Help with switching tanks

Reefing_addiction

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Ok so. Friday I am picking up a flat back hex tank and all the goodies on Friday!

so I’m going from my biocube 16 gallon to a 48x18x20 flat back hex.

I’m getting the live rock and the corals and the sand.

I plan on washing the sand, and than using it (if between the sand in my tank and my left over new sand isn’t enough (I just rip cleaned the tank a little over a week ago so this sand is staying))
I’ll use my rock from my tank and the rock I’m getting with the tank.

I figure I can use the water out of my but than mix more water to make up the difference.

there are some corals involved
And two fish

I’m thinking everything should be fine if I just transfer with wet live rock and my sand.

right?
 

JumboShrimp

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Let me see if I can follow you. You have a little bit of rock and sand from a 16-gallon and are going to put it into a 75-gallon with some old water; all other rock, sand and water in the 75-gallon will be new?

(Are you transferring fish as well?)
 

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If you use some of your old sand, use as much as you can of your old water, use new salt water to make up the difference and transfer everything over from your old tank - yes you should be ok. Word to the wise - TAKE YOUR TIME. Rethink everything twice, make sure your temps are good, Spec Grav is on & don't let excitement get to you - you can celebrate after it's completed.
 

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On the TAKE YOUR TIME line, I'd probably pickup some ceramic bio bricks or balls and run them in the 16G 1-2 weeks before you make the move, but that's just me and that's what I did when I went from my 90 to my 140. My fish are in QT but all my corals (36) were moved with it so I didn't want ANY chance of any ammonia or nitrites spike and I didn't get one. All my rock was dried out and cleaned before the move due to vermitid infestation. So I moved over almost all 90G of water, and the sand.
I also dosed some Microbacter 7 every few days.
 

JumboShrimp

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I was thinking the same thing; unless it’s filthy, try to use all 16 gallons and the rest ‘new’ saltwater. Will your new sand be ‘live’ sand? Is your new rock dry? Let’s hope you don’t end up with either a bloom of some sort, or a re-cycle. It could be close depending on how all the variables come together. Best wishes.
 

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I'd use every last drop of that water, looking at over a 4:1 dilution so regardless of how 'dirty' it is it won't be a problem and will be for the best.
 

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Ok so I moved from a 18g aio to a 40g breeder and 20g sump. 0 coral and fish loss. Here is what I did.

Removed everything, corals, live rock, inverts, and fish and put it in a giant plastic tub with the old tank water, like what you store Xmas decorations in. Put in a power head and the heater as well as a temp gauge to make sure all is well.

I left the old sand and ditched it, not worth the rise of washing (I know many have had great success but I did not want to risk it as it's a nutrient trap . I tore down the old tank and set up the new one, poured new live sand in and then added old and new live rock, poured in what I thought was the right amount of water, and added a whole bottle of Dr. Tim's one and only. Started heating the water to the right temp. Once everything was hooked up I added the lr with corals on it first, got everything in the right spots added fish and added the old water. I kept a bottle of cheeper bacteria on hand a dosed a little every day and checked to make sure no spikes of anything happened.

Here are some picks of the tank a few weeks after the move.


The 1st few picks are the morning after the move we finished at 4 am and those should be from about 10 or 11 am. We moved 14 corals, 5 fish, 7 ish snails, and a shrimp with no loss.

Is the way I did it the best or right way, I have no idea but it's what worked. Again most ppl have good luck moving and cleaning sand but I said screw it and spend the money to get fresh and not risk it.

IMG_20200918_133921_20.jpg IMG_20201010_181040_26.jpg IMG_20200918_133925_02.jpg IMG_20200922_111754_58.jpg
 

Anubisxii

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Ok well the picture order is messed up but you can see the picks with the really bright dry rock are from that night and the others are for a week or so later. That move was about a month ago now that I think about it and here are some shots from today.

Also included are some photos of the move itself

PXL_20201027_185818298.PORTRAIT.jpg PXL_20201027_185806565.PORTRAIT.jpg PXL_20201027_185611672.PORTRAIT.jpg PXL_20201027_185606415.PORTRAIT-02.ORIGINAL.jpg PXL_20201027_185537980.PORTRAIT-01.COVER.jpg PXL_20201027_185356002.PORTRAIT.jpg PXL_20201027_185434674.PORTRAIT.jpg PXL_20200918_025123303.jpg PXL_20200918_044617912.MP.jpg PXL_20200918_063606972.jpg PXL_20200918_064236711.jpg
 
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Ok. I feel asleep after this I posted this.
@Alchameth i can’t do that. The tank is coming with a bunch of corals I cannot fit in my current dt.

To clarify
I have a 16aio with a 2.5 hang on fuge

I have sand in my dt and fuge along with rock that will go into the new tank as is. All the sand between my tank and fuge is maybe 2 weeks old. So it won’t be as dirty as the sand from prior to my rip clean.a few reasons to using this sand is my pod population and my micro brittle starfish.

all my corals plus all my new corals (the corals coming with my new tank)
I have two fish.

all the rock from the new tank (he is breaking down the tank Thursday (I pick it up on Friday) and I asked him to keep all the rock in saltwater to keep it live.

I have some dry sand in a bag that’s unused. I am getting the sand from the my new tank as well but plan on only using it if I need to. If I do I will wash this sand. As I do not know anything about it. And as things like ich live in the sand I want to reduce my risk. Iknow I am also getting a uv with the tank.

I did inquire how much water he thought it took to fill. He said about two 30g brutes ( not full due to water spillage) and a few 5 gallon buckets .

I’m going to run to LFS today and buy rodi water. Bring it home and mix up atleast 20 gallons of water. I think if I pick up a brute trash can for at least 30 gallons I should be real close to having enough water ( I can mix an extra 10 between two 5 gallon buckets for just in case!)
 
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A pic of my current tank and the tank I’m getting friday and a list of what he says he has coral wise
bright green and purple mini max anemone, 3 different types of zoas, taro tree, green palys, green toadstool, few green mushrooms, purple gorgonian, green star polyps, some other interesting gorgonian.

FE61B6A4-052E-4E0B-A413-A5ABF65CFBF0.jpeg
527FDEFB-5715-47F2-997B-5894A764E411.jpeg
 
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If you use some of your old sand, use as much as you can of your old water, use new salt water to make up the difference and transfer everything over from your old tank - yes you should be ok. Word to the wise - TAKE YOUR TIME. Rethink everything twice, make sure your temps are good, Spec Grav is on & don't let excitement get to you - you can celebrate after it's completed.
I will take my time! I’m getting it Friday night. I will probably start the set up process but don’t know if I can finish it. If I can’t I plan on putting all the corals from his tank into a ten gallon I have throwing a heater and a wave maker in it until I can finish the set up.
I’m going to have to pull my tank and stand away from the wall and just slide it out of the way while I clean and instal the new tank. Leaving everything in my current dt until I can get it the new one in place. Than remove all my corals and rock into a big bucket/tub with the water from my display. Take my sand put it in my new tank add more sand if needed.

I plan on running my tank water through a filter sock prior to adding it to the new tank. I’ll fill the sump with new salt water.
 

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Great looking tanks!

My only concern is the logistics of moving. If he leaves enough water in the "new" tank for the rock & sand, that thing is going to weigh a lot. Are you hiring movers?
 
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Great looking tanks!

My only concern is the logistics of moving. If he leaves enough water in the "new" tank for the rock & sand, that thing is going to weigh a lot. Are you hiring movers?
He is only leaving sand in tanks. Rocks in bucket coral in a bucket. My boyfriend and I are going in two separate cars. Tank in one stand in the other to minimize risk of breaking the tank.
 

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He is only leaving sand in tanks. Rocks in bucket coral in a bucket. My boyfriend and I are going in two separate cars. Tank in one stand in the other to minimize risk of breaking the tank.
Make sure you bring LOTS of towels and maybe even pool noodles! Can’t tell you how helpful these were when I bought my tanks and had to transport them home. Towel spread over the trunk/under the tank so you can slide it in the trunk without scratching, towels draped over the tank to prevent stretching, pool noodles to bulk out any space between the car and the tank so it can’t slide around :) best of luck to you!!

best place for buckets of coral is the floor of the back seat. Bucket on the floor then back up the shotgun seat so the bucket is wedged in there and very stable. Towel on the floor and over the bucket to minimize splashing as you drive
 

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Pull the sand out and rinse in buckets with tap and then final rinse in RO. Rinse until it is clear. Don’t move a tank with anything in it, it’s asking for disaster. Make 20% more water than you think you will need. Seriously, you will always need more water. Just moved myself about 3 weeks ago and no losses and fish are back to spawning
 
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Make sure you bring LOTS of towels and maybe even pool noodles! Can’t tell you how helpful these were when I bought my tanks and had to transport them home. Towel spread over the trunk/under the tank so you can slide it in the trunk without scratching, towels draped over the tank to prevent stretching, pool noodles to bulk out any space between the car and the tank so it can’t slide around :) best of luck to you!!

best place for buckets of coral is the floor of the back seat. Bucket on the floor then back up the shotgun seat so the bucket is wedged in there and very stable. Towel on the floor and over the bucket to minimize splashing as you drive
I don’t have pool noodles and I’m sure the stores don’t either. It’s winter! But I have loads of blankets!
 
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Pull the sand out and rinse in buckets with tap and then final rinse in RO. Rinse until it is clear. Don’t move a tank with anything in it, it’s asking for disaster. Make 20% more water than you think you will need. Seriously, you will always need more water. Just moved myself about 3 weeks ago and no losses and fish are back to spawning

I can only make what I stated. But I will pick up a few 5 gallon jugs of salt water from my LFS as well just to make sure I have enough!
 

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We often forget to account for water in overflows and pipes. I ended up about 5G short even after picking up an extra 5G for precaution. Don't stress about the move and slow down. There is a reason so many people have mentioned this as it is super easy to forget logical steps, physically trip, forget to check temp/salinity ect when you are caught up in the moment. Knowing I have this tendency I took about a month to plan out step by step what needed to happen when and listing every tool and piece of equipment I would need.

Also I am surprised no one mentioned this. Battery powered air pumps! Fish and coral will need some type of aeration and it gives you a buffer window if something goes wrong. Keep fish in a separate bucket to prevent the rocks from crushing them! How far away is it and/or how long will they be packaged up?
 
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We often forget to account for water in overflows and pipes. I ended up about 5G short even after picking up an extra 5G for precaution. Don't stress about the move and slow down. There is a reason so many people have mentioned this as it is super easy to forget logical steps, physically trip, forget to check temp/salinity ect when you are caught up in the moment. Knowing I have this tendency I took about a month to plan out step by step what needed to happen when and listing every tool and piece of equipment I would need.

Also I am surprised no one mentioned this. Battery powered air pumps! Fish and coral will need some type of aeration and it gives you a buffer window if something goes wrong. Keep fish in a separate bucket to prevent the rocks from crushing them! How far away is it and/or how long will they be packaged up?
It’s maybe a half hour from me. I’m going to bring extra buckets in case he puts everything in the same bucket. No fish will be coming from him.

once home I will at minimum transfer all corals and rock to a 10gal aquarium for holding with light flow and heat.

Maybe I’ll purchase a larger than 30 gallon brute just so I can mix extra water. Once the initial set up is complete I have no reason for a trash can that big though. My 20gal should allow me to do 20% water changes and leave me a few gallons left over.
Ill assume he has bio media that I can use in conjunction with my bio media

I also have microbacter7 and seed bacteria that I’ll use (one or the other) for the first 7 days after the tank is up

I
 
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We often forget to account for water in overflows and pipes. I ended up about 5G short even after picking up an extra 5G for precaution. Don't stress about the move and slow down. There is a reason so many people have mentioned this as it is super easy to forget logical steps, physically trip, forget to check temp/salinity ect when you are caught up in the moment. Knowing I have this tendency I took about a month to plan out step by step what needed to happen when and listing every tool and piece of equipment I would need.

Also I am surprised no one mentioned this. Battery powered air pumps! Fish and coral will need some type of aeration and it gives you a buffer window if something goes wrong. Keep fish in a separate bucket to prevent the rocks from crushing them! How far away is it and/or how long will they be packaged up?
I received today a large order of pods.

Im hoping to throw some in bucket with air and heat to keep alive without placing them in my current dt. I have plenty of phytoplankton

should that be ok?
 
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