Tank Upgrade

[JohnathanW]

Hello everyone I just have a few questions I’m getting ready to upgrade my Fuval 13.5 to a innovative marine lagoon 25 I was wondering what bacteria I should use to help seed the new rocks I have about 9 pounds of live rock that is already gone to to be transferred over to the lagoon also I was wondering if a spare Hydra 32HD I have would be a good choice for the 25 lagoon and any tips on tank transfers I would greatly appreciate it first time doing a transfer

 

[NowGlazeIT]

The hydra 32 is a great light, I have not used it on a tank with those dimensions but I would recommend it because in my opinion the worst case scenario is you could have some light spill past the edges of your tank and that’s easily fixed with a diffuser. Some reefers here sell custom diffusers for that model at the R2R market place.
As for bacteria I would suggest bio spira but I don’t think it’s necessary if your bringing your live rock over from your current tank.
A good thing to keep in mind with tank transfer upgrades is the coral and parameter swings. Most dry rock I’ve dealt with, raised phosphates then a few weeks later the rock sucked in phosphates and coral like their phosphates stable. What I do is, add my dry rock and add at least one rock from my old display to the upgrade. I also add bio media from the old sump to the new sump. This is where the bacteria comes from and after a couple months I start bringing in the coral. I’ll add fish to the upgrade about a week or two after adding the rocks (test and double check for ammonia/nitrite). At the end I will have added all the live rock from the old tank and any bio media that doesn’t look exhausted.
If your not using bio media an alternative can be to add some filter floss to your current tank and give it a few weeks for the bacteria to colonize. I recommend you only add some of your old sand to the new tank for the bacteria benefit. I’m one of those reefers that believe sand harbors more then just harmless detritus and so most of it should be removed and rinsed thoroughly before reusing.
Good luck reefer and congratulations on the upgrade!

 

[JohnathanW]

The hydra 32 is a great light, I have not used it on a tank with those dimensions but I would recommend it because in my opinion the worst case scenario is you could have some light spill past the edges of your tank and that’s easily fixed with a diffuser. Some reefers here sell custom diffusers for that model at the R2R market place.
As for bacteria I would suggest bio spira but I don’t think it’s necessary if your bringing your live rock over from your current tank.
A good thing to keep in mind with tank transfer upgrades is the coral and parameter swings. Most dry rock I’ve dealt with, raised phosphates then a few weeks later the rock sucked in phosphates and coral like their phosphates stable. What I do is, add my dry rock and add at least one rock from my old display to the upgrade. I also add bio media from the old sump to the new sump. This is where the bacteria comes from and after a couple months I start bringing in the coral. I’ll add fish to the upgrade about a week or two after adding the rocks (test and double check for ammonia/nitrite). At the end I will have added all the live rock from the old tank and any bio media that doesn’t look exhausted.
If your not using bio media an alternative can be to add some filter floss to your current tank and give it a few weeks for the bacteria to colonize. I recommend you only add some of your old sand to the new tank for the bacteria benefit. I’m one of those reefers that believe sand harbors more then just harmless detritus and so most of it should be removed and rinsed thoroughly before reusing.
Good luck reefer and congratulations on the upgrade!

I figured the Hydra would be good for it maybe some low par on the outer sides of the tank and I actually got a 3D reefing diffuser for it I order some bio spira also I was going to get some dr Tim’s but I just went with what I have used before to start my other tanks also I will just take it slow with everything with the new dry rock before I start putting stuff in it I don’t want anything to happen to my coral but I really appreciate all the information Thank your

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Happy to help. I too have used bio spira for all my start ups. I then switch to microbacter7 if I need some later on in the tanks journey, works great against cyano

 

[JohnathanW]

Happy to help. I too have used bio spira for all my start ups. I then switch to microbacter7 if I need some later on in the tanks journey, works great against cyano

I was looking at getting microbacter7 also but couldn’t figure out witch one I should get between dr Tim’s or microbacter7 so I just went with bio spira since I had used it and knew it worked I’m have been going over the build threads for the innovative marine lagoon 25 because that’s the tank I’m upgrading to and try to figure out everything to get for it because I was going to reuse the evo for a white cap goby and red spotted pistol shrimp pair

 

[NowGlazeIT]

I was looking at getting microbacter7 also but couldn’t figure out witch one I should get between dr Tim’s or microbacter7 so I just went with bio spira since I had used it and knew it worked I’m have been going over the build threads for the innovative marine lagoon 25 because that’s the tank I’m upgrading to and try to figure out everything to get for it because I was going to reuse the evo for a white cap goby and red spotted pistol shrimp pair

That’s good to get your equipment planned out ahead. Otherwise you’ll find your self upgrading and tinkering during the time your looking to achieve balance and stability for coral. Be sure to update your build thread so we can follow along

 

[JoeReefinGood]

Towels and buckets will be your friend. When I upgraded to to a Fiji cube peninsula 20 I used the pump from the AIO to pump up my water from the buckets using some leftover tubing from an old canister filter. Saved some spills, time, and back pain. Good luck!