Tank upgrade

[Hentie]

Hi All,

I need some advice

I am upgrading my Red Sea 67 gallon to a Red Sea 115 gallon.

The 115 gallon is going to stand in the exact place as the 67 gallon (no cycle then in new tank), also because I am using most of the equipment (lights, pump, wavemakers) in the new tank.

I will be using all of the current rock in the new tank (also adding dry rock due to tank size), but new sand (maybe a cup of the current sand).

Livestock:

• Yellow tang
• Striped wrasse
• Diamond goby
• Damsel
• 2xCardinal
• Clown
• Dart fish
• Anthea

Huge nem that has split and now occupies various rocks (taking over tank)
Couple of leathers
Couple of LPS

Any pointers on how I go about this.

I would hate to lose the livestock.

Thanks!

Any tips would be appreciated.

 

[archipelago]

Hey that's great news.

It's best to do one big swap of everything at once. However, while the swap will be relatively quick, the prep leading up to it should be detailed and well executed.

I'm not sure what your experience with moving tanks is - what exactly are you looking for pointers on?

Few questions:

• When is your new tank arriving?
• Are you replacing your old sand with dry or live?
• Do you have all the equipment already for your new tank (lights, skimmer, pumps, powerheads, heaters, etc)?

Some things I would be thinking about doing RIGHT NOW, assuming the new tank will arrive within the next few weeks: (and in no particular order)

• A container large enough to move all of your livestock into while you dismantle you old tank
• Getting commitments from friends and family to be there to help you move old tank once it's empty and moving the new tank into place
• Separate bin where you can swish the old live rock to remove sediment, debris, and detritus before placing it in the new tank
• Rinsing the new sand and getting it clean and ready to put in the new tank (only if it's dry)
• Starting to cycle the new additional rock you will be adding to the new tank (this is optional, but will help minimize algae growth on the new, clean rock)
• Any additional power strips you might need for additional equipment on the new tank
• Having a place/container where you can store mixed saltwater to add to the new tank (and making it so it's ready before the day of the move)
• Not sure what the Red Sea plumbing looks like, but purchasing anything additional you might need. It would be a good idea to have a few rolls of teflon tape or pipe thread paste (I use only the paste).

 

[Hentie]

Thank you!

Tank is already here, waiting!
Dry sand (will rinse properly)
I am using the equipment from my old tank on the new tank

Some great tips.

Any tips on absolute DONT'S.

I have read that stirring up the old sand or moving to new tank is really bad for the fish?

Also, what do you think about the scaping? I cant, keep the existing rock out of the water for long (Nems). Scape the new rock, place in new tank, then the sand, fill 75% with water, then put existing rock?

At what stage do you suggest I add the fish?

Sorry, I am spamming you with all these questions, but I would hate to lose any livestock

 

[Should I]

Thank you!

Tank is already here, waiting!
Dry sand (will rinse properly)
I am using the equipment from my old tank on the new tank

Some great tips.

Any tips on absolute DONT'S.

I have read that stirring up the old sand or moving to new tank is really bad for the fish?

Also, what do you think about the scaping? I cant, keep the existing rock out of the water for long (Nems). Scape the new rock, place in new tank, then the sand, fill 75% with water, then put existing rock?

At what stage do you suggest I add the fish?

Sorry, I am spamming you with all these questions, but I would hate to lose any livestock

if your using the rock from the old tank as soon as you get the tank setup add fsh

 

[archipelago]

Tank is already here, waiting!

So exciting!

Dry sand (will rinse properly)

OK great. This will help out a lot with:

• Being able to see what you are doing better, while putting rock, corals, fish into the new tank. (Tank will be cloudy no matter what, but if you can see the back of the tank even just a little - things will be MUCH easier)
• By the time you wake up the next day, water will be close to clear
• There will be a minimal amount of 'dust' that you will need to brush off the inside walls of the tank, or any equipment that might be in the display.

I am using the equipment from my old tank on the new tank

If you planned this 'next step' on your previous system (if you have the choice, always go a size up ) then bravo!

Some great tips.

Thank you! I've done this no less than two dozen times.

Any tips on absolute DONT'S.

Everything is pretty flexible here. If there was a serious "DON'T" it would be: don't flip out if something doesn't go as planned. Make sure you set yourself up with the equipment, tools, and help that you need before you start.

Biggest things for me (in order of priority):

1. Minimize as much as you possibly can, the amount of time your corals and fish are in a temporary tub or container. The smaller volume of water inevitably means higher concentrations of ammonia and anything else that gets stirred up. A single death - fish or coral - can start a snowball effect. I think I have read about more people losing their entire tank during a move, than any other mechanism.
2. Make sure the salt mix parameters (especially alkalinity) is somewhere in the ballpark of where you kept your tank to begin with.
3. Make sure your water is heated. Ich outbreaks can be bet on during a heater failure (effectively the same thing if your new salt water is cold).

I have read that stirring up the old sand or moving to new tank is really bad for the fish?

Correct. If you are putting new sand in the tank, then there is no need to stir up your old sand bed.

Also, what do you think about the scaping? I cant, keep the existing rock out of the water for long (Nems).

Scape the new rock, place in new tank, then the sand, fill 75% with water, then put existing rock?

At what stage do you suggest I add the fish?

Step:

1. Place your empty bin far enough away from the old tank so that it doesn't get in the way of moving the new one in - but close enough so you aren't having to walk across the house to get you livestock in the tank. (Get a pump that can be connected to a hose that is long enough to go from the old tank to the temporary bin).
2. Transfer the water from the old tank (without stirring anything up too bad) to the temporary bin, until there is only an inch or two of water left in the old tank.
3. Move the rock and corals to the temporary tank.
4. Catch the fish now that they are in super-shallow water, and place them in the temp tank.
5. If the old tank is too heavy to move at this point, then use small buckets to empty the remaining sand and water (not into the temporary bin! ) until it is light enough to lift or slide out of the way.
6. Move the new tank and stand into the right place. Take a few extra minutes to get is centered wherever you are putting it. Be mindful of any cords, pipes, or equipment that will need to go between the tanks back panel and the wall. Once you start filling it up it will be too heavy to slide or lift.
7. Don't worry about plugging anything in yet - you need to get the rock, coral, and fish into the tank first.
8. Put your new sand into the new tank.
9. Place an empty plastic bag (one of the ones that the sand came in) on top of the sand, and place a small rock on top of it.
10. Add your new rock on top of the sand, and just try to have an idea where you might be putting the original rock (that's now in the temporary bin). Leave a bit of space, and try not to stack most of it.
11. Start pumping the freshly made salt water into the new tank. Arrange the hose so that the water coming out of it is pouring onto the plastic bag. This will prevent the new sand from getting stirred up too badly. Fill the tank about 1/2 of the way full. While the tank is filling up, check for water leaks around bulkheads (or anywhere). At about 1/3 the way full, check your tanks level-ness with a level (side to side, and front to back). Start making small adjustments with shims if necessary. Check level-ness again at the 1/2 way full point, before you start transferring anything. ** this is really important for RedSea systems**
12. Transfer your original rock from the temporary bin to the new tank.
13. Transfer your fish from the temporary bin to the new tank. Double check for small inverts and fish - they are always hard to see for some reason.
14. Pump the remaining water from the temp bin into the new tank (and sump, if there is one). Check again for any leaks while you are waiting. Check again for level-ness of the display.
15. If there is any room left, add additional freshly made saltwater to fill up the rest.
16. Get your return pump running. This will aerate the water, and will give you a chance to check for leaks/drips in your plumbing.
17. Get the heater(s) and the rest of your equipment placed and plugged in, prioritizing life-support systems (thinking skimmer, etc here).
18. Add your powerheads to the display. Lighting should be the last thing you touch - your fish will be stressed so they'll be better without it for an hour or two, and nothing will die or get sick if they go a day without the lights on.
19. Once lights are on and water has cleared a bit, then start moving your rocks around to where you want them. Careful not to smash any fish - they will be disoriented, and not hiding in their normal spots!

Sorry, I am spamming you with all these questions, but I would hate to lose any livestock

All good my friend. More folks should spend more time contemplating the process - you are already way ahead of the game.

If for some reason you need urgent technical assistance, feel free to call me (video chat would be best if you have WhatsApp or something) and I'm happy to walk you through anything you need. DM me for my number if you decide to take me up on it.

If I think of anything else, I'll tack it onto the thread. What other questions do you have?

 

[archipelago]

Some equipment that will come in handy:

• 5 gal buckets
• Towels
• Spring loaded hand clamps (hold the hose in the right place while draining/filling)
• Towels
• Nets
• Towels
• Wrenches to tighten bulkheads/plumbing
• Teflon tape/thread paste
• PVC glue (in case someone forgot to glue something together)!
• Towels

I know I will think of some more...

 

[archipelago]

Hey @Hentie - you move this thing yet?

 

[cudamanpro]

So exciting!


OK great. This will help out a lot with:

• Being able to see what you are doing better, while putting rock, corals, fish into the new tank. (Tank will be cloudy no matter what, but if you can see the back of the tank even just a little - things will be MUCH easier)
• By the time you wake up the next day, water will be close to clear
• There will be a minimal amount of 'dust' that you will need to brush off the inside walls of the tank, or any equipment that might be in the display.

If you planned this 'next step' on your previous system (if you have the choice, always go a size up ) then bravo!


Thank you! I've done this no less than two dozen times.


Everything is pretty flexible here. If there was a serious "DON'T" it would be: don't flip out if something doesn't go as planned. Make sure you set yourself up with the equipment, tools, and help that you need before you start.

Biggest things for me (in order of priority):

1. Minimize as much as you possibly can, the amount of time your corals and fish are in a temporary tub or container. The smaller volume of water inevitably means higher concentrations of ammonia and anything else that gets stirred up. A single death - fish or coral - can start a snowball effect. I think I have read about more people losing their entire tank during a move, than any other mechanism.
2. Make sure the salt mix parameters (especially alkalinity) is somewhere in the ballpark of where you kept your tank to begin with.
3. Make sure your water is heated. Ich outbreaks can be bet on during a heater failure (effectively the same thing if your new salt water is cold).

Correct. If you are putting new sand in the tank, then there is no need to stir up your old sand bed.





Step:

1. Place your empty bin far enough away from the old tank so that it doesn't get in the way of moving the new one in - but close enough so you aren't having to walk across the house to get you livestock in the tank. (Get a pump that can be connected to a hose that is long enough to go from the old tank to the temporary bin).
2. Transfer the water from the old tank (without stirring anything up too bad) to the temporary bin, until there is only an inch or two of water left in the old tank.
3. Move the rock and corals to the temporary tank.
4. Catch the fish now that they are in super-shallow water, and place them in the temp tank.
5. If the old tank is too heavy to move at this point, then use small buckets to empty the remaining sand and water (not into the temporary bin! ) until it is light enough to lift or slide out of the way.
6. Move the new tank and stand into the right place. Take a few extra minutes to get is centered wherever you are putting it. Be mindful of any cords, pipes, or equipment that will need to go between the tanks back panel and the wall. Once you start filling it up it will be too heavy to slide or lift.
7. Don't worry about plugging anything in yet - you need to get the rock, coral, and fish into the tank first.
8. Put your new sand into the new tank.
9. Place an empty plastic bag (one of the ones that the sand came in) on top of the sand, and place a small rock on top of it.
10. Add your new rock on top of the sand, and just try to have an idea where you might be putting the original rock (that's now in the temporary bin). Leave a bit of space, and try not to stack most of it.
11. Start pumping the freshly made salt water into the new tank. Arrange the hose so that the water coming out of it is pouring onto the plastic bag. This will prevent the new sand from getting stirred up too badly. Fill the tank about 1/2 of the way full. While the tank is filling up, check for water leaks around bulkheads (or anywhere). At about 1/3 the way full, check your tanks level-ness with a level (side to side, and front to back). Start making small adjustments with shims if necessary. Check level-ness again at the 1/2 way full point, before you start transferring anything. ** this is really important for RedSea systems**
12. Transfer your original rock from the temporary bin to the new tank.
13. Transfer your fish from the temporary bin to the new tank. Double check for small inverts and fish - they are always hard to see for some reason.
14. Pump the remaining water from the temp bin into the new tank (and sump, if there is one). Check again for any leaks while you are waiting. Check again for level-ness of the display.
15. If there is any room left, add additional freshly made saltwater to fill up the rest.
16. Get your return pump running. This will aerate the water, and will give you a chance to check for leaks/drips in your plumbing.
17. Get the heater(s) and the rest of your equipment placed and plugged in, prioritizing life-support systems (thinking skimmer, etc here).
18. Add your powerheads to the display. Lighting should be the last thing you touch - your fish will be stressed so they'll be better without it for an hour or two, and nothing will die or get sick if they go a day without the lights on.
19. Once lights are on and water has cleared a bit, then start moving your rocks around to where you want them. Careful not to smash any fish - they will be disoriented, and not hiding in their normal spots!

All good my friend. More folks should spend more time contemplating the process - you are already way ahead of the game.

If for some reason you need urgent technical assistance, feel free to call me (video chat would be best if you have WhatsApp or something) and I'm happy to walk you through anything you need. DM me for my number if you decide to take me up on it.

If I think of anything else, I'll tack it onto the thread. What other questions do you have?

Archipelago



I've been reading this thread on upgrading a tank, and I'm about to start on the same journey and would love to get some guidance. Let me start by saying that I'm new to this forum and new to saltwater tanking. I've had and still have a freshwater tanks, and about 7 months ago, I got into Saltwater.



I have a Biocube 32, and it's thriving well, but as I invest in new corals and want a few more varieties of fish, I have found a used JBJ 65 complete system that is currently running. It has the following:

• Coral scape
• One Clown fish
• One anemone
• One coral
• Some crabs and snails

I can dip the coral and the anemone; I have a quarantine tank that I can put the clown and the crabs in.



These folks are moving and unable to take the tank, and it's a great deal after all the research I did.

I want to transfer everything from the 32 to the 65. I understand that there is a rule of thumb that you should not double up more than 100% meaning that I should only go to a 64 if I’m using the same water from the original tank. I don’t think one gallon is going to make that much of a difference.

Your post to @Hantie was super detailed, and thank you.

Here are a few more questions if you would be so kind as to guide me.

• Can I use the current reef that is in the new (used) tank together with mine? I will not use the water; I will put my 32 gallons in and add new saltwater.
• Can I maybe dip the new (old) coral in the new tank before adding my water and other corals? I would hate to lose them.
• I will use all new live sand. How thick of a substrate do you recommend? I get a lot of different opinions.
• Should I save any of my current water as I do water changes to use as a top-up or to use less new water when I do the transfer? If yes, how long can I keep the water in buckets?
• Should I use any of my current filtration filters to help with the new system?

I appreciate any guidance.



Thank you, Cudamanpro

 

[archipelago]

I've been reading this thread on upgrading a tank, and I'm about to start on the same journey and would love to get some guidance.

Ah, tank upgrades are always super-exciting (albeit, can be stressful!)

Let me start by saying that I'm new to this forum and new to saltwater tanking. I've had and still have a freshwater tanks, and about 7 months ago, I got into Saltwater.

Congrats and welcome to the hobby! It is incredibly rewarding when you achieve success - a perfect balance of biology, chemistry, process, and art. Patience, effort, and diligence are key.

I have a Biocube 32, and it's thriving well, but as I invest in new corals and want a few more varieties of fish, I have found a used JBJ 65 complete system that is currently running. It has the following:

• Coral scape
• One Clown fish
• One anemone
• One coral
• Some crabs and snails

Couple questions here:

• Tell me about your coral scape (is it artificial (plastic), is it made of real rock, are there living corals, etc)
• Do you have sand? If so, how many inches?
• Do you have live rock?

A picture is worth a thousand words here!

I can dip the coral and the anemone; I have a quarantine tank that I can put the clown and the crabs in.

Unless your anemone or clownfish are sick (or the inhabitants of the tank you are purchasing are sick) there is little benefit to quarantining, unless ALL of the following are true:

• You are willing to keep ALL fish (current and incoming) in a dedicated QT tank for 76 days
• For as long as you own a tank, you are willing to quarantine EVERYTHING that you put in it (sand, rock, invertebrates, fish, coral, plants, etc, etc).

Happy to get into the details of the logic above if you like. I am a 'QT-er' myself - but many here keep reefs successfully without a strict (or any) protocol.

If the fish in your current tank or the new tank you are purchasing are sick, let's start a new thread and come up with a plan that works for you and your livestock, includes the appropriate forum resources, and gives you and the animals in your care the highest probability of success.

These folks are moving and unable to take the tank, and it's a great deal after all the research I did.

Sweet!

I want to transfer everything from the 32 to the 65.

Naturally

I understand that there is a rule of thumb that you should not double up more than 100% meaning that I should only go to a 64 if I’m using the same water from the original tank.

Poppycock! I understand the 'intent' of the rule, but it's useless. The size of tank you upgrade to depends on the bioload of what is going into the new tank and the system's capacity for filtration. (this is greatly simplified, but is a place to start).

As an example: you could take the entire contents (sand, rock, corals, fish, filtration media, etc) of your 32 BioCube directly into a 1,000 gallon tank (with no other additions other than the water to fill it up) with no problem at all.

Tell me/us about the livestock, rock, sand, and filtration that's in the new tank currently (and if you plan to get rid of anything). Post some pics of the 65 here - that will probably be even more helpful. Either way, if there is something amiss we can call it out - but likely will be no issue combining livestock from both tanks into one.

I don’t think one gallon is going to make that much of a difference.

Nah

Your post to @Hantie was super detailed, and thank you.

Thanks and, you're welcome

Here are a few more questions if you would be so kind as to guide me.

Hit me

Can I use the current reef that is in the new (used) tank together with mine? I will not use the water; I will put my 32 gallons in and add new saltwater.

Almost certainly. Using the water from your current tank and topping off with new water is a great plan. Make sure the new water is heated and at the right salinity (1.025 s.g. or 35 ppt) since you have corals.

Can I maybe dip the new (old) coral in the new tank before adding my water and other corals? I would hate to lose them.

Healthy corals are pretty resilient, and this should be fine. What I would do if I were me (assuming the livestock has been removed from the 65 and is in a separate container):

1) Set up the new 65g where it will go
2) Add the new salt water to the 65 (leaving room for the water from your BioCube)
3) Transfer the rock, fish, and corals from the BioCube to the 65 (might add a couple more steps if you are planning on keeping the sand from your BioCube).
4) Transfer the rock, then the livestock that was originally in the 65 (that is now in the container you used to transport them) back into the 65 that already contains your rock, fish, and corals from the BioCube.
5) Again, a couple more steps needed if you plan on keeping the sand from the 65.

Should I save any of my current water as I do water changes to use as a top-up or to use less new water when I do the transfer? If yes, how long can I keep the water in buckets?

Yes - if you already have some salt water made, you can store this for use later indefinitely (unless the salt you are using is a biologically activated salt (ex: Tropic Marin Bio-Actif)). Does this answer your question?

Should I use any of my current filtration filters to help with the new system?

It depends on what biological filtration you will be keeping from the 65. Once you provide some details about the equipment (skimmer, filter socks or floss, refugium) and biological filtration (live rock (or other bio-media)) we can help determine the right path.

I appreciate any guidance.

Happy to help. Let me know what other questions you have.

And send details and pics of the incoming system, equipment, and inhabitants! Talk to you soon.

 

[cudamanpro]

Ah, tank upgrades are always super-exciting (albeit, can be stressful!)


Congrats and welcome to the hobby! It is incredibly rewarding when you achieve success - a perfect balance of biology, chemistry, process, and art. Patience, effort, and diligence are key.


Couple questions here:

• Tell me about your coral scape (is it artificial (plastic), is it made of real rock, are there living corals, etc)
• Do you have sand? If so, how many inches?
• Do you have live rock?

A picture is worth a thousand words here!


Unless your anemone or clownfish are sick (or the inhabitants of the tank you are purchasing are sick) there is little benefit to quarantining, unless ALL of the following are true:

• You are willing to keep ALL fish (current and incoming) in a dedicated QT tank for 76 days
• For as long as you own a tank, you are willing to quarantine EVERYTHING that you put in it (sand, rock, invertebrates, fish, coral, plants, etc, etc).

Happy to get into the details of the logic above if you like. I am a 'QT-er' myself - but many here keep reefs successfully without a strict (or any) protocol.

If the fish in your current tank or the new tank you are purchasing are sick, let's start a new thread and come up with a plan that works for you and your livestock, includes the appropriate forum resources, and gives you and the animals in your care the highest probability of success.


Sweet!


Naturally


Poppycock! I understand the 'intent' of the rule, but it's useless. The size of tank you upgrade to depends on the bioload of what is going into the new tank and the system's capacity for filtration. (this is greatly simplified, but is a place to start).

As an example: you could take the entire contents (sand, rock, corals, fish, filtration media, etc) of your 32 BioCube directly into a 1,000 gallon tank (with no other additions other than the water to fill it up) with no problem at all.

Tell me/us about the livestock, rock, sand, and filtration that's in the new tank currently (and if you plan to get rid of anything). Post some pics of the 65 here - that will probably be even more helpful. Either way, if there is something amiss we can call it out - but likely will be no issue combining livestock from both tanks into one.


Nah


Thanks and, you're welcome


Hit me


Almost certainly. Using the water from your current tank and topping off with new water is a great plan. Make sure the new water is heated and at the right salinity (1.025 s.g. or 35 ppt) since you have corals.


Healthy corals are pretty resilient, and this should be fine. What I would do if I were me (assuming the livestock has been removed from the 65 and is in a separate container):

1) Set up the new 65g where it will go
2) Add the new salt water to the 65 (leaving room for the water from your BioCube)
3) Transfer the rock, fish, and corals from the BioCube to the 65 (might add a couple more steps if you are planning on keeping the sand from your BioCube).
4) Transfer the rock, then the livestock that was originally in the 65 (that is now in the container you used to transport them) back into the 65 that already contains your rock, fish, and corals from the BioCube.
5) Again, a couple more steps needed if you plan on keeping the sand from the 65.



Yes - if you already have some salt water made, you can store this for use later indefinitely (unless the salt you are using is a biologically activated salt (ex: Tropic Marin Bio-Actif)). Does this answer your question?


It depends on what biological filtration you will be keeping from the 65. Once you provide some details about the equipment (skimmer, filter socks or floss, refugium) and biological filtration (live rock (or other bio-media)) we can help determine the right path.


Happy to help. Let me know what other questions you have.

And send details and pics of the incoming system, equipment, and inhabitants! Talk to you soon.

Let me start with the pictures. First is the Biocube. I have at the bottom live rock, and we added additional rock on top about 3 months ago. This is artificial but not plastic, if that makes sense?

Fish I have:
1- Banggai cardinal
1- Fire Fish
1-Longnose Hawkfish
2- clowns
1- Royal Gamma
1- Mandarin
1- Diamond Goby

Corals
1- Blue Hammer
2 - Green Star polyps
1- green Toadstool leather
1- Green tip Frogspawn
1- Kryptonite Candy cane
1- TSA Haunted House Toasdstool Leather
2- Pulsing Xenias
9- Zoanthids, most or small frags

This is the new tank I'm trying to acquire.

It comes with :
Two hydra lights
2 Pumps
Thermostat
2 UV filters
Phosphate filter
Skimmer

 

[cudamanpro]

Let me start with the pictures. First is the Biocube. I have at the bottom live rock, and we added additional rock on top about 3 months ago. This is artificial but not plastic, if that makes sense?

Fish I have:
1- Banggai cardinal
1- Fire Fish
1-Longnose Hawkfish
2- clowns
1- Royal Gamma
1- Mandarin
1- Diamond Goby

Corals
1- Blue Hammer
2 - Green Star polyps
1- green Toadstool leather
1- Green tip Frogspawn
1- Kryptonite Candy cane
1- TSA Haunted House Toasdstool Leather
2- Pulsing Xenias
9- Zoanthids, most or small frags

This is the new tank I'm trying to acquire.

It comes with :
Two hydra lights
2 Pumps
Thermostat
2 UV filters
Phosphate filter
Skimmer

I shouldn't use any of their water, correct?

If I understood you, I'm good with using their rocks, but should dip the corals?

Here are a couple more pics from the new tank.

 

[archipelago]

Let me start with the pictures. First is the Biocube.

Ah, she's a beaut'. The rock looks pretty well established, and your corals and fish look healthy from what I can see.

I have at the bottom live rock, and we added additional rock on top about 3 months ago. This is artificial but not plastic, if that makes sense?

Yes, makes sense. Man-made, but for all intents and purposes we will consider it live rock

This is the new tank I'm trying to acquire.

It comes with :
Two hydra lights
2 Pumps
Thermostat
2 UV filters
Phosphate filter
Skimmer

Oh, lots more room here. Your current and future fish and corals will love it!

I can see the tag on the right hand side of the tank, but. If it happens to be a Red Sea aquarium, it may be worth taking some time to reinforce the stand (you probably know this, but it's definitely worth a mention). I haven't read everything on it, but there seems to be a significant amount of seam failures due to the stand sagging. If it's not a RedSea; just ignore my comment.

I shouldn't use any of their water, correct?

No hard rule here - but - if you have the means to make a new batch of 30 gallons or so of seawater easily, I would not add it back to the tank once you get it set up.

If I understood you, I'm good with using their rocks, but should dip the corals?

Here's the thing. If there are pests/parasites on the coral or fish in the new 65, then there is a high likelihood they are on the rock as well. So, barring quarantining everything (whilst keeping fish separate from the rock and corals) there is really no way to completely eliminate the possibility of introducing pests (if there are any...) into the new tank. Dipping the corals can kill coral parasites (depending on the dip you use and type of parasite), but it will not kill any eggs (regardless of the dip, if there is an egg-laying parasite (AEFW, etc)). Dipping the coral will also NOT kill Ich Tomonts/Tomites which can later affect the fish.

Because there are so few fish and coral in the 65 gallon tank you are purchasing, I would not bother prophylactically treating the coral or fish. The stress of dipping/treatment would not be worth it for me. Focus on a smooth tank move and transfer (which will minimize the stress on the fish and coral) and if something comes up down the road, deal with it then.

Here are a couple more pics from the new tank.

This will look sharp when everything is moved over!

What to keep as far as sand and rock:

Because the rock looks much more established than the rock in the new 65, I would target keeping as much of the live rock in your BioCube as you can. The BioCube rock (without any of the rock in the 65) will support any additional fish and coral bioload from the 65 gallon tank (based on what is in the pictures).

That being said, you can add/keep any amount of rock from the 65 that you want to use for aquascaping. No additional biological filtration media is necessary for current or future fish or coral residents (that is to say, if you have bioballs, siporax, or some other porous media designed to grow bacteria either in the 65 or the BioCube, it is not necessary to keep). The rock and sand by themselves will be able to perform the necessary nitrification for any future fish and corals you introduce.

Let me know what questions you have, or if you need more clarity on something I mentioned above. The equipment list for the 65 looks good - you can keep it basic or add as your knowledge and goals grow (I like things as simple as possible . The more equipment/sub-systems there are, the more maintenance there is, and the less likely it is to get done. heh.)

I hope this helps, and good luck with the tank move. Post some shots here once everything is up and running!

 

[cudamanpro]

Thank you so much, one last question I may have missed, the sand I need to use new live sand correct? Do not use the Biocube sand?

 

[archipelago]

Thank you so much, one last question I may have missed, the sand I need to use new live sand correct? Do not use the Biocube sand?

Hey, sorry, not sure how I missed your question.

It depends (like everything, heh). Keeping the sand will help seed the rock or whatever else from the new tank (at a glance, your BioCube looks much more mature than the incoming tank's rocks, sand, etc). So if you can keep it, you should try.

Here are a couple ideas:

1. In a small section (like 2 inch x 2 inch) of the tank, stir up the sand a bit. Does a ton of gunk come out? If not, keep the sand and don't take any specific, additional action. If so, here's what I'd do:

a) When removing the sand from the biocube (it should be the last thing to come out), I would put the sand into a bucket and rinse a few times with saltwater. (Fill bucket with sand up with water, stir sand with hand, empty dirty water. Repeat until water is reasonably clear).

b) Alternatively if you're feeling lazy or don't have the additional saltwater, you could skip the bucket-stir method above. Remove all contents from the BioCube into a separate container (don't place into new tank yet). Transfer the biocube sand directly to the empty new tank (or if you're keeping sand from the new tank, just add the sands together to the empty tank). But, before filling the tank up with water, place a plastic bag (or anything flat - you could use a tupperware container lid, supermarket plastic bag, or whatever) and place it over the area of the sand in a way that will prevent it from getting stirred up by the water when you are filling the tank.

All that being said, keeping the sand from your BioCube is not critical, so if you want to get new sand that is fine too. The trade off will be that it will take longer to 'expand' your current bacterial colonies to the rest of the new tank, and you may see a little more of the cycling 'uglies' if you start with new, live sand. Keeping the old or purchasing new sand will both require a little work - one option you will put in the work now, and the other later.

Let me know if you have any other questions, and keep us updated on your move/transfer.

 

[cudamanpro]

A quick update, I kinda got cold feet, I was struggling with buying an active tank and how it was going to effect my tank, and the whole process of draining and bringing and keeping the rock in tanks until I was ready to do the switch so I passed. I am looking to buy a new one or a used dry one. Leaning towards a new one.
I’ll keep you posted.

 

[archipelago]

A quick update, I kinda got cold feet, I was struggling with buying an active tank and how it was going to effect my tank, and the whole process of draining and bringing and keeping the rock in tanks until I was ready to do the switch so I passed. I am looking to buy a new one or a used dry one. Leaning towards a new one.
I’ll keep you posted.

Yes, can be daunting for sure. It's different if you have a tank set up and you decide to move - you don't have a choice if you want to keep the tank. In this instance you do, so go with what you're comfortable with.