125 gallon upgrade, beset way tio move, lighting and flow questionss

[Scott Ulrich]

I am upgrading my 40 gallon reef to a 125 gallon this winter. Wondering what is the best way to make the move?
a) completely cycle the new tank before moving everything from the old tank.
b) move the fish, old sand, old live rock and old water and then fill the rest of the way with new salt water. Then add additional dry rock over time.

Would option b help reduce the likelihood of new tank nuisance algae? It would basically be 50g old water, 100 g new water, including sump volumes. I could even start with just 50/50 rato and add a little more each day until full.

Also thinking of putting 4 power heads on the back wall hidden by rocks (currently have 1 600 gph on each side). I currently own some koralias: 2 425 nanos, 2 600s and 1 850. Also have 2 jebao dc1200s (about 300 g/hr each) and 2 overflows.

And I have a sca-301 skimmer that is undersized (rated for 65 g) but will work until I increase my fish (currently 1 o clown, 1 bicolor blenny, 1 yellow shrimp goby, and 2 cardinals)

I also have one 165w black box, so will probably just buy 2 more. And maybe build a hanging canopy to hide them.

Thanks for any suggestions!
Scott

 

[Scott Ulrich]

Here is a picture of the 125 (mbuna are getting moved to a 55 gallon) and the current 40 (this is before I've was running vibrant for a month and the bubble is close to gone - I will have it completely gone before moving).

 

[MarshallB]

I have the same tank. I built a new stand to include a sump.

Definitely do B. If you are just transferring everything. Just keep the rock wet and get water in it quickly you wont need to cycle again.

I also use 3 black boxes. The canopy was pretty easy to build using some 1x2's and 1/4 inch plywood. See my build thread if interested.

Are you going to drill the tank for a overflow?

I have 1 3200gph powerhead on the left side of the tank pointed upwards to the right side. My return comes out from the right side split into 2 with random flow generators attached. Since it's not a very wide tank flow can get interesting to manage without upsetting the substrate.

Edit: If you do plan on drilling the tank make sure you test the glass with a LCD screen and some polarized sun glasses. Aqueon will some times use tempered glass for any of the panels. Usually the bottom, but i've seen them with random other panels being tempered as well.

 

[Scott Ulrich]

I have the same tank. I built a new stand to include a sump.

I'm going to keep the stand and build a display refugium to the side of it since I have a dozen Mangrove trees.

Definitely do B. If you are just transferring everything. Just keep the rock wet and get water in it quickly you wont need to cycle again.

Thanks, that will definitely be easier!

I also use 3 black boxes. The canopy was pretty easy to build using some 1x2's and 1/4 inch plywood. See my build thread if interested.

Sounds good! I actually have a sheet of 7/16 plywood I could probably use - I will screw directly into the ceiling joists so weights not an issue.

Are you going to drill the tank for a overflow?

No, I have two Eshoppes overflows I plan to use (just use one right now) its worked great the last two years, so I'll just keep those.

I have 1 3200gph powerhead on the left side of the tank pointed upwards to the right side. My return comes out from the right side split into 2 with random flow generators attached. Since it's not a very wide tank flow can get interesting to manage without upsetting the substrate.

Yes, 18" doesnt leave a lot of room to place powerheads behind the rocks. I wish I had the money for those thin ones

Edit: If you do plan on drilling the tank make sure you test the glass with a LCD screen and some polarized sun glasses. Aqueon will some times use tempered glass for any of the panels. Usually the bottom, but i've seen them with random other panels being tempered as well.

Yep, not going to worry about that since no drilling needed Thanks for suggestions!! Looking forward to getting a tang with my bigger tank

 

[brandon429]

dont forget to tap rinse all your old sand before you re install it

to total snowglobe clarity, that much rinsing. clear.

final rinse in ro. skip that and you risk:

 

[brandon429]

Upgrade disaster

Recently had a huge leak in our 90 gal reef which forced us to upgrade sooner than expected . The upgrade being a 230 gal with a 48 gal sump . Mistake #1 I added some of the old sand assuming it would be beneficial to have a little bacteria .. I was wrong . Nuked the whole tank killing all fish...

www.reef2reef.com

tap water can save your reef during a transfer, fact. how you move the sandbed determines solely if the reef lives or dies by a biological cause.
its not that skipping the rinse is a guaranteed loss, those moves are on file as successful


but they're intermixed with bad outcomes...rinsing has zero bad outcomes so it wins safety % compared to any other transfer method
also, dont shine full lights in the new cleaned reef. ramp up lights again slowly like they were brand new and you just left power compacts.

 

[MarshallB]

I'm going to keep the stand and build a display refugium to the side of it since I have a dozen Mangrove trees.



Thanks, that will definitely be easier!



Sounds good! I actually have a sheet of 7/16 plywood I could probably use - I will screw directly into the ceiling joists so weights not an issue.



No, I have two Eshoppes overflows I plan to use (just use one right now) its worked great the last two years, so I'll just keep those.



Yes, 18" doesnt leave a lot of room to place powerheads behind the rocks. I wish I had the money for those thin ones



Yep, not going to worry about that since no drilling needed Thanks for suggestions!! Looking forward to getting a tang with my bigger tank

It's a great tank and a big upgrade. Please share once you get it set up!

 

[Scott Ulrich]

dont forget to tap rinse all your old sand before you re install it

to total snowglobe clarity, that much rinsing. clear.

final rinse in ro. skip that and you risk:

Good suggestion! Probably good to give the live rock a good saltwater dunk/shake to kick off some of that debris as well.

It's a great tank and a big upgrade. Please share once you get it set up!

Will do! Its probably going to be late Dec / early January as I have to move the 125 g occupants out and I want to move a light switch to set up that tank first. Looking forward to all that new coral real estate

 

[Scott Ulrich]

Took me a while to get around to it, but got the lights hung (waiting to move the old one from the current 40g).

Planning to put about 40g of new salt water in, (about half way now) wait for the new sand to settle, then move the rocks over. Then clean the old sand and move it, then move the 40g of old salt water, then acclimate the fish and add them...

 

[brandon429]

No need to wait, we don’t wait for new sand to settle its tap rinsed to clarity final rinse in saltwater right before use, on this 300 gallon job the tap water rinsing is the most important part for sure- it’s to prevent massive dust clouds after settling if the rocks slide, or a powerhead falls down etc

we still tap rinse new sand exactly like old sand

 

[Scott Ulrich]

No need to wait, we don’t wait for new sand to settle its tap rinsed to clarity final rinse in saltwater right before use, on this 300 gallon job the tap water rinsing is the most important part for sure- it’s to prevent massive dust clouds after settling if the rocks slide, or a powerhead falls down etc

we still tap rinse new sand exactly like old sand

I rinsed the old sand like 10 times, so filthy I obviously need to vacuum better and I should have closer to 1-1.5" sand bed now, vs 2-2.5" so it should be easier as well.

The new sand (Fiji pink) said not to rinse, but obviously I should have since it was very cloudy. Did get the fish and old rocks moved, seems to have gone okay. Going to power wash the new dry rocks and add one each week so to not overwhelm the tank.

Right now I just have 4 fish: 1 clown, 1 bicolor blenny, and 2 x Bengali cardinals. Already thinking of my new stock list...

Thinking about adding:
1 x yellow tang (now that I have a bigger tank!)
2 x cleaner shrimp
Maybe 1 x royal gramma?
Maybe 2 x pajama cardinals?
Maybe 1 x Midas Blenny
Maybe some sort of urchin

I'm open for suggestions.
- preferably fish that don't hide all the time (yellow watchman goby and orchid dottyback, I'm looking at you).
- I'm not a fish snob, so I'm good with cheap fish, maybe up to $100 if really worth it
- preferably hardy
- must be reef safe, I have no interest in testing to see if something works or not (so probably no angels, regardless of how awesome those flame angels look).
- I feed once a day on the evening (currently 1 cube of frozen shrimp), so no crazy feeding requirements

*Edit - for flow I currently have 1 koralia 850 gph on one side and 2 nanos 450 gph on the back left and back right, but just ordered 2 koralia 1500s to put on each side.