new tank

[makana]

I just bought the new jbj 28g hqi nano cube. It seems like a pretty sweet setup. I got a good deal on the chiller for it as well.

I am looking for suggestions on the best way to move the contents of my 10g over to the new setup with minimal stress. I was thinking of using half new water and half old water from my 10g, is that a good idea or not? I will be adding new live rock so it will have to cycle. I am sure some of you guys have done this before and can help me make this easier and avoid losses.

[BlueAbyss]

Could you cycle the new tank with the new rock by itself for a few weeks and then move the stuff from the 10 gallon over? Otherwise, buying fully cured live rock would be the next best thing (I added 50% more rock to my tank and never caused any discernable cycle).

[makana]

I can definitely cycle the new tank. I was wondering if using water from the old aquarium would make the transition easier on the fish.

[makana]

So nobody is willing to offer their experience.

Maybe someone will at least be willing to tell me if my plan has any merit. I was thinking of putting OOlite live sand and the new live rock into the tank. I will do a 50% water change on my 10g which will give me 4 gallons of water to add to the tank. I will also add 1 rock from my 10g. I will fill the tank the rest of the way with new water and let it run for 1 - 2 weeks. Then move the rest of the rock over and introduce the fish to the new aquarium the same way I do when I bring new fish home from the LFS.

Does that sound good or is there even any benefit from moving water and rock from the 10g over before the cycle?

Also should I move my SSB over as well. Its almost 1 year old.

[mseepman]

Hello, I just saw your thread.

I think that utilizing some of your old water is a good idea as long as you don't have any issues in the 10G that you want to avoid. You don't want to use too much old tank water as it will be subject to the issues of nitrates and phosphates that so many nano tanks have and you don't want too much of that coming over.

Are you planning on adding cured or un-cured live rock (in addition to the piece from your old tank?)

Being that you are in Vernon, did you get the combo of tank and chiller from the LFS that was carrying them?

[NuraNori]

Hi,

I would like to advise you against store bought "live sand". In my opinion it's nothing more than wet sand in a bag. My local LFS guy says it's caused an algal bloom in everyone's tank he's ever known and from a biological point of view if you lock up a bunch of microorganisms in a bag with no oxygen...well you're just gonna end up with dead sand (hence a bunch of nitrates hence the algal bloom). You're better off getting dry aragonite sand and if you must you can seed with a cup of real live sand from your other tank or a friend's tank or just let the live rock do it for you. As far as using water from you old tank (in my opinion) shouldn't matter. I mean you want your water parameters to be perfect and there shouldn't be anything special about old water except nitrates, diatoms (kinda bad). I imagine there's some zooplankton in there and phytoplankton (kinda good), but nothing that your live rock shouldn't be able to seed. After all the "stuff" that cycles your tank should be living in/on your live rock not in the water column. Bacteria in water = stinky! That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, i'm just saying it probably won't make a difference. And yes you should move the live rock in there before the cycle since it will help to cycle your tank. However as long as it's live rock it doesn't really matter if it's from your old tank or from your LFS.

To sum that up:
1. Don't use store bought live sand
2. Doesn't really matter if you use water from your old tank (unless your water parameters were bad, had problems with ick etc., then you shouldn't)

[mseepman]

Interesting...I've always used bagged "live sand" in my tank startups and as yet, I've never gone through the cycle or diatom bloom that I've always seen with tanks using the other sands.

I will be building a new tank in my new house soon and if I go with a sand bottom, it will for sure include mostly live sand.

Just my 2 cents though.

By the way, what did you decide to use as a pump to circulate water through the chiller. I know the local LFS uses a Mag drive but they are hideously loud and warm. On top of that, they had to restrict the flow because the mag was too big. I recommend you looking at ordering something like a Rio from J&L as they are quiet and small. An eheim would be even better but more expensive.

[globaldesigns]

You will love that tank, that is what I started out with before going to my custom build... I loved that JBJ, but gave it up for the wifes sake, too bad I didn't know you then, I gave it up about 4 months ago for $800. That was for the full setup, chiller, coral, rock, livestock, skimmers, filters, UV, etc. THE WHOLE WORKS...

Have fun with it, you will love that setup.

[makana]

mseepman
I did get the combo at the LFS. I've always liked the JBJ cubes but this was the first time I saw a kit that I felt was complete. And getting the chiller for $200 was hard to pass up. I haven't bought a pump yet for the chiller. The LFS has a mag 350 I think and the 250 is pretty much the appropriate flow rate at the head height. I didn't realize that they were loud and hot though.

Any suggestions on a better pump? I was considering a maxijet 1200.

NuraNori
In the 10g I went with sugar sand and seeded it with live rock. If I go with that route again would you recommend aragonite over sugar sand?

globaldesigns
That really sucks. I will probably have double that invested by the time I am done with this one. I looked around locally for quite a while but deals don't come by that often and when they do the are usually long gone by the time I find out.

The reason I was thinking of adding sand, rock, and water from the old tank was that I thought maybe on a biological level the transition could be made more like a large water change than an actual tank change for the inhabitants.

[mseepman]

The MJ1200 has no head pressure, you would probably not be able to make it work for you.

I think a Rio or an eheim seems to be best.