I need a new tank BAD.. lets hear your ideas.

[DBarsotti]

As of now I have 40g breeder which also has a 15g sump and a 15g frag tank tied into the system.. My tank is sps dominate and I'm REALLY running out of room. There is a list of frags a mile long that I want but i don't have anywhere to put them.. I am planning on moving out of my current house in a year but i can't even imagine how pack my current tank will be in that amount of time.. That is, as long as we don't have an earthquake before then........:sad:

I have a 80-90g tank on hand that could easily replace my 40g but my question is.. How do I go about cycling a new tank that needs to be in the same spot at my 40g?

I would want to use all the gear from my 40g cause its all a little oversized for the sytem anyway.



Lets hear your input/ideas. Anything?

 

[DBarsotti]

Heres a shot of the tank from about a month ago.

 

[DBarsotti]

another shot of how crowed things are..

And heres the tank that would replace it.. its ugly, i know, but i don't care

 

[inactive]

75 rr

 

[DBarsotti]

..what?

 

[stunreefer Verified Sponsor]

As tough as it sounds, personally I would keep the existing tank and frag colonies as needed - add the frags to your prop tank and sell them as it fills.

When you get ready to move, set up the bigger tank and let run for a while before moving, then in one foul swoop you can transfer everything over.

It would be the most stress free and "easy" means of doing this, and I would hate for you to lose any of those gorgeous Acropora colonies. All of the frags on that mile long list will still be there waiting for you after you move, and think of the mulah you can save (or spend elsewhere) by sticking with what ya got ;)

If you're hellbent on the 90-ish, then we can come up with another plan...

 

[DBarsotti]

ha, the frag tank is pretty darn packed also, I try and cut things back as often as I can but I really don't enjoy butchering up the nice colonies I grow. When I do move, I will be setting up an entirely new system that will be running full force for sometime prior to adding of my goodies. I would say after I move out, set up the new system to the point its ready for everything and fine tune it, the time frame is more around 1.5-2 years.

If I was to set up this bigger tank, couldn't I let it cyclewith only 1/3-1/2 of the water in it.. wait till the cycle was complete.. drain my 40g and take everything out, move it out of the way, move the new tank into the spot and then use all the water from the old tank to fill the new tank up fully??

 

[DBarsotti]

Or would that still be too stressful on the system?

 

[DBarsotti]

c'mon, no one has attempted a tank switch???

 

[Mavjoy]

I was in the same situation about 6 months ago but it was a smaller tank, RSM 34 gallons, I went to Lowes and got a pack of furniture mover sliders. I have carpet but they also have some for hard wood floors. I placed 1 piece of the sliders on each corner of the tank and I was able to moved the whole tank ,with everything inside, with ease. Good luck!

 

[LitlBailey]

Is there any way to set the 90 up close and tie into your current system. You wouldn't be switching tanks, but you would be adding 90 gallons of capacity to hold you over until the move.

 

[gar732]

I went from a 55gal to a 75gal with no ill effects. I just swaped evrything over, water, sand, rock. I emptied all my water into a brute trash can and put all my live rock in 5gal buckets. I set up a 20gal with some rock and water from my tank to hold my corals till the 75 was cleared up, only a couple days. The corals were a little stressed being in the 20gal, I think it was the change in flow and lighting, but I didn't lose anything. Most of my corals were frags so it was a little easier for me.

 

[DBarsotti]

Is there any way to set the 90 up close and tie into your current system. You wouldn't be switching tanks, but you would be adding 90 gallons of capacity to hold you over until the move.

The tank is in our living room and I'm pretty sure another tank in here would be a "No go"

I went from a 55gal to a 75gal with no ill effects. I just swaped evrything over, water, sand, rock. I emptied all my water into a brute trash can and put all my live rock in 5gal buckets. I set up a 20gal with some rock and water from my tank to hold my corals till the 75 was cleared up, only a couple days. The corals were a little stressed being in the 20gal, I think it was the change in flow and lighting, but I didn't lose anything. Most of my corals were frags so it was a little easier for me.

Hmm, I have some fairly large colonies and if I were to make a move, the entire right side of the tank will have to come out as one piece because the corals are so encrusted. What i was thinking is to drain the tank and take out all the coral and rock, move it all into a 50g in another room as a temporary bare bottom holding tank, and also since the frag tank is so small i could just move it also and plumb it into that system. Set up the new tank in its appropriate spot, fill it half way, let it cycle and then add all the contents of the holding tank to the new tank?


Does anyone think I could lose corals by doing this?

also. The new tank is 4ft long and my light fixture now is 2x150watt MH 4x36" t-5. do you think i would get enough spread with this lighting on a 4ft tank?

 

[Antonias1391]

you may loose one or 2 but its just seems like one of those kindove unavoidable things. i lost a couple Lps and a sps frag during my swap to a from a 55 to a 75

 

[alex garcia]

i went from a 70 gallon to 40 cube and my chalice frags didnt do well at all and i just transfered everything over and numbers were all good

 

[Tenacious716]

Beautiful tank... it seems as though 40BRs and SPS go hand-in-hand. If I were you, I would stick with your plan to setup a new tank with 75% new water/sandbed, and then transfer all of your water, rocks and corals when it's ready. The best piece of advice I can offer is to purchase/setup a system that is exactly what you want, not just what equipment you have on hand (unless of course you are on a tight budget). There's nothing worse than setting up a new system only to realize six months later that it's not exactly what you want(ed).

In my opinion, consider a standard 120G (4x2x2'). It's probably my favorite size as far as dimensions go and you'll be able to give all of your Acropora some room to grow and thrive without constantly worrying about warfare. Big enough to house a wide variety of corals, yet small enough to maintain without breaking your back (and bank for that matter).

Just my $0.02! :)

 

[DBarsotti]

Hmm.. I would LOVE more room in my tank. I guess i am going to need to put some more thought into this

 

[DBarsotti]

Beautiful tank... it seems as though 40BRs and SPS go hand-in-hand. If I were you, I would stick with your plan to setup a new tank with 75% new water/sandbed, and then transfer all of your water, rocks and corals when it's ready. The best piece of advice I can offer is to purchase/setup a system that is exactly what you want, not just what equipment you have on hand (unless of course you are on a tight budget). There's nothing worse than setting up a new system only to realize six months later that it's not exactly what you want(ed).

In my opinion, consider a standard 120G (4x2x2'). It's probably my favorite size as far as dimensions go and you'll be able to give all of your Acropora some room to grow and thrive without constantly worrying about warfare. Big enough to house a wide variety of corals, yet small enough to maintain without breaking your back (and bank for that matter).

Just my $0.02! :)

Setting up this new tank is merely to give me a little more tank room using the same equipment i have until i move from my current place. When i do move i will be building my first dream system. I just fear that the amount of time that this 40g breeder is going to be up is going to really start to stunt the corals from their full potential and end up with me being frustrated.. Although if i was to lose all my corals in a move I would be a little more than frustrated

 

[Reef Dreamz]

I would sell most of my frags off, get a gang of cash, buy your dream tank and equipment, set that puppy up and move it all over...

i have moved tanks 5-6 times now.... Yes, you may lose some corals, yes you will have another mini cycle, etc But.... you know what your doing, heck you are keeping SPS, the hardest corals around to maintain, just do water changes every other day for a week or so and you should be fine.....
I would PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN your new system first, piece together the equipment and then have a few buddies help you move everything in 1 day....
Its not as bad as you think.....

 

[DBarsotti]

I would sell most of my frags off, get a gang of cash, buy your dream tank and equipment, set that puppy up and move it all over...

i have moved tanks 5-6 times now.... Yes, you may lose some corals, yes you will have another mini cycle, etc But.... you know what your doing, heck you are keeping SPS, the hardest corals around to maintain, just do water changes every other day for a week or so and you should be fine.....
I would PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN your new system first, piece together the equipment and then have a few buddies help you move everything in 1 day....
Its not as bad as you think.....

I like you're attitude, I'm going to start planning to do it. ...I think ha