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#1 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 116
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Upgrading tanks
I have moved tanks before but I wanted to get other peoples ideas or suggestions. I have a 90 gallon reef tank and planning to change it to a 150 gallon tank and put it in the same spot. So what do you suggest? Also should I use new sand or the old sand.
Thanks, |
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#2 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Isle of wight, VA
Posts: 541
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I would use the old sand, but I am cheap. Just rinse it real well.
-Start in the morning it will take a while. -If you don't have an drum/barrels, go to walmart and buy thier cheapest trash cans. Clean them with some vingar. Put the trash cans out of the way and start draining. Pull everything out and stick it in the trash cans. -Move old tank/stand -Place new tank in old tank spot, check for level. -refill with stuff
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-Luckily, my wife is reef safe so I can use my normal income for this hobby. -My cichlids love RO waste! Current Tank Info: 7.5 gallon box with water in it. Last edited by brycerb; 03/02/2010 at 02:11 PM. |
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#3 |
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Chapel Hill
Posts: 455
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If you can get the logistics down, I would use the same sand not rinse it. Keep it alive and do the switch quick enough, add more sand to fill the tank and you can avoid a cycle. Or are you breaking down and getting rid of all livestock, etc?
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#4 |
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Join Date: May 2003
Location: Boerne, TX
Posts: 884
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How deep is the sand?
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#5 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 977
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If the sand is more than 2 inches I would def rinse it. You're asking for trouble if you dont.
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I swear its the last coral I will buy honey ...... I promise! |
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#6 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 116
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I am not planning to get rid of my live stock. I am planning to transfer most or all to the new tank. Live rock, corals, and fish. Sand is the only thing in question because there's a lot of things living in it. I have 4 to 5 inch of sand bed.
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#7 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Isle of wight, VA
Posts: 541
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Keep a small portion of it "live", by gently rinsing it in some saltwater. Rinse the rest with a garden hose. You will stir up so much crap when you take it out, you won't even have to ask youself if you want to put it in your new tank. After you get the rinsed sand in, just add that small portion of unrinsed sand to jump start the "new" sand.
__________________
-Luckily, my wife is reef safe so I can use my normal income for this hobby. -My cichlids love RO waste! Current Tank Info: 7.5 gallon box with water in it. |
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#8 |
Registered Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Isle of wight, VA
Posts: 541
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Don't forget if you want to keep your sandbed at the same height you will need more sand, unless you have a really tall 150. If you have never rinsed sand the best way is to put it in 5 gallon buckets and stick a garden hose in it all the way to the bottom, then keep pulling up the hose and shoving it back down again, until the water is clear, letting the crappy water overflow out of the bucket.
__________________
-Luckily, my wife is reef safe so I can use my normal income for this hobby. -My cichlids love RO waste! Current Tank Info: 7.5 gallon box with water in it. Last edited by brycerb; 03/02/2010 at 03:27 PM. |
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#9 |
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 977
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Gently skim the top 1 inch off the current sandbed where you can before you pull any of the lower rocks out which will stir things up and make it impossible to see. That 1 inch will be your seed. Then rinse the hell out of the rest. Once your new tank is set up sprinkle that top 1 inch back on the sandbed of the new tank.
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I swear its the last coral I will buy honey ...... I promise! |
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#10 |
Registered Member
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Boerne, TX
Posts: 884
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If your sand bed is 4-5" I would do as others have recommended and gently skim some off the top to seed the new sandbed AFTER you have removed the livestock but I would probably plan for the possibility of having to throw the rest away. I only say this because with a sandbed that deep that you may have some anaerobic zones with sulfur dioxide buildup. You'll know you do if it smells like rotten eggs when you stir it up.
I'm not saying this will definitely be the case, but you should be aware of the possiblity and plan accordingly. I just wouldn't want to see you poison your livestock as you're trying to get things quickly transferred to the new tank. |
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