Successful Tank Upgrade - Moving from a 55 - 75 gal

kentwo · 08/19/2015, 02:25 AM

So I finally decided to move up from a 55 gal to a 75 gal tank this summer. The 55 gal was running for around two years with pretty good results.

I found a guy selling his 75 gal on CL and bought it for a reasonable price. Here's the timeline that I followed, just in case anyone else can find some of the things that I tried doing useful.

1. Cleaned out the new tank. Water tested it. Then spray painted the back with the shade of Krylon blue that I like. Let it dry a few days, then rinsed the tank out again.
2. Set up a spare 30 gal tank. Filled it halfway with water from the main tank, then added in all the live rock I had along with a few powerheads to keep the water moving. Filled the tank with new water to the top. Once things looked settled, added the critters.
3. Drained the display tank. I read a lot of people's post about dumping the sand and just buying new bags. But for where I was, the sand can get kind of costly and I was already spending a ton of money this summer on projects so I decided to keep my old sand. Saved a few cups worth of old sand in a bucket with tank water.
4. Divided the sand into several different containers. I had a lot of sand since the 55 gal was running close to a DSB at around 3-4" deep. Washed sand out as best as I could, then let it dry in long shallow containers in the sun.
5. Once the new tank was painted, rinsed, and in place, I got the now dry sand and mixed it with some hydrogen peroxide. I really don't know if this step did anything, but I had bunch of open bottles from my planted tank upgrade I was working on (another money eater this summer) and hoped that it would either help to oxidize organic waste or at least help to prevent a huge bacteria bloom. Let the sand sit in the sun another day, then gave another big rinse. Finally, added the sand to the tank.
6. This step I took from the planted tank process. I read that a lot of people didn't like using the old sand because of the waste that remains causing spikes in ammonia, algae, bacteria, and other issues. So after adding the sand in, I added just enough water to cover the sand, poured in the live sand from the old tank and let it sit for several days. In my dry start planted tank, this is supposed to help get the bacteria growing, and get the cycle going without having to do massive water changes.
7. After letting the sand sit I filled the tank with water, added in the live rock, skimmer, powerheads, along with a bunch of new dry rock that was being soaked and rinsed in a sink over the weeks while the tank was being set up. Let it run for a few days, and slowly added in the live stock over the next week.

So far, no problems with nitrogen cycle, bacteria/algae blooms, and all the fish are happy to be back with more room to swim.

I'm not sure if that was helpful, but I do think that letting the sand sit barely covered with water did help to get things going without the need for massive water changes.

nuxx · 08/19/2015, 12:46 PM

Will like the extra depth of the 75.

55s are terrible to aquascape...

kentwo · 08/19/2015, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nuxx

Will like the extra depth of the 75.

55s are terrible to aquascape...

I know. When putting the rocks back in from the 55, I thought I was missing rocks. Then I realized that I had enough room to turn them sideways and that is why it seemed like I lost some rocks somewhere.

Bent · 08/19/2015, 08:15 PM

Pics?

kentwo · 08/21/2015, 04:48 PM

kentwo · 08/25/2015, 03:04 AM

Sorry. Have no idea how to edit that picture so it is smaller.

Here are the critters in QT with the live rock while tank is being painted and sand is going through its process.

Things slowly being added back in:

08/19/2015, 02:25 AM	#1
kentwo Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 79	Successful Tank Upgrade - Moving from a 55 - 75 gal So I finally decided to move up from a 55 gal to a 75 gal tank this summer. The 55 gal was running for around two years with pretty good results. I found a guy selling his 75 gal on CL and bought it for a reasonable price. Here's the timeline that I followed, just in case anyone else can find some of the things that I tried doing useful. 1. Cleaned out the new tank. Water tested it. Then spray painted the back with the shade of Krylon blue that I like. Let it dry a few days, then rinsed the tank out again. 2. Set up a spare 30 gal tank. Filled it halfway with water from the main tank, then added in all the live rock I had along with a few powerheads to keep the water moving. Filled the tank with new water to the top. Once things looked settled, added the critters. 3. Drained the display tank. I read a lot of people's post about dumping the sand and just buying new bags. But for where I was, the sand can get kind of costly and I was already spending a ton of money this summer on projects so I decided to keep my old sand. Saved a few cups worth of old sand in a bucket with tank water. 4. Divided the sand into several different containers. I had a lot of sand since the 55 gal was running close to a DSB at around 3-4" deep. Washed sand out as best as I could, then let it dry in long shallow containers in the sun. 5. Once the new tank was painted, rinsed, and in place, I got the now dry sand and mixed it with some hydrogen peroxide. I really don't know if this step did anything, but I had bunch of open bottles from my planted tank upgrade I was working on (another money eater this summer) and hoped that it would either help to oxidize organic waste or at least help to prevent a huge bacteria bloom. Let the sand sit in the sun another day, then gave another big rinse. Finally, added the sand to the tank. 6. This step I took from the planted tank process. I read that a lot of people didn't like using the old sand because of the waste that remains causing spikes in ammonia, algae, bacteria, and other issues. So after adding the sand in, I added just enough water to cover the sand, poured in the live sand from the old tank and let it sit for several days. In my dry start planted tank, this is supposed to help get the bacteria growing, and get the cycle going without having to do massive water changes. 7. After letting the sand sit I filled the tank with water, added in the live rock, skimmer, powerheads, along with a bunch of new dry rock that was being soaked and rinsed in a sink over the weeks while the tank was being set up. Let it run for a few days, and slowly added in the live stock over the next week. So far, no problems with nitrogen cycle, bacteria/algae blooms, and all the fish are happy to be back with more room to swim. I'm not sure if that was helpful, but I do think that letting the sand sit barely covered with water did help to get things going without the need for massive water changes.

08/19/2015, 12:46 PM	#2
nuxx RC Sponsor Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Austin, Tx Posts: 3,990	Will like the extra depth of the 75. 55s are terrible to aquascape... __________________ Peter TankStop - Fish and Coral 470G Display - Build Thread Current Tank Info: Retired - 470 Gallon Mixed Reef (120x29x31")

08/19/2015, 08:15 PM	#4
Bent I got nothin' Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: The anals Posts: 6,420	Pics? __________________ Quitters never lose. [QUOTE=CStrickland]Who gets mad at a starfish?[/QUOTE] Current Tank Info: 75g DT, 30G refugium, 10g chaeto tank, 50g stock tank basement sump

08/21/2015, 04:48 PM	#5
kentwo Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 79	Last edited by kentwo; 08/21/2015 at 04:57 PM.

08/25/2015, 03:04 AM	#6
kentwo Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 79	Sorry. Have no idea how to edit that picture so it is smaller. Here are the critters in QT with the live rock while tank is being painted and sand is going through its process. Things slowly being added back in: