Coral Transfer 20g >> 75g

[AmaleeC]

Hello everyone! I started a 20g back in October last year and am upgrading now to a 75g. I started the cycle for my 75g today with the Microbacter Kit and wanted to know how long after the cycle would it be okay to transfer my corals from my 20 to my 75?

Here’s my list of corals:
- Mini Maxi Anenome
- Acans
- Favia
- Zoas
- Mushrooms
- Hammers
- Duncan
- Birds Nest

I know it’s best to go slow with fish, waiting a few days in between each addition to give the bacteria time to keep up. But some corals need tanks established for 6+ months so I’m a bit unsure...

 

[AmaleeC]

Bumping this.

I also own some Rock Flower Anemone.

 

[brandon429]

are you moving only corals over, or the live rocks currently in system

 

[AmaleeC]

are you moving only corals over, or the live rocks currently in system

I’ll be moving the corals over. I decided to cycle with the Microbacter Kit and they’ve repeated (more than once) in the instructions not to use any live rock. So I figured I’d just use the kit and see how it goes.

 

[brandon429]

the direct answer is you can move corals as soon as the new system demonstrates ammonia control. no other params need to line up, only ammonia. Moving corals from an established system to one with no live rocks will present a feeding and bleaching challenge, not a cycle issue. post pics of current tank so we can get an idea of real estate not being moved over

 

[AmaleeC]

I’ll definitely be adding fish before I add corals and would like my first addition to either be a female lyretail or an engineer goby.

Ideally, I’d like to add all 3 female lyretails at once to prevent adding a female that’s already changing into a male... But I fear that’d be too much for a system that’s just starting.

 

[brandon429]

the only way to keep your transfer in order for planning etc is to see pics of the old system plus the new one, that shores up details missing

it is possible to add new fish during a transfer, if the new system has enough surface area. need pics.

 

[AmaleeC]

the direct answer is you can move corals as soon as the new system demonstrates ammonia control. no other params need to line up, only ammonia. Moving corals from an established system to one with no live rocks will present a feeding and bleaching challenge, not a cycle issue. post pics of current tank so we can get an idea of real estate not being moved over

Hmm.. would it help to switch my refugium from my 20g first, then add my copepods and two or three days later, my fish?

 

[brandon429]

cant comment till see pics of both systems, its the only way to shore up details on the move. need to assess surface area in the new system first, see if there's rocks and sand etc or just bare offerings like a qt tank/not sure

if your new tank has rocks and sand, plenty of surface area, yes that's a good move with the refugium above. ammonia control is all that's required in the new system.

 

[AmaleeC]

Here’s pics of my 20g. Pics with the whites on are a little older than the pics with the blues

 

[AmaleeC]

Here’s the pics of my 75g
This is when it was first set up. Since then, the sand has settled a lot since these photos. We’re on Day 3 of the cycle today.

 

[brandon429]

hey great

in those pictures we can see the new system has plenty of surface area; once it demonstrates ability to move down ammonia from a higher setting then bioloading can be transferred to it. *the corals can be spot fed with quality refrigerated or frozen reef feeds to avoid shock of being moved into a zero food web support system. the ordering of the fish and refugium and corals isn't as important as not shining full lights on them in the new setup, re ramp up the new lights, and feeding + heavy water changes to make up for starting over with the food web system in the new tank

being busy vs passive in the new system with active feeding and spot cleaning and water changes, vs just sitting there compiling new algae, is the right way. the order of transfer isn't super important.