Transfering tanks.

BMahura · #1 09-11-2011, 05:53 AM

In the next couple days i am buying a larger tank and am not sure what the best plan of action would be to go about doing this.
I currently have a 70 gallon system and am upgrading to a 144 gallon.
My tank is fully stocked with fish and coral. I am looking to buy more live rock for my new tank as well.
Im not sure what the best way to go about transfering my livestock as i dont want to loose any of my stuff.
Any advice would be great
Thanks
Brett

Lampshade · #2 09-11-2011, 06:00 AM

I went from a 55 to a 155, But was lucky and had them in the same room. I filled my 155 and then ran a hose from old tank to new sump, and new tank to old sump. I had to adjust flows a couple times to keep them balanced, but let them transfer for a few hours basically doing a large water change on the old system, and hopefully seeding my new sand a little in the new system.

Did the transfer with little to no cycle(could read ammonia at all), then a month later added 50lbs of dry rock and nearly crashed my tank. Had it have been live rock I'm sure it would have worked out better. Careful with that.

BMahura · #3 09-11-2011, 06:14 AM

I won't b able to do that ad they are in different rooms. I was thinking of sticking with all the live rock I have and transferring all the water and adding 50 gallons to start and another 50 a week or so after. Then after I get the tank running ill add a couple pounds every week or so. I wasn't sure about this as I would like to finish my aquascaping before I start adding any fish or coral.

doch · #4 09-11-2011, 11:57 AM

What I did is took my existing live rock and put it into the new tank full of properly salted and all brand new water. I put a few pieces in, let it circulate for about 24 hours, and then added the rest of the rock, all of my coral and all of my fish. I wouldn't keep the water... the water column itself holds no value to you (unless you think that nitrates and phosphates are valuable). The good bacteria is in your live rock. As long as you keep your bio load the same (don't add any new critters) your existing rock will do the trick (you can fill your new tank full all at once). One thing to be careful of is how (or if) you transfer your sand bed... you have to be careful what you stir up and release. Personally, I bought all new sand to avoid any troubles (it was an excuse to go with a different grain size). If you're happy with your sand, take it out, rinse it well, and transfer it over.

For the new rock, just add marco rock. It's cheaper than live rock, and since you've already got good and (I assume) mature, pest free rock, it will seed it nicely. If you add more live rock, you run the risk of parasites (aiptasia, flatworms, bad crabs etc.)

When I switched, I lost one out of 15 fish... a yellow clown goby. Many say that they are not very hardy.

ScubaSteve · #5 09-11-2011, 04:11 PM

I've done a few tank transfers, either for myself or a friend. Trick is to keep everything warm. Since you are going straight from one tank to another, that's not a huge problem. But be cognizant of that as that's probably the number one cause for a lot of issues.

If you are not in a rush, set up the other tank with sand and the few new pieces of LR, along with a few scoops of sand from the existing system to help seed it, then add your livestock and rock a week or two later. I agree with transfering some oo all of the water as well. I find it makes a big difference. I've done full swaps in a single day and haven't list a thing. The only time I had was when the temperature dropped too much

BMahura · #6 09-11-2011, 08:31 PM

I dont think ill be in a huge rush to switch tanks unless sombody buys my current tank in the next couple days.
So as far as live sand and rock goes. I should fill my new tank with as much water from my current setup and should i add all the live rock that i have or what should i do. I need to get some bigger peices of rock for my base rock and was thinking about going with some dry macro rock. Im going to go with all new sand but add a little bit of my current sand to seed my new sand bed.
Does this sounds like the best way to go about transferring or is their something you would recommended me doing differently

doch · #7 09-12-2011, 01:21 AM

I like it.

I guess the main reason why I didn't use my old water is because I was switching from tap water in the old tank to RO in the new tank. I wanted to go 100% RO right from the start. I did overlook using some of the old sand to seed the new sand... this is a good idea. The way that I looked at it though is that I was putting in all of my very well established live rock which will also seed the sand bed.

BMahura · #8 09-12-2011, 01:34 AM

I was thinking about using my water but i have a brand new RO system that im setting up. Is it ok to still use my water even if its just primed tap water or would it be more beneficial to go with all RO water. Im going to go with all new sand with a couple cups of my old sand bed. What is the best process to go by(what order should i put everything in and should i wait in between to add the live rock or sand)

Madreefer · #9 09-12-2011, 02:43 AM

I started out with a 30G to 50G to 72G to another 72G due to a leak than a 90G to now a 144G. Each time I used all of the water from the old tank and half of the sand. I've never lost a thing. If your fast everything should go well but expect alot of water on the floor. If your using dry macro you wont have any spikes at all. Be prepared with lots of rubbermaid storage containers or buckets and have your new sand well rinsed beforehand. You'll be adding alot of new water so in my mind it's considered as a "big water change". I've helped a couple of freinds by doing it the same way and the results were good as well. Good luck and have fun.

doch · #10 09-12-2011, 03:00 AM

Due to my mild OCD, I went with all new RO water. Is this needed? Probably not... but it makes me feel better knowing that the whole tank is RO.

This is what I would do, in this kind of order... make adjustments as needed.

Rinse the new sand
Fill the tank with your new ro water
Add salt to proper salinity
Add new sand
Bring to temp, and start circulation
Add the old sand that you plan on using, as well as a few pieces of your old live rock, and any Marco rock that you'll use (after rinsing it)
Let it run like this for as much time as you have... an hour... 12, 24, whatever. (I ran mine for 24)
Add the rest of your live rock from the old tank
Acclimate fish, inverts, and should you choose, your corals
Aquascape while waiting for the acclimation to finish
Add the fish, inverts, and corals
Appologize to your significant other/parents/roomates for the swearing over the last x # of hours, as well as for the mess
Clean up
Enjoy!

Add beer breaks as required.