Tank upgrade advice?

Portsie · 01/01/2014, 07:53 PM

Hi all, I recently purchased a used 90g tank, stand and sump and am going to be picking it up in the next couple weeks. I currently have a 72g sumpless system set up. I am basically looking for a step by step guide on how to make the switch as trouble free as possible. The new tank will be going in the exact spot that the current tank is. I am hoping to reuse my current sand, it is about a year old and about an inch and a half deep. There are around 10 different mixed corals, a pair of clowns, a shrimp/goby pair, a damsel and assorted snails and hermits. Any advice you all have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Jeff

maddmaxx · 01/01/2014, 09:02 PM

ok ill take a stab at helpin ya,

get as many totes as possible. drain enough water to keep the rocks submerged and a power head. dont put excess water in it, just enough to submerge the rocks. then i would put the fish, coral, heater/s, powerhead in another tote.

now for the sand, there is two ways to go about this. most will say ditch the sand, but a shallow sand bed that isnt really that old, and you have minimal waste in the tank from the small live stock you have, you have two options

one would be to take the sand out and rinse rinse rinse, this is always helpful but will kill all beneficial critters in the sand and kill all bacteria in the sand which possibly cause a small cycle in the tank,

the other option you have which i will be doin to my 220g in a short few months, is leave as much water as possible in the display after you remove the rock, coral and fish, with the left over water and sand still in tank, use something to really really stir up the sand, it will cause the tank to become a mess. but all that bad stuff will be in the water column now. so when your done really stirring up the sand bed. drain the tank and discard the water. put the sand in another tote that has fresh saltwater mixed. just enough water to have the sand submerged also. by doin it this way. all the critters will survive, the bacteria will survive, the sand will be clean and ready without a cycling problem.

move tank, place new tank in its location. add sand and some water to keep it submerged, add more freshly mixed saltwater, like maybe half way, start transferring rock into new tank. aquascape as you like, when all rock is in new tank. add the water that was in the rock tote, bring tank temp up to where it needs to be. toss in coral and fish and ur done..

now if you have a sump on ur tank now, and you have a refugium in the sump, do not disturb that sand at all. if you have to remove the sand to remove the sump, toss that sand and start wit new sand in the fuge. if your able to move the sump wit fuge in it easily, then just move it from one stand to the other and plumb it up and ur done...

key thing is keep everything submerged that you can. so there is no die off of bacteria, and MAKE sure the tank temp is up to par before adding any live stock or corals.

Portsie · 01/01/2014, 10:26 PM

Thanks for the tips. I really like this method for the sand as there are all kinds of little snails living in the sand that I don't want to lose. I don't have a sump right now, that's actually the main reason for the upgrade.

maddmaxx · 01/01/2014, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Portsie

Thanks for the tips. I really like this method for the sand as there are all kinds of little snails living in the sand that I don't want to lose. I don't have a sump right now, that's actually the main reason for the upgrade.

that method has worked for me over and over as long as your sand bed isnt old and you dont have a large bioload, which you have neither. as far as adding a sump. go as big as you can to add as much water volume u can...the new sand you get for the fuge will need to be rinsed and added to the fuge section. fill that up. plumb everything and your off enjoying your new reef....good luck

joeman1881 · 01/02/2014, 12:27 AM

Due to an unexpected move before the purchase of my home, I moved my 75 galling 6 months ago. I upgraded to a 90 at that time, same thing no sump system to a sump system. The next day I noticed my new 90 was leaking, had to locate a replacement and do the swap again. 2 months later we purchased our first home and I again had to move it. Couple of things I learned were, brute garbage cans and totes are a life saver for these projects. How ever many you think you need, get 2 extra, because you will probably use them. Don't worry about cost because Home Depot will take it all back when you're done, just give it all a thorough rinse. Any hardware you don't have that you may need for the move can always be returned.

People freak out about re-using sand, I did it between all 3 moves, and didn't have any issues. Maybe I'm just really lucky, who knows.

Going to the new system was the best thing I could have done. Everything is way happier, and I upgraded lights at the time which only helped even more. Good luck!

01/01/2014, 07:53 PM	#1
Portsie Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 741	Tank upgrade advice? Hi all, I recently purchased a used 90g tank, stand and sump and am going to be picking it up in the next couple weeks. I currently have a 72g sumpless system set up. I am basically looking for a step by step guide on how to make the switch as trouble free as possible. The new tank will be going in the exact spot that the current tank is. I am hoping to reuse my current sand, it is about a year old and about an inch and a half deep. There are around 10 different mixed corals, a pair of clowns, a shrimp/goby pair, a damsel and assorted snails and hermits. Any advice you all have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, Jeff __________________ 90g corner overflow, 33g sump, Apex, Vertex IN-100, 2x MP-10w ES, 1X MP-40w, Tunze Osmolator, 60lbs Caribsea oolite, 85lbs live rock, 4x54w T5 with LED moonlights

01/01/2014, 09:02 PM	#2
maddmaxx Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Jersey Shore Posts: 3,003	ok ill take a stab at helpin ya, get as many totes as possible. drain enough water to keep the rocks submerged and a power head. dont put excess water in it, just enough to submerge the rocks. then i would put the fish, coral, heater/s, powerhead in another tote. now for the sand, there is two ways to go about this. most will say ditch the sand, but a shallow sand bed that isnt really that old, and you have minimal waste in the tank from the small live stock you have, you have two options one would be to take the sand out and rinse rinse rinse, this is always helpful but will kill all beneficial critters in the sand and kill all bacteria in the sand which possibly cause a small cycle in the tank, the other option you have which i will be doin to my 220g in a short few months, is leave as much water as possible in the display after you remove the rock, coral and fish, with the left over water and sand still in tank, use something to really really stir up the sand, it will cause the tank to become a mess. but all that bad stuff will be in the water column now. so when your done really stirring up the sand bed. drain the tank and discard the water. put the sand in another tote that has fresh saltwater mixed. just enough water to have the sand submerged also. by doin it this way. all the critters will survive, the bacteria will survive, the sand will be clean and ready without a cycling problem. move tank, place new tank in its location. add sand and some water to keep it submerged, add more freshly mixed saltwater, like maybe half way, start transferring rock into new tank. aquascape as you like, when all rock is in new tank. add the water that was in the rock tote, bring tank temp up to where it needs to be. toss in coral and fish and ur done.. now if you have a sump on ur tank now, and you have a refugium in the sump, do not disturb that sand at all. if you have to remove the sand to remove the sump, toss that sand and start wit new sand in the fuge. if your able to move the sump wit fuge in it easily, then just move it from one stand to the other and plumb it up and ur done... key thing is keep everything submerged that you can. so there is no die off of bacteria, and MAKE sure the tank temp is up to par before adding any live stock or corals. __________________ One Life One Shot Current Tank Info: 40B Mixed reef

01/01/2014, 10:26 PM	#3
Portsie Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 741	Thanks for the tips. I really like this method for the sand as there are all kinds of little snails living in the sand that I don't want to lose. I don't have a sump right now, that's actually the main reason for the upgrade. __________________ 90g corner overflow, 33g sump, Apex, Vertex IN-100, 2x MP-10w ES, 1X MP-40w, Tunze Osmolator, 60lbs Caribsea oolite, 85lbs live rock, 4x54w T5 with LED moonlights

01/02/2014, 12:27 AM	#5
joeman1881 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Tracy Ca Posts: 119	Due to an unexpected move before the purchase of my home, I moved my 75 galling 6 months ago. I upgraded to a 90 at that time, same thing no sump system to a sump system. The next day I noticed my new 90 was leaking, had to locate a replacement and do the swap again. 2 months later we purchased our first home and I again had to move it. Couple of things I learned were, brute garbage cans and totes are a life saver for these projects. How ever many you think you need, get 2 extra, because you will probably use them. Don't worry about cost because Home Depot will take it all back when you're done, just give it all a thorough rinse. Any hardware you don't have that you may need for the move can always be returned. People freak out about re-using sand, I did it between all 3 moves, and didn't have any issues. Maybe I'm just really lucky, who knows. Going to the new system was the best thing I could have done. Everything is way happier, and I upgraded lights at the time which only helped even more. Good luck!