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.