Tank upgrade step by step plan

[Broose51]

So I'm upgrading from a red sea reefer 250 to a waterbox marine x 110.4 and this is the first time I've gone through this process and I'm wondering if some folks who've done this can critique my plan. The new tank is going into the same location as the old one so I won't be able to have them both set up at the same time. I'm going to get a couple decent sized totes and move fish, corals and rock into them using the existing tank water and get the old tank and sump empty and moved out of the way. New tank will move in and get leveled, plumbed, etc. I'll then start working on my rockscape and get new sand laid down. New water is next, I should be able to have enough new water ready to go but I'll use a bit of the old water if necessary. Let it circulate for a couple hours to get the temp correct and clear up any cloudiness and get the fish and the rest of the corals in.

The one thing I worry about a bit is the time while I'm working on my rockscape, there will be some corals that are attached to the rocks that will be out of the water, I don't think it'll be for very long, maybe a half hour or so? I could keep a spray bottle with salt water and mist them? Or I could put in sand and maybe fill 2/3 of the tank first and then work on my scape but i'd rather not put the rocks on top of the sand for obvious reasons and it just so much easier to work on the rockscape out of the water. Again, any help is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[TX_REEF]

30 mins is long enough to cause distress and possibly damage to some corals, if it were me, I'd do as much of the scape as possible using the coral-less rocks and add the coral-inclusive rocks last. 5 mins or so out of water should be fine for most corals.