Tank transfer

[Woofwoof]

Hey all, I'm buying a 90 gallon tank with a basement 100 gallon sump from a fellow reefer. I am putting it in place of my current 65 gallon. My tank has been running for about 3 years, his has been running longer. I will be using a combination of his rock and mine. I will be replacing the sand with new sand. My question is how much of my existing water in my 65 and how much new water should I use? Between the two tanks there will be anywhere from 200-250 lbs of established live rock. I assume and hope that there won't be a cycle. I was just wondering if I should use as much of my old water as possible, or just use some? Also I'm thinking pink Fiji for the sand. I have crushed coral and I don't like it, gets too dirty. But I was undecided on the special grade.. The tank will have a light bio load for now, and I plan on using Dr. Tim's one and only. Any advice for the transfer would be great. Thanks

 

[lex_lutha111384]

i hope someone amswers this, cuz i am curious too

 

[MrX]

Answers to the following might help get you the right answers:
- Are you getting livestock and corals with the new tank?
- Is the new tank going in the same spot as the existing tank?
- Do you have a RODI and can you make up your own water to fill the new system (use your 65+/- and make new water)?

I'll assume you are getting livestock/corals; whether you use your water or his you'd need to acclimate the stock from the other tank.

If the tanks are going in different locations you could:

- leave your tank alone
- take just enough water from the new tank to temporarily house the livestock during the move (temp home in a rubbermaid bucket or stock tank)
- move the new tank into position
- mix up new water and get ready to move into the new tank (your old water + new water to fill it); make sure params are as close as you can get them
- Add sand/rock from old and new systems, let it settle a bit, test parameters
- move your livestock to the new tank
- acclimate the new livestock to the new setup

You could adjust this based on which tank had more stable parameters. If it were me I wouldn't want to be lugging 190+/- gallons of water from somewhere else to my house.

I'm probably missing something but that's how I'd go about it.

 

[Owen386]

Great answers Mr x

Use as much old as you can save the money shoot

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk 2

 

[RadReefer]

I would use all of it. You may have a small cycle anyways though despite the fact that you have a ton of established rock. You are replacing the sand bed and roughly 2/3 of the water will be brand new since the total volume will be so large. It would still be safe IMO to add your livestock right away. I upgraded and transferred a 46gal system to a 100 total volume system and I had a small cycle despite the fact that I used all of my original water and rock.

What I did was: Without disturbing your existing sand bed, siphon your water into 5 gallon buckets, make sure you leave the rock in and don't disturb anything so the water remains really clean. (all corals should be placed in a holding tank prior to this). When there is an inch or so of water left then you remove the rock to a Rubbermaid tub or wherever you plan on keeping it. In your case it may be smart to set the basement sump up and partially fill it with the fresh saltwater, get it to temperature, and store the rock in there. The new water will not harm the rock. Then catch your fish last. This is the last step because it makes capture easy in shallow water with no rock, plus the sand gets stirred up really easily when trying to net them. Then old tank out, new one in. For sand I would recommend aragonite. The size is perfect. Not going to blow around and not too large. Rinse it first really well. I set my rock up while my tank was empty then filled it with water after so that I didn't create a sand storm, it's easier to scape this way and you aren't getting soaked. The rock will be fine out of water for a little while. I added my fish immediately and they all survived with minimal stress. Hope this helps!

 

[bill120mph]

when I moved my 180 with new sand and new 180 sump/fuge I set the sump and fuge up first with some of my rock in it and water from a water change let it run on its own for a week . after I set up the 180 display and tied it in to the filter set up I added a bottle of bacteria for instant cycle just before I put the fish in. No losses small cycle
Good Luck!