How do you 'upgrade' safely?

Gyr · 01/30/2010, 02:23 PM

I have a 55 gallon reef tank that has been up and running for 2 years. My corals are growing well and I am running out of room, and I am also tired of dealing with scratches (its an acrylic tank). My wife gave me the thumbs up to upgrade to a 120 gallon reef-ready glass tank. She'll be converting the 55 gallon to a low-flow macroalgae seahorse/mandarin tank.
My question is this; if I will be moving all the live rock from my existing tank to the new tank will I need to wait for the new tank to 'cycle' before moving my coral?
My 55 gallon is overcrowded mostly because I have a lot of live rock in it and I am going to go for a far more 'open' aquascape in the new tank by using only my existing rockwork. It seems to me that by doing that and by moving the water to the new tank at the same time via a few big 'water changes' into the new tank I won't need to wait for the tank to cycle, since I am basically just wrapping the existing reef system with new glass.
Although that seems logical to me, I am still a newbie and would hate to crash my livestock because I didn't ask for advice from more experienced reef keepers first.
Thanks for any advice,
Kurt

Octoshark · 01/30/2010, 02:31 PM

What are you doing for sand? If you have a deep sand bed that has been established for a few years then it could potentially be storing a lot of waste within it. That means when you transfer the sand all of that waste will be released (if this is your situation of course) and cause an ammonia spike.

So that is something to keep in mind.

luther1200 · 01/30/2010, 02:40 PM

I agree that the sand would be my biggest concern.

DThompson · 01/30/2010, 02:44 PM

I have upgraded a few tanks over the years. Always went with new sand and added additional "cured" live rock. Never had a problem with it cycling again. I did monitor it just in case and did water changes. Never had a problem.

Gyr · 01/30/2010, 03:10 PM

My existing tank has a shallow sand bed (about 1-1.5 inches deep). My plan was to use new sand for a similar SSB in the new tank, then put the rocks from my existing tank in. I am hoping that a shallow bed of new sand wouldn't make the new tank need to cycle if I use the established live rock. (Many of my corals are encrusted onto the upper/outer tier of my existing rockscape and I am hoping to transfer those rocks to the new tank with the corals attached....Risky?

rkb · 01/30/2010, 03:37 PM

I used new sand in my move that I seeded with sand from my previous tank. The donor sand was taken from the surface of the bed then thoroughly rinsed in SW. I also added about five pounds of packaged live sand to the top plus the mentioned Stability treatments and all was good

Gyr · 01/30/2010, 05:32 PM

Thanks for the advice everyone. I think I'll do the new sand seeded with a little of the top layer sand from my current tank as suggested by RKB.
DThompson, I was wondering if you transfered your corals/livestock the day of the upgrade and then monitored parameters, being ready with plenty of fresh saltwater so you could do a water change if parameter got out of whack, or did you leave livestock in the old tank until you were sure no cycling was going to occur in the new one?
Kurt

01/30/2010, 02:23 PM	#1
Gyr Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Sacramento, California Posts: 294	How do you 'upgrade' safely? I have a 55 gallon reef tank that has been up and running for 2 years. My corals are growing well and I am running out of room, and I am also tired of dealing with scratches (its an acrylic tank). My wife gave me the thumbs up to upgrade to a 120 gallon reef-ready glass tank. She'll be converting the 55 gallon to a low-flow macroalgae seahorse/mandarin tank. My question is this; if I will be moving all the live rock from my existing tank to the new tank will I need to wait for the new tank to 'cycle' before moving my coral? My 55 gallon is overcrowded mostly because I have a lot of live rock in it and I am going to go for a far more 'open' aquascape in the new tank by using only my existing rockwork. It seems to me that by doing that and by moving the water to the new tank at the same time via a few big 'water changes' into the new tank I won't need to wait for the tank to cycle, since I am basically just wrapping the existing reef system with new glass. Although that seems logical to me, I am still a newbie and would hate to crash my livestock because I didn't ask for advice from more experienced reef keepers first. Thanks for any advice, Kurt

01/30/2010, 02:31 PM	#2
Octoshark Marine Biology Student Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: California Posts: 1,366	What are you doing for sand? If you have a deep sand bed that has been established for a few years then it could potentially be storing a lot of waste within it. That means when you transfer the sand all of that waste will be released (if this is your situation of course) and cause an ammonia spike. So that is something to keep in mind. __________________ "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal."

01/30/2010, 02:40 PM	#3
luther1200 Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: NJ, shore Posts: 4,376	I agree that the sand would be my biggest concern. __________________ Matt, 65G reef tank Current Tank Info: 65g reef, mix of sps, lps, few softies. Hoping to upgrade within the year.

01/30/2010, 03:37 PM	#6
rkb Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Western Hemisphere Posts: 578	I used new sand in my move that I seeded with sand from my previous tank. The donor sand was taken from the surface of the bed then thoroughly rinsed in SW. I also added about five pounds of packaged live sand to the top plus the mentioned Stability treatments and all was good __________________ Current tank: Eleventy billion gallon tank with a DSB of rainbow gravel and one tiny blue tang...

01/30/2010, 02:44 PM	#4
DThompson Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Scottsadale, AZ Posts: 374	I have upgraded a few tanks over the years. Always went with new sand and added additional "cured" live rock. Never had a problem with it cycling again. I did monitor it just in case and did water changes. Never had a problem.

01/30/2010, 03:10 PM	#5
Gyr Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Sacramento, California Posts: 294	My existing tank has a shallow sand bed (about 1-1.5 inches deep). My plan was to use new sand for a similar SSB in the new tank, then put the rocks from my existing tank in. I am hoping that a shallow bed of new sand wouldn't make the new tank need to cycle if I use the established live rock. (Many of my corals are encrusted onto the upper/outer tier of my existing rockscape and I am hoping to transfer those rocks to the new tank with the corals attached....Risky?

01/30/2010, 05:32 PM	#7
Gyr Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Sacramento, California Posts: 294	Thanks for the advice everyone. I think I'll do the new sand seeded with a little of the top layer sand from my current tank as suggested by RKB. DThompson, I was wondering if you transfered your corals/livestock the day of the upgrade and then monitored parameters, being ready with plenty of fresh saltwater so you could do a water change if parameter got out of whack, or did you leave livestock in the old tank until you were sure no cycling was going to occur in the new one? Kurt