How hard or how much of a hassle???

[reice05]

I'm about 5 months into the whole saltwater thing and I'm kinda stuck on what to do. I bought a used 75g setup and I love it BUT I came to realize I hate my stand and sump. I plan on building a better stand that will give me more access to the sump area and also making a better sump so I can get a refuguim in. I can only get the sump out is thru the top so Ima have to empty the tank, I wanted to do the sump then stand later but I guess I'm stuck wiu having to do both at the same time so how hard or how much stress will it put on my live stock to do this?

[IPowderBlueTang]

I had to repair my 120 gal and got a large rubbermaid bin and tranfer LR, corals, sand and livestock into it for 2 weeks. Used the tank water, had power heads running and heater. Did a 20% waterchange after the first week. Slowly tranfer everything back after 2 weeks and did not lose anything. Fish was not stress out, they were swimming around the LR.

[RagTopMan]

The first post is a good way to go for sure. You also may have a local fish store who will board your livestock while you get things sorted out.

I did this once when I moved across country. Got everything running then had my livestock shipped.

[JLAURIA751]

I had to tare down my tank to replace the sand bed everything was fine. I also had a system crash and my LFS held onto my coral and fish for a week till my tank stabalized.

[reice05]

Im figuring if i get the stand and sump made i can probally make this a 1/2 day job. If im switching tanks should i empty it completely or can i leave the sand and very little water and lift the tank to the new stand then fill it back with the water?

[iluzhun]

depending on how much sand I don't think you will be able to lift the tank with the sand and water. I would err on the side of caution and remove as much from the tank as possible. you deffinitely don't want to drop it.

[Chiefsurfer]

at 75 gallons, you are probably talking about near 100lbs of sand, couple that with 10 gallons of water and the glass, you better have some might strong guys to help ya. I'd say drain it completely, get new sand, and fill back up once on the new stand. Just an idea, not sure what you wanna do, but if upgrading is a possability in your future, might want to build it a bit larger to accomodate the next size up tank if you have the room.

[reice05]

If i get new sand will i i have to wait for a cycle or i can add fish the same day?

[lordofthereef]

Personally I think you sort of answered your own question. Difficulty will be based on your adeptness with building the stand and physical work transferring the tank and livestock over. Realistically once everything is built you can do this whole thing in a day. Will it cause stress? Sure, but people move with their tanks all the time. The length of a move would be far greater than the length of time it would take to essentially swap from one place to another in the same house.

[Chiefsurfer]

Originally Posted by reice05

If i get new sand will i i have to wait for a cycle or i can add fish the same day?

Should be fine adding the fish. 95% of your filtration medium(what you get from cycling) should be done in your rock, and not your sand, so there should be no cycle, nor any spikes. If you want, you can save a single cup of old sand to help "seed" your new sand, but it shouldn't be necessary either.

[jonbry123]

If your going to transfer all the live sand and rock into the tank after the new stand is built you will be fine. I went from a 30 gallon tank to a 75 gallon and transfered all the water, live rock and sand and reacclimated the fish all in one evening without any problems. If all your doing is building a bigger stand then build the stand then remove everything from you tank including water and then add everything back into the tank once placed back on the new stand. You can use any plastic safe container to house your live rock and animals and another for the sand. Be sure to have an air line in the container containing your rock and fish along with a heater.

Bryan

[ibefishy]

Originally Posted by reice05

Im figuring if i get the stand and sump made i can probally make this a 1/2 day job. If im switching tanks should i empty it completely or can i leave the sand and very little water and lift the tank to the new stand then fill it back with the water?

Figure on at least a whole day. Somethng like this is way more than just a half day. If you can accomplish this in a half day then you still have half the day to sit back and drink a drink a beer or two and enjoy the new look of the new stand and aquascaping.

[Chiefsurfer]

Originally Posted by jonbry123

If your going to transfer all the live sand and rock into the tank after the new stand is built you will be fine. I went from a 30 gallon tank to a 75 gallon and transfered all the water, live rock and sand and reacclimated the fish all in one evening without any problems. If all your doing is building a bigger stand then build the stand then remove everything from you tank including water and then add everything back into the tank once placed back on the new stand. You can use any plastic safe container to house your live rock and animals and another for the sand. Be sure to have an air line in the container containing your rock and fish along with a heater.

Bryan

I would not reccomend re-using sand that is removed from your tank. If left in, it can be done with little harmful effects, but stirring(removing then adding) a sandbed CAN release all kinds of toxins. For the few bucks for new sand, just a piece of mind for me, but it CAN be done.