! I really wish i'd found this forum years ago!!