chris_pull
Active Member
Hi everyone. I may be crazy, but I'm thinking about swapping out my tank with one that's slightly larger and nicer and wanted to get some thoughts on this.
Let me just set the scene. I got a free 20-gallon long tank this summer, with only a vague idea that I might like to try going marine with it. It was my lockdown project to "restore" it and I took it apart completely, silicone-d it back together, painted the back black etc. This was my first attempt at re-sealing an aquarium and it seemed to go pretty well, though there are some bubbles in the joints and I used a lot of silicone, though it's not too noticeable (though obviously not as neat a new tank). It also has some pretty bad scratches on the glass, nothing too bad, but noticeable up close, and an unsightly bracing/black rim.
Fast forward, I ended up going marine and 4 months in all is going well. Parameters are all good, fish and coral are very happy. However, I keep having moments of total panic that, at some point, my less than professional sealing will give. Moreover, the stand the aquarium is on has sunk a tiny bit in the middle – I anticipated this and put braces inside the cabinet, but the floor itself wasn't level (I should have checked this!) and so this bracing didn't fully prevent some sagging from occurring.
Recently, I came across a lovely tank that's a bit larger (35 gallons), has beautifully curved edges and no brace/rim. It's also in great condition and practically new (no scratches, silicone looks great). My question is, could I swap everything over to this new tank without causing a crash? I assume this would be similar to what you might do if moving house, and so should be feasible. All my equipment was a bit oversized and will still be so on this new tank, so no issues there. The tank is powered by a massive canister packed with biomedia, which can easily be swapped to a new tank, so no need to cycle.
My plan would be to quickly move everything out and into large containers (I can whack the heating on full to ensure that nothing gets cold) with air stones and hopefully get everything swapped over in an hour or two.
My main concern is the sandbed. By now it'll be full of beneficial bacteria and so I worry using new sand will cause issues, or a mini-cycle or something. I wonder if, as it's new enough, I can just transfer the sand I currently have to the new tank? I have kept it clean and so doubt there's any noxious gas build-up.
What do you guys think? I would also build a new cabinet that is stronger and make sure this time it is level. If this was a freshwater tank I wouldn't even think twice, but because it's marine, I'm worried about upsetting the balance, especially as things are going well. That said, I feel like now is the time to do it, if at all, before my coral frags grow too large.
Thanks for any tips!
Chris
Let me just set the scene. I got a free 20-gallon long tank this summer, with only a vague idea that I might like to try going marine with it. It was my lockdown project to "restore" it and I took it apart completely, silicone-d it back together, painted the back black etc. This was my first attempt at re-sealing an aquarium and it seemed to go pretty well, though there are some bubbles in the joints and I used a lot of silicone, though it's not too noticeable (though obviously not as neat a new tank). It also has some pretty bad scratches on the glass, nothing too bad, but noticeable up close, and an unsightly bracing/black rim.
Fast forward, I ended up going marine and 4 months in all is going well. Parameters are all good, fish and coral are very happy. However, I keep having moments of total panic that, at some point, my less than professional sealing will give. Moreover, the stand the aquarium is on has sunk a tiny bit in the middle – I anticipated this and put braces inside the cabinet, but the floor itself wasn't level (I should have checked this!) and so this bracing didn't fully prevent some sagging from occurring.
Recently, I came across a lovely tank that's a bit larger (35 gallons), has beautifully curved edges and no brace/rim. It's also in great condition and practically new (no scratches, silicone looks great). My question is, could I swap everything over to this new tank without causing a crash? I assume this would be similar to what you might do if moving house, and so should be feasible. All my equipment was a bit oversized and will still be so on this new tank, so no issues there. The tank is powered by a massive canister packed with biomedia, which can easily be swapped to a new tank, so no need to cycle.
My plan would be to quickly move everything out and into large containers (I can whack the heating on full to ensure that nothing gets cold) with air stones and hopefully get everything swapped over in an hour or two.
My main concern is the sandbed. By now it'll be full of beneficial bacteria and so I worry using new sand will cause issues, or a mini-cycle or something. I wonder if, as it's new enough, I can just transfer the sand I currently have to the new tank? I have kept it clean and so doubt there's any noxious gas build-up.
What do you guys think? I would also build a new cabinet that is stronger and make sure this time it is level. If this was a freshwater tank I wouldn't even think twice, but because it's marine, I'm worried about upsetting the balance, especially as things are going well. That said, I feel like now is the time to do it, if at all, before my coral frags grow too large.
Thanks for any tips!
Chris
