55 to 75 upgrade. ADVICE NEEDED

Stu_Tanks

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 14, 2019
Messages
312
Reaction score
165
Location
Charleston, SC
Rating - 100%
2   0   0
hey guys! So I recently built a new stand for my 55 gallon. I realized that if I want to upgrade my tank this would be the time. So I bought a new 75 aqueon at the PetCo sale.

ive never done a big upgrade like this. But this is my plan so far.

I’m going to have 30gallons of fresh salt water ready to go. I’ll drain my tank water into a my 20L sump( which is brand new never used). I willput my fish in there (2 clowns, yellow tang, kole tang, dottyback and Blenny). I have been seeding a sponge filter thatI will throw in there as well.

For my coral I will be getting whichever ones I can off the rocks and put them in a seperate tub with a power head in it.

For my live rock I will unload it into another tub with the remaining water.

From there I will slide my current tank out of the way and position/level my 75. I’ll get the lights andother equipment ready. It will be plumbed and ready to go. I planned on emptying my old sand into the new set up. I even bought 20 lbs more sand to throw in. Once the sand is in I will set up my scape andadd the water that was drained from the 55 and the new water. Then I’ll add my fish and coral back in and connect the sump.

Please share with me any feedback you may have. I’m skeptical if I should use my old sand or not. Don’t have any pests. I’ll be testing ammonia daily and keeping an eye out on my fish. If ammonia starts to spike I’ll do 10% water changes every other day.
Thank you!
 

Dr. Phil

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 26, 2010
Messages
893
Reaction score
4,813
Location
Dayton, OH
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Congrats on the upgrade! They are always exciting!

In my many tank moves and upgrades I have always thrown away the old sand. I'm always afraid of all the nasties that get stuck in there. The stuff always smells awful. lol

I have known of others who added a small amount of the old sand to their new setup to seed the new sand bed.

I look forward to reading about and seeing your progress!

-Chad
 
OP
OP
Stu_Tanks

Stu_Tanks

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 14, 2019
Messages
312
Reaction score
165
Location
Charleston, SC
Rating - 100%
2   0   0
Congrats on the upgrade! They are always exciting!

In my many tank moves and upgrades I have always thrown away the old sand. I'm always afraid of all the nasties that get stuck in there. The stuff always smells awful. lol

I have known of others who added a small amount of the old sand to their new setup to seed the new sand bed.

I look forward to reading about and seeing your progress!

-Chad
Thank you for the response! Was hoping to save a little money but I may just end up putting one or two handfuls in with some new sand. Would i even need to get live sand to anyways?
 
OP
OP
Stu_Tanks

Stu_Tanks

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 14, 2019
Messages
312
Reaction score
165
Location
Charleston, SC
Rating - 100%
2   0   0
Depending on how long the 55 was up, I would use new sand also. Rinsing it is also an option, but it is time consuming and you don't want to take any more time than necessary.
This has been up since early November. So only about 5 months. Pretty well established though for 5 months.
 

PatW

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 14, 2013
Messages
2,539
Reaction score
1,943
Location
Orlando, FL
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
On situations like this, most people discard old sand. I guess old sand can harbor piles of detritus and create a mini cycle when it is transferred over. So most just avoid that head ache.
 

joshyross70

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 29, 2020
Messages
115
Reaction score
51
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Do you mind sharing what equipment you used on the 55 gallon? Im currently upgrading from a 34 to a 55 and not sure about the return pump and if I would need a second maxspect razor.
 
OP
OP
Stu_Tanks

Stu_Tanks

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 14, 2019
Messages
312
Reaction score
165
Location
Charleston, SC
Rating - 100%
2   0   0
I bought this entire set up used from someone getting out of the hobby. I shamefully have no idea what kind of return pump I’m using and it’s in an almost impossible spot to reach lol... I have 2 kessil a160we’s, a jebao wavemaker, another cheap power head I got from my LFS, an Eshopps medium cube and Eshopps skimmer. Using a reef breeders ATO.
 
OP
OP
Stu_Tanks

Stu_Tanks

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 14, 2019
Messages
312
Reaction score
165
Location
Charleston, SC
Rating - 100%
2   0   0
Do you mind sharing what equipment you used on the 55 gallon? Im currently upgrading from a 34 to a 55 and not sure about the return pump and if I would need a second maxspect razor.
I bought this entire set up used from someone getting out of the hobby. I shamefully have no idea what kind of return pump I’m using and it’s in an almost impossible spot to reach lol... I have 2 kessil a160we’s, a jebao wavemaker, another cheap power head I got from my LFS, an Eshopps medium cube and Eshopps skimmer. Using a reef breeders ATO.
 
OP
OP
Stu_Tanks

Stu_Tanks

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 14, 2019
Messages
312
Reaction score
165
Location
Charleston, SC
Rating - 100%
2   0   0
My final product. Transfer went down last night. All cleared up! About to add my coral back in

1E81C398-65E8-472F-BA09-8258B0798FBD.jpeg 1320939D-708E-44A2-92A8-43E1EEE3BCB2.jpeg F85EC7D1-684D-4326-961D-01DF862D8B42.jpeg
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 71 37.8%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 63 33.5%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 13.3%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 28 14.9%
  • Other.

    Votes: 1 0.5%
Back
Top