Tank Cycle / Transfer Questions!

yellowworld · #1 03-26-2012, 06:51 AM

Hey guys, I have a few questions for you. Im shutting down my tank and I have a person looking to buy everything off me, however his tank is not running. I know that if I sell him my coral and fish they won't survive. I don't have to worry about sand at this moment, it is not in my tank and if he dose add it, it will be slowly to make sure it doesn't create any problems. He is not far from my house only about 15 minutes. My questions are:

1. If he takes all the water I have in my tank (approx. 100g) and puts it into his 100g tank, then starts up the two Brand New Canister Filters he has decided to run, will it cycle or with it simply start to colonize the filter media?

2. If it doesn't have a cycle, should the tank be ready for livestock, given that the equipment is similar to my tank? ie. lighting, flow rates...

3. Lastly, would any of you attempt this or have any advice on the transfer to minimize the chances of anything happening?

RDNanoGuy · #2 03-26-2012, 08:48 AM

I just moved and had a very similar situation happen. Everything was moved into a new tank. I had no losses at all. try this:

1. Keep as much water as you can from the old system

2. make enough new SW at the new location for a 30% water change 24 hours in advance.

3. Throw out the old subsrate but keep a few scoops to mix in and seed the new substrate.

4. Keep any sponges/filter media from your old setup. squeeze them out in old SW from the tank to remove loose detrius and put them in the new filters to speed up bacterial growth.

5. Some of the SW you mix in advance will be used to make up for the water you lose in the move; you can't save all of it. Use the rest to perform a waterchange while you're at it.

6. Filter your old water through a sock as you fill the tank to remove any free floating waste/debris.

7. Get your skimmer online asap and maybe throw a few airstones into the system for good measure. As the new tank cycles the bacteria will bloom somewhat and you don't want the oxygen level in the water to get too low.

This method worked very well for me. The new tank had a mini cycle which lasted about a week during which time I fed the fish minimally every second day.