Tank switchover questions

[MiniBukta]

Wasn’t sure where to post this, so if it’s in the wrong spot, just lemme know please!

So, I’m almost at the point of switching my 55 gallon over to my new 180 gallon. I filled the tank this weekend, ran everything for hours to check circuit loads, leaks, and set up all my controllers. My current plan is to put in new sand, build the new rock scape with my existing rock in mind to be added during the switchover, then get as much live saltwater as I can from my LFS when they do a water change, and toss the current tank and all corals and inhabitants into the new tank. Then top off with new water, which I’m assuming would be between 30-50 gallons. Mostly hardy softies for corals.
Also going to seed the new sand with a bit of the old sand, as well as I bought two large bags of bio balls I have sitting in my current tank to go in the new tank sump for some extra bio load.

So, is this the way to go about it? Or a really terrible idea? Honestly I have no idea, and I would hate to have an issue and things die. I’ve had some of these corals since I started the hobby.

Y’all seem pretty knowledgeable, so I’m curious to your thoughts. Thank you!

 

[sfin52]

Why not by live sand? Using some of the sand is a good idea. Instead of bio all I would use some marine pure.

You lr that switching over should be be full of bacteria. It's the main bio filter of the tank. So you should be good.
Use fresh made plus your water. Or save your water from a water change.
I would not use any water from a lfs unless completely trust. You don't know what kind of nasties they have in the tanks.

 

[MiniBukta]

Why not by live sand? Using some of the sand is a good idea. Instead of bio all I would use some marine pure.

You lr that switching over should be be full of bacteria. It's the main bio filter of the tank. So you should be good.
Use fresh made plus your water. Or save your water from a water change.
I would not use any water from a lfs unless completely trust. You don't know what kind of nasties they have in the tanks.

Bump for more info!

 

[btackerman]

before you add the new water from your lfs I would be sure that majority of your water in your current tank and have all of your rocks, coral and fish in the new tank. Stop using your current water once it becomes unclear (just pure waste). Add the new water into the sump so your filtration can be running until the tank is full. This is the process I followed going from a 180 to a 425 gallon. I would also ensure at the water temp is the the same to reduce the chances of ick.

 

[HeyJay]

I don't know if there's such a thing as live saltwater. There's probably some benefit in reusing what you can from your old tank just for stability, but I think new water is much better than LFS water.

 

[Kryptonian]

Agreed. I don't really trust my local LFS as they clearly state that everything in their tanks came straight from suppliers with 0 quarantine practice of any sort. You never know what might be floating around. And on top of that, there's really no major benefit using that water vs using newly mixed water. It's just like one really big water change. Just be very sure salinity, pH, alk, and water temp are closely matched. Don't want to shock anything. You're basically wanting to acclimate the tanks to each other in the same way you'd acclimate a new fish that just showed up at your door.

sfin said it. Your LR in your current tank is the main source of bacteria that you're bringing over. Using your current sand if fine. Only concern is if you have a deep sand bed that's been sitting for years. Stuff can buildup in there. You can always rinse sand in RODI water.

Bio balls work, so does Marine Pure. I have MarinePure 2" Cubes in my sump. They all basically do the same thing so you're on the right track.

 

[brandon429]

Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread

Not only do I love that job, I did it in my vase :) so it’s been modeled already/ done your job is just bigger. I’m going to link a thread where nobody listens regarding aiptasia removal, apply this to your mushroom tank. the sand cleaning is already covered here / ridding newly cleaned rocks...

www.reef2reef.com

there is only one thing we do for all 35 pages:

take apart reef to move it or kill an invasion

while apart, rinse sand in tap water to pure perfection, hours if required, total clarity rinse, then last rinse in ro/ ready to use.

rocks are rinsed in old tank water, saltwater, so they don’t bring detritus to new tank

all new water is fine

reassemble cloudless tank lose nothing no cycle not a mini cycle now or ever, cloudless = skip cycle. We dont need sandbed bacteria and we don’t need the bac suspended in the water, they’re instantly expendable we show for five years

 

[xxkenny90xx]

Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread

Not only do I love that job, I did it in my vase :) so it’s been modeled already/ done your job is just bigger. I’m going to link a thread where nobody listens regarding aiptasia removal, apply this to your mushroom tank. the sand cleaning is already covered here / ridding newly cleaned rocks...

www.reef2reef.com

there is only one thing we do for all 35 pages:

take apart reef to move it or kill an invasion

while apart, rinse sand in tap water to pure perfection, hours if required, total clarity rinse, then last rinse in ro/ ready to use.

rocks are rinsed in old tank water, saltwater, so they don’t bring detritus to new tank

all new water is fine

reassemble cloudless tank lose nothing no cycle not a mini cycle now or ever, cloudless = skip cycle. We dont need sandbed bacteria and we don’t need the bac suspended in the water, they’re instantly expendable we show for five years

This ^

 

[MiniBukta]

Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread

Not only do I love that job, I did it in my vase :) so it’s been modeled already/ done your job is just bigger. I’m going to link a thread where nobody listens regarding aiptasia removal, apply this to your mushroom tank. the sand cleaning is already covered here / ridding newly cleaned rocks...

www.reef2reef.com

there is only one thing we do for all 35 pages:

take apart reef to move it or kill an invasion

while apart, rinse sand in tap water to pure perfection, hours if required, total clarity rinse, then last rinse in ro/ ready to use.

rocks are rinsed in old tank water, saltwater, so they don’t bring detritus to new tank

all new water is fine

reassemble cloudless tank lose nothing no cycle not a mini cycle now or ever, cloudless = skip cycle. We dont need sandbed bacteria and we don’t need the bac suspended in the water, they’re instantly expendable we show for five years

Thank you very much, this has been incredibly helpful!

 

[MiniBukta]

Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread

Not only do I love that job, I did it in my vase :) so it’s been modeled already/ done your job is just bigger. I’m going to link a thread where nobody listens regarding aiptasia removal, apply this to your mushroom tank. the sand cleaning is already covered here / ridding newly cleaned rocks...

www.reef2reef.com

there is only one thing we do for all 35 pages:

take apart reef to move it or kill an invasion

while apart, rinse sand in tap water to pure perfection, hours if required, total clarity rinse, then last rinse in ro/ ready to use.

rocks are rinsed in old tank water, saltwater, so they don’t bring detritus to new tank

all new water is fine

reassemble cloudless tank lose nothing no cycle not a mini cycle now or ever, cloudless = skip cycle. We dont need sandbed bacteria and we don’t need the bac suspended in the water, they’re instantly expendable we show for five years

One question as I’m getting into it. Can I rinse out live sand(it’s all they had at LFS) and then put it in my dry tank? It’ll be dry for about a week while I build the rock and mix up all the water I need, so the sand will dry out completely. Ill be moving a lot of live rock Into this tank for the switchover, and two large bags of bio balls.

 

[brandon429]

Yes, I’m about to switch my whole bed for new in a 14 yr old pico reef, been a few years and I like sharp looking sand, though aged is more diverse, it’s not a big deal. Crisp white sand reflects light better and is a nice looks boost

the added step of drying then rehydrating yours means simply it will cloud again after rehydration, re rinse at use time easy done.

we don’t put in cloudy sand, we anticipate all sources of clouding and it won’t recycle. Pre rinse right before use, how it sits won’t matter. Do rinse then store then re rinse, thats more thorough than just waiting for one rinse.

 

[brandon429]

Done, mines ready once I clean up I’ll post pics. This buys me hardly any work for roughly three years, merely light water changes till cruddy again. I rinsed new sand in my vase till clean, tossed out old, ran a gallon of distilled through the clean sand, reassembled all new water they’re opening back up. Stored corals in dishes while apart

turn lights down slow ramp up this coming week