Moving my 38 gallon to a new 75

leahkammeraad · Nov 26, 2021

My 38 gallon has 6 ocellaris clownfish (2 black 1 frostbite 3 "Nemo"), snails, and hermit crabs. Started in April
I was going to add an emerald crab to the tank (before SO saw sale on 75 gallon) to deal with a hair algae problem and because my son liked the look of it.
We bought the new 75 gallon tank and stand. ($300 at PetSmart)

I'm not sure how to proceed though, the 38 gallon doesn't have enough sand or rock for a 75 gallon (obviously) it also has bristle worms and a anemone that hitchhiked on the live rock not sure I want them in the new tank?

Should I start over on the sand and rock or just add to what I have?
Planning on making it a reef tank with soft coral and lps not sure what heater(500watts? 1 or 2 for redundancy?) Powehead(s) and lights I would need?
I could use the generic ac powehead from 38 gallon but not sure how strong it is. Would definitely want another maybe a dc.
I currently have a Current USA Orbit Marine IC LED Reef Aquarium Light it's sized for the 38 gallon at 24"- 36" would a sized up version work with the lps and soft coral I plan to add or is there a better option?
Also going to add more fish since we now have more room (son is angling for a lionfish)
Currently planning on:
The 6 clownfish we already have plus
1 watchman goby shrimp pair
1 orchard dottyback? (because my daughter wants purple in the tank)
1 tang (maybe kole tang)
1 lionfish? (Fuzzy dwarf or Fu Manchu)
And clean up crew
1 sea star (bristle)
Emerald crab (maybe 2?)
Various hermit crabs
Snails (ideas on snails that won't always be upside down?)
1 urchin (not long spine)

blaxsun · Nov 26, 2021

I'd start over with new sand. If you rinse off the rock in the tank and manually pick off most of the hitchhikers, you can use the established rock to insta-cycle the new tank (you may also want to include some Bio-Spira). There are a few threads detailing this process on R2R, but it allos you to move everything across in an evening.

In terms of heaters, I'd look at an Inkbird with two titanium (non-controlled) 150-watt heaters (I have a pair of 300 watt for my 200-gallon system, so 500 watts is way overkill). I'm not familiar with your light so I'll let someone else weigh-in on that. More important than heaters is filtration. What are you planning to run for circulation, filtration and protein skimming?

Do not get a lionfish. All your existing fish will be lunch (if not immediately, soon thereafter). I'd skip the tang until your new tank is a bit established (maybe 4-6 months out). I'd also hold off on the urchin and sea star for the same timeframe. Good luck!

leahkammeraad · Dec 4, 2021

Any recommendations on lightning we're planning on having bubble tip anemone down the road and research says they need more light than I have

leahkammeraad · Feb 26, 2022

blaxsun said:
I'd start over with new sand. If you rinse off the rock in the tank and manually pick off most of the hitchhikers, you can use the established rock to insta-cycle the new tank (you may also want to include some Bio-Spira). There are a few threads detailing this process on R2R, but it allos you to move everything across in an evening.

In terms of heaters, I'd look at an Inkbird with two titanium (non-controlled) 150-watt heaters (I have a pair of 300 watt for my 200-gallon system, so 500 watts is way overkill). I'm not familiar with your light so I'll let someone else weigh-in on that. More important than heaters is filtration. What are you planning to run for circulation, filtration and protein skimming?

Do not get a lionfish. All your existing fish will be lunch (if not immediately, soon thereafter). I'd skip the tang until your new tank is a bit established (maybe 4-6 months out). I'd also hold off on the urchin and sea star for the same timeframe. Good luck!

were not going to have a sump and i have not heard good things about hob skimmers so i wasn't going to get one I plan on having a couple of tidal 55 with bio balls or chemi pure or something like that in them not sure about lights or circulation i currently have a current USA Orbit LED light but am not sure it will work for the corals and anemone