Upgrading to a 120g tank from a 40g

[obadabot]

Hi, i recently upgraded to a 120g tank from a 40g tank however i have not moved my live stock into the new tank yet. I added some Dr Tims one and only bacteria to the new tank yesterday, and was wondering when can i start moving my old stuff to this new tank?

Side note: My 40g was FOWLR and hope to transition into corals. Im fairly new to the hobby so any type of advice would be great.

 

[Big G]

Welcome to R2R! So all you have put into the 120 is Dr. Tims? No rock, sand?

 

[obadabot]

Welcome to R2R! So all you have put into the 120 is Dr. Tims? No rock, sand?

Thank you! Yes I added 80 pounds of live sand, and some live rock from my old tank.

 

[Big G]

Your ammonia cycle should be very fast 3-7 days with all that live sand and live rock - test to verify the ammonia eating bacteria can consume 1-2 ppm of added ammonia within 24 hours. The tank should be stable in 30 days without much for you to do other than wait.

 

[obadabot]

Your ammonia cycle should be very fast 3-7 days with all that live sand and live rock - test to verify the ammonia eating bacteria can consume 1-2 ppm of added ammonia within 24 hours. The tank should be stable in 30 days without much for you to do other than wait.

Haha waiting is the hardest part, but patience is key. When do you think I should introduce my Fish into the new tank?

 

[Big G]

Haha waiting is the hardest part, but patience is key. When do you think I should introduce my Fish into the new tank?

That the question with all sorts of answers. Some would say add a fish or two that are low bio-load after the tank passes the ammonia consumption 24 hours test; others would say wait the 30 days and then slowly start moving your fish into the new tank. Either way I would keep an eye on the ammonia levels for potential water changes and nitrate levels depending on the increasing bio-load. Ammonia is the key. Suggest you get one of those Seachem ammonia badges for your new tank. Think of it as a constant "backup" to your chemical tests. Place it low in the tank where you can see it and as far from your lighting as possible. Lights can effect the badge is too close. And when checking the badge, use a flashlight behind or from the side to get an accurate color reading from the badge. Cheers! And enjoy the new tank!

 

[obadabot]

That the question with all sorts of answers. Some would say add a fish or two that are low bio-load after the tank passes the ammonia consumption 24 hours test; others would say wait the 30 days and then slowly start moving your fish into the new tank. Either way I would keep an eye on the ammonia levels for potential water changes and nitrate levels depending on the increasing bio-load. Ammonia is the key. Suggest you get one of those Seachem ammonia badges for your new tank. Think of it as a constant "backup" to your chemical tests. Place it low in the tank where you can see it and as far from your lighting as possible. Lights can effect the badge is too close. And when checking the badge, use a flashlight behind or from the side to get an accurate color reading from the badge. Cheers! And enjoy the new tank!

I’ll definitely keep and eye on Ammonia levels and as far as the Seachem ammonia badge , where could I find it?

I appreciate the replies man, I’ll soon post a thread on my build for you to see.

 

[Big G]

https://amazon.com/Seachem-001001-A...5881698&sr=8-1&keywords=seachem+ammonia+alert

 

[Whipples]

Once it can clear that ammonia dose in 24 hours, wait a few days, then dose that same amount again and make sure it can clear in 24 hours again, do a big water change to get those nitrates out from the cycle and you should be ok to add fish 1-2 at at time. If you don't want to spread out the fish introductions, you can dose the tank to 4ppm after a few days and if the tank can clear it from both an ammonia and a nitrite perspective, assuming you don't have a ton of tangs/big fish in your 40g you can move them over in a group. 4ppm ammonia is a lot more than these fish would put into the water in a day, and the reason I would recommend waiting in between is to allow the other elements of the cycle to catch up. I am in a similar boat going from a 40br with a 25g sump to a 100g with 34g sump and am at 10 days in with Dr. Tims cycling the tank without any seeded media and I feel your pain on patience

 

[obadabot]

Once it can clear that ammonia dose in 24 hours, wait a few days, then dose that same amount again and make sure it can clear in 24 hours again, do a big water change to get those nitrates out from the cycle and you should be ok to add fish 1-2 at at time. If you don't want to spread out the fish introductions, you can dose the tank to 4ppm after a few days and if the tank can clear it from both an ammonia and a nitrite perspective, assuming you don't have a ton of tangs/big fish in your 40g you can move them over in a group. 4ppm ammonia is a lot more than these fish would put into the water in a day, and the reason I would recommend waiting in between is to allow the other elements of the cycle to catch up. I am in a similar boat going from a 40br with a 25g sump to a 100g with 34g sump and am at 10 days in with Dr. Tims cycling the tank without any seeded media and I feel your pain on patience

Thanks for the reply , how big of a water change are we talking? I’ll definitely give that a try, however I don’t mind adding 1-2 Fish at a time since I only have 4 Fish haha.

If i go that route do I have to do a water change after dosing it with 4ppm or ?

I would love to see your transition btw [emoji1]

 

[Whipples]

Big water changes, like 30-50% after a cycle, are helpful in bringing the nitrates down, since ammonia converts into nitrate at a higher ratio it's normal to have 10-20+ ppm nitrate after a fishless cycle. You could run a refugium nonstop to help bring it down, too, just helps keep nuisance algae at bay. One big change is better than two smaller changes. Here is the build log, no updates while it cycles

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/crystal-dynamics-100g.324303/

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

If you planning to transition into coral then I would say don't add your fishes to new tank until you finish your coral stock list in your tank. You will probably adjust your water flow, re-arrange your rock works to make a match condition to your corals, it might give some stresses to your fish in the process. I was converted my FOWLR to house Anemones and some easy soft corals and I re-arranged my rock works and flow at least 3 times to get thing right for everyone

 

[obadabot]

Big water changes, like 30-50% after a cycle, are helpful in bringing the nitrates down, since ammonia converts into nitrate at a higher ratio it's normal to have 10-20+ ppm nitrate after a fishless cycle. You could run a refugium nonstop to help bring it down, too, just helps keep nuisance algae at bay. One big change is better than two smaller changes. Here is the build log, no updates while it cycles

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/crystal-dynamics-100g.324303/

Okay cool I’ll keep that in mind [emoji4] & I gave your thread a follow I’ll update through it later looks good though!!

 

[obadabot]

If you planning to transition into coral then I would say don't add your fishes to new tank until you finish your coral stock list in your tank. You will probably adjust your water flow, re-arrange your rock works to make a match condition to your corals, it might give some stresses to your fish in the process. I was converted my FOWLR to house Anemones and some easy soft corals and I re-arranged my rock works and flow at least 3 times to get thing right for everyone

Thanks for the advice that makes perfect sense. For a beginner what would you suggest be my first corals ?

 

[Whipples]

I'm a big fan of branching hammers to start, and octospawn, both are LPS and assuming you don't blast them with flow can handle most things with ease. I have a euphyllia garden going and have kept them alive since the start of the tank a year ago and thrived during the learning curve. love the movement it gives. Don't mind the fish photobomb

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

Thanks for the advice that makes perfect sense. For a beginner what would you suggest be my first corals ?

I'm still new here but I would say Hammer coral, Torch coral, Frogspawn and Xenia (Xenia might take over your tank if left unintended) are popular beginner choice. I'm trying to get Xenia taking over my rock works because I love the field looking Xenia.

 

[obadabot]

I'm a big fan of branching hammers to start, and octospawn, both are LPS and assuming you don't blast them with flow can handle most things with ease. I have a euphyllia garden going and have kept them alive since the start of the tank a year ago and thrived during the learning curve. love the movement it gives. Don't mind the fish photobomb

Wow those are pretty , I might consider getting those. I’m really excited to get into coral

 

[obadabot]

I'm still new here but I would say Hammer coral, Torch coral, Frogspawn and Xenia (Xenia might take over your tank if left unintended) are popular beginner choice. I'm trying to get Xenia taking over my rock works because I love the field looking Xenia.

Thanks for the suggestions I’ll look into those

 

[deedubz]

Welcome to r2r! I'm also planning an upgrade from a 55 to something in the 120- 150 ballpark. Some good advice here