Upgrading to a larger tank

[fishgate]

I really want to move to my now freed up 46g bowfront from my 40g breeder. My plan is to setup the 46g, let it run/cycle for at least a month, then transfer the occupants of my 40b over a period of a couple of weeks. I am not concerned about the CUC but I am concerned about my 2 mated, very happy, very healthy percula clowns. Also have 2 pajama cardinals. How well do they tolerate moves? I will make sure the new tank is as close in water params as the old one but I am just a little concerned about the stresses of moving.

I am moving partly because I am sure the current 40B that is in my office with wood floors is ruining the floor and I want to get it out of here post haste.

[Lig]

Do you have a good amount of live rock in your 40 that you can transfer over? If so I would just transfer everything but the substrate over at once (use new substrate except maybe a cup or two IMO). The clowns and pajama cardinals are hardy fish. Shouldn't be any problem.

[Zappo]

Originally Posted by Lig

Do you have a good amount of live rock in your 40 that you can transfer over? If so I would just transfer everything but the substrate over at once (use new substrate except maybe a cup or two IMO). The clowns and pajama cardinals are hardy fish. Shouldn't be any problem.

This is how most people swap tanks. Just make sure pH, salinity, and temp are the same in both tanks and it'll be fine. Though if you don't mind waiting and have some new base rock that needs to cycle, doing it the way you planned is good too.

If you've got a lot of sponges on the live rock, try to minimize their exposure to air to prevent a lot of dieoff during the move. Besides, there will probably be snails and/or crabs hiding in the rocks that won't appreciate being out of the water for long.

[fishgate]

Originally Posted by Zappo

This is how most people swap tanks. Just make sure pH, salinity, and temp are the same in both tanks and it'll be fine. Though if you don't mind waiting and have some new base rock that needs to cycle, doing it the way you planned is good too.

If you've got a lot of sponges on the live rock, try to minimize their exposure to air to prevent a lot of dieoff during the move. Besides, there will probably be snails and/or crabs hiding in the rocks that won't appreciate being out of the water for long.

I have fully cured live rock that is in another tank with no occupants that I will be using. Probably only around 20lbs though. I was planning on moving that and also some of the rock in the 40B when I do the swap. All of the 40B rock will be transferring but some will go in the sump of the new system.

I hadn't planned on using the old substrate since it is a mix of crushed coral. I was going with 100% aragonite in the new tank.

[hllywd]

I put all the rock, corals, fish etc... from my 120 into a couple smaller tanks, (you could use a rubbermaid tub, trash can etc...) while tranfering everything into my 210 a little over a year ago. I rinsed all of the old sand well, and combined with a few more bags of clean, new, well rinsed , CaribSea aragonite, mixed up fresh Reef Crystals to match the holding tanks, and moved everything back in over the course of a week. No need to stress out over your move, and I'd reccomend doing it directly, no need to "run/cycle" anything. Unless the sand you use has a lot of organics, and it shouldn't... especially after you rinse it well, there is no cycle. Your live rock, and etc... will seed the new stuff with few issues in my experience. I did the upgrade exactly the same when I moved from my 25yo Oceanic 30, and 58 into the 120. It works like this, your old rock already has the capacity to handle your bio-load. Assuming you don't add a boat load of organics to decay and cause a cycle, the new system simply adjusts to the new expanse. In your case, moving from a 40 to a 46 there is very little difference anyway.

[fishgate]

Thanks. I'll be going from around 45g capacity to 66g. The old sump has about 5 gallons of water and the new sump will be the old 40b filled 1/2 way. So I'll get a lot more sump volume out of it.

[hllywd]

IMO it's still not a big deal. Your existing, plus the additional cured live rock has the capacity to carry the existing bio-load and then some. Moving to a somewhat larger volume of water won't change that. On the contrary, it will add stability to your system.