Upgrading tanks

Grkgod36 · 04/09/2016, 11:45 PM

So I'm thinking of upgrading tanks from a 90 to a 150. I have a good bit of sps and some lps , about 100 lbs of live rock and stocked with fish .

But the thought of swapping gives me anxiety lol, how much of a pita is it, how does one go about it, and how stressful is it to the fish .as silly as it may sound I love my fish and would be pretty bummed if I would loose any during the swap.

I'm thinking , use small part of my sand bed , rinse it out very good , add new sand , my buddy has a 500 gallon ( he originally set my tank up)I was thinking of having him bring me water from his water change , dump it big bins to put the live rock and rock and coral in ,transfer most my water over from my tank and sump, then add rock and then fish , and pray ...lol

Does that sound about right ? Will I cause a small cycle ?

reef_aholic · 04/10/2016, 12:32 AM

Use all the water from your existing tank as you can, toss all your sand. Make up the difference with nsw. While you are making the move, ensure to keep the rock submerged in tank water. I upgraded tanks once, and moved the whole setup (120G) 2X, did not lose one thing. The first move was 2 hours drive away, in a snowstorm. Worked out fine.

Grkgod36 · 04/10/2016, 12:54 AM

Yea I plan to use all my existing water . The rocks will be submerged for sure. Thankfully mine is a direct in house swap no driving or anything .

A lot of my rock had corals on them. Some encrusted with Zoas, palys , acros etc

flooddc · 04/10/2016, 05:47 AM

Sound like a nice upgrade.
I done several tank upgrades and reused everything including the sand with success.
If your new tank is going to the same spot as the old one, then it a bit more work.
I'd put the rocks with encrusted corals into buckets/bins. Transfer rocks, then 75% water and sand. If sand is more than 2 years old, then recommend new live sand. If not, rinse it in your old tank water before transfer. I Used Large fish net to rinse the sand. Add new mixed water, ran the tank a few minutes and then restock. Remove excess water. Goodluck

kmbyrnes · 04/10/2016, 06:25 AM

Congrats!
I would go with new sand.
I had a bad experience moving tanks and re-using sand without rinsing.
The built up junk caused a huge ammonia spike that I didn't catch in time.
Keep some Prime around and check frequently the first 24 hours.

04/09/2016, 11:45 PM	#1
Grkgod36 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 375	Upgrading tanks So I'm thinking of upgrading tanks from a 90 to a 150. I have a good bit of sps and some lps , about 100 lbs of live rock and stocked with fish . But the thought of swapping gives me anxiety lol, how much of a pita is it, how does one go about it, and how stressful is it to the fish .as silly as it may sound I love my fish and would be pretty bummed if I would loose any during the swap. I'm thinking , use small part of my sand bed , rinse it out very good , add new sand , my buddy has a 500 gallon ( he originally set my tank up)I was thinking of having him bring me water from his water change , dump it big bins to put the live rock and rock and coral in ,transfer most my water over from my tank and sump, then add rock and then fish , and pray ...lol Does that sound about right ? Will I cause a small cycle ?

04/10/2016, 12:32 AM	#2
reef_aholic Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 130	Use all the water from your existing tank as you can, toss all your sand. Make up the difference with nsw. While you are making the move, ensure to keep the rock submerged in tank water. I upgraded tanks once, and moved the whole setup (120G) 2X, did not lose one thing. The first move was 2 hours drive away, in a snowstorm. Worked out fine. __________________ Happy Reefing!!! Current Tank Info: 120 Gal, 30 Gal Sump, Bubble Magus Curve 7, Kamoer 3 stage dosing system, AI Hydra x2.

04/10/2016, 06:25 AM	#5
kmbyrnes Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Mesa AZ Posts: 2,055	Congrats! I would go with new sand. I had a bad experience moving tanks and re-using sand without rinsing. The built up junk caused a huge ammonia spike that I didn't catch in time. Keep some Prime around and check frequently the first 24 hours. __________________ 125g Mixed Reef 5/26/2015; 350 Butterfly Dominated FOWLR 11/26/2015 - 11/17/20217 & 07/31/18 to ??? ; 100g Mixed Reef 11/16/2013 to 06/16/2017 Current Tank Info: Too small

04/10/2016, 12:54 AM	#3
Grkgod36 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 375	Yea I plan to use all my existing water . The rocks will be submerged for sure. Thankfully mine is a direct in house swap no driving or anything . A lot of my rock had corals on them. Some encrusted with Zoas, palys , acros etc

04/10/2016, 05:47 AM	#4
flooddc Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Maryland Posts: 304	Sound like a nice upgrade. I done several tank upgrades and reused everything including the sand with success. If your new tank is going to the same spot as the old one, then it a bit more work. I'd put the rocks with encrusted corals into buckets/bins. Transfer rocks, then 75% water and sand. If sand is more than 2 years old, then recommend new live sand. If not, rinse it in your old tank water before transfer. I Used Large fish net to rinse the sand. Add new mixed water, ran the tank a few minutes and then restock. Remove excess water. Goodluck