upgrading to larger tank need some advice

[reefmaster70]

Hey all. So I currently have a 75g reef tank set up (with 20g sump) in our dinning room. I have loved being back in this hobby again so much, I already purchased a 180g reef tank with stand and 60g sump that I'll be upgrading to. So here's my issue. I want the new 180g to sit in the exact spot that my current 75g is running at. How do I go about draining and moving the old tank out and putting in the new tank in it's place, and get it up and running quickly enough to cause the least amount of stress on my fish and corals? I assume the following would be my process:
1. have several large plastic totes ready with air pumps and heaters.
2. siphon water down into first tote, and put in any corals, and live rock
3. siphon water into 2nd tote and catch fish, crabs, snails, etc and put in that tote.
4. unhook plumbing from below tank to sump, and carry 75g tank out
5. remove sump, equipment and stand for 75g.
6. place 180g stand, sump and tank, worry about connecting sump a bit later (just get tank up and running "stand alone" first.
7. add NEW sand bed (possibly seed it with my old sand?)
8. Place my living "Live rock" from my old 75g tank into the 180g first, and then place new dry rock to fill in free spaces
9. add as much old 75g water as possible, while keeping the fish and corals still in OLD water
10. Top off 180g with new Saltwater that i've made in advance.

So that's as far as I've gotten. Not sure how long to wait to add fish, and corals back into the new tank. So I sure would appreciate any help from those of you who have done this process before. Thanks.

 

[KrisReef]

What kind of flooring is in this area? If you can drain the 75 (or pump water into the new tank, slide the 75 out of the way and then refill it in a temporary spot. Then move the new tank into place and start getting it ready to fill and move the old into the new with both running.

 

[reefmaster70]

Luxury vinyl plank , things slide fairly easy on it

 

[reefmaster70]

SO I think I Have a plan.....Im going to drain down the 75g to the tops of the live rock inside. I'll put water in several 5 gal buckets..and then put corals into one or two of those buckets, and fish into another one..along with a heater, and airstone with the fish. I'll finish draining down the 75g so I can slide it out of the way so I can set the new 180g tank and stand in it's place. Now, I am assuming I should use ALL new livesand (not dry) in the new tank. Then I'll place about 50-60pounds of new dry live rock, and start adding new saltwater I have made up. Then I'll add my OLD live rock from the 75g tank and throw the bio blocks into the 180g as well for the bacteria that I have currently in the 75g sump. I will then continue to top up the 180g with old water from the 75g tank until it's used up and then finish any remaining needed with new makeup saltwater.

I've watched several videos on youtube of guys going from much smaller to much larger, and literally just puting in a new sand bed, new rock mixed with their old rock...their old water, and topped up with new water, and then they add their corals and fish and call it good. Will I not get any sort of "mini cycle" at all when doing this transfer? That's what I am scared most about, and harming any of my corals, or fish.

Any more insight??

 

[JTP424]

I would add more buckets to your plan and remove the old rock when you remove the old coral.
Put the old rock in first.
Then your bio is pre-loaded as you fill with water etc. I wouldn't use any old water... there isn't enough beneficial bacteria for it to be of really any use.
I would just re-acclimate coral and fish. then you should be good to go. Depending on your saltwater mixing situation, they should be fine in buckets with bubblers and heaters for a few hours.

I'd also save the old sand to rinse for later... it take a while to get it clean. but then you can have a nice deep sand bed.

 

[JTP424]

There may be a MINI cycle. but since you're using I'm guessing.... 50 lb of old rock??? It should be pretty stable.

 

[JTP424]

Noted, the new rock will still run the risk of "the uglies" etc depending on how it was cured etc.

 

[Freenow54]

Hey all. So I currently have a 75g reef tank set up (with 20g sump) in our dinning room. I have loved being back in this hobby again so much, I already purchased a 180g reef tank with stand and 60g sump that I'll be upgrading to. So here's my issue. I want the new 180g to sit in the exact spot that my current 75g is running at. How do I go about draining and moving the old tank out and putting in the new tank in it's place, and get it up and running quickly enough to cause the least amount of stress on my fish and corals? I assume the following would be my process:
1. have several large plastic totes ready with air pumps and heaters.
2. siphon water down into first tote, and put in any corals, and live rock
3. siphon water into 2nd tote and catch fish, crabs, snails, etc and put in that tote.
4. unhook plumbing from below tank to sump, and carry 75g tank out
5. remove sump, equipment and stand for 75g.
6. place 180g stand, sump and tank, worry about connecting sump a bit later (just get tank up and running "stand alone" first.
7. add NEW sand bed (possibly seed it with my old sand?)
8. Place my living "Live rock" from my old 75g tank into the 180g first, and then place new dry rock to fill in free spaces
9. add as much old 75g water as possible, while keeping the fish and corals still in OLD water
10. Top off 180g with new Saltwater that i've made in advance.

So that's as far as I've gotten. Not sure how long to wait to add fish, and corals back into the new tank. So I sure would appreciate any help from those of you who have done this process before. Thanks.

To Me I would strive to move the origional tank by draining about 50 gallons and saving i leaving you with 3 to 4 hundred pounds to move out of the way which I have done because of an unrelated flood in my basement . It requires some set up jacks , and dollies but it worked. Then you have all the time you need to make sure your new tank is cycled and ready

 

[exnisstech]

If it were me i would do as @KrisReef suggested or get a stock tank and move everything into it that way you can take your time setting the new tank up and make sure everything is good to go. I don't like to be rushed when making a tank move

 

[vlangel]

I just transferred my 56g display into a new 75g. I premade a brute can of new saltwater. I put all my fish, some old rock for hiding places and old water in a 20g Long with a heater and aeration. The rest of my rock went in 5g buckets with old water. Also the old sand went in 5g buckets so I could wash portions of it at a time. When the 56g was empty, I moved the new stand and new tank in place. Then I washed all my old sand using tap water from our garden hose on the patio. I left the clean sand in the buckets. It was time to aquascape. I laid all the wet rock out in our livingroom on a vinyl tablecloth and began putting the rock in the tank. I had planned mentally what I wanted and it went well. Then I added the newly washed sand. Finally I added the brute can water of newly made saltwater slowly into a bowl in the tank and let the water overflow the bowl so as to not stir up the sand too much. I also added the old tank water the rock had been sitting in. The tank was 3/4s full. I put a HOB AquaClear filter with floss on the tank and a heater. By now it was bed time so rather than pull an all nighter, I got rested and went to bed. The next morning the water was nearly clear. I tweaked the aquascape and then added the fish and the rest of the old tank water from the 20g long and the sump. I watched for a mini cycle but the tank never went thru one. It did go through an ugly phase and actually is still having some diatoms on the sand but in general the move went great.

 

[vlangel]

These are pics from my Sept. upgrade. The first pic is my old tank. The 2nd pic is when I went to bed. The 3nd pic is the next morning after coral and fish were in the new tank.

 

[KrisReef]

I just transferred my 56g display into a new 75g. I premade a brute can of new saltwater. I put all my fish, some old rock for hiding places and old water in a 20g Long with a heater and aeration. The rest of my rock went in 5g buckets with old water. Also the old sand went in 5g buckets so I could wash portions of it at a time. When the 56g was empty, I moved the new stand and new tank in place. Then I washed all my old sand using tap water from our garden hose on the patio. I left the clean sand in the buckets. It was time to aquascape. I laid all the wet rock out in our livingroom on a vinyl tablecloth and began putting the rock in the tank. I had planned mentally what I wanted and it went well. Then I added the newly washed sand. Finally I added the brute can water of newly made saltwater slowly into a bowl in the tank and let the water overflow the bowl so as to not stir up the sand too much. I also added the old tank water the rock had been sitting in. The tank was 3/4s full. I put a HOB AquaClear filter with floss on the tank and a heater. By now it was bed time so rather than pull an all nighter, I got rested and went to bed. The next morning the water was nearly clear. I tweaked the aquascape and then added the fish and the rest of the old tank water from the 20g long and the sump. I watched for a mini cycle but the tank never went thru one. It did go through an ugly phase and actually is still having some diatoms on the sand but in general the move went great.

Very nice write up! A+

 

[Sneep]

SO I think I Have a plan.....Im going to drain down the 75g to the tops of the live rock inside. I'll put water in several 5 gal buckets..and then put corals into one or two of those buckets, and fish into another one..along with a heater, and airstone with the fish. I'll finish draining down the 75g so I can slide it out of the way so I can set the new 180g tank and stand in it's place. Now, I am assuming I should use ALL new livesand (not dry) in the new tank. Then I'll place about 50-60pounds of new dry live rock, and start adding new saltwater I have made up. Then I'll add my OLD live rock from the 75g tank and throw the bio blocks into the 180g as well for the bacteria that I have currently in the 75g sump. I will then continue to top up the 180g with old water from the 75g tank until it's used up and then finish any remaining needed with new makeup saltwater.

I've watched several videos on youtube of guys going from much smaller to much larger, and literally just puting in a new sand bed, new rock mixed with their old rock...their old water, and topped up with new water, and then they add their corals and fish and call it good. Will I not get any sort of "mini cycle" at all when doing this transfer? That's what I am scared most about, and harming any of my corals, or fish.

Any more insight??

If you're putting ~75g of old water into your 180g tank, you're basically doing a 50%-60% water change. That along with the old rocks/blocks should retain a lot of your bacteria. I don't think it's crazy to use some of your old sand to "seed" the new stuff, but nasty stuff builds up in my sand, and I'd look forward to a nice clean sand bed.

I didn't move tanks, but I just added sand to my tank this week which involved removing all of my rocks/corals. If you're going to use 5g buckets, consider if you can safely stack some rocks in there without crushing any coral. I had to play some tetris fitting my rocks into a single bucket.

 

[reefmaster70]

I would add more buckets to your plan and remove the old rock when you remove the old coral.
Put the old rock in first.
Then your bio is pre-loaded as you fill with water etc. I wouldn't use any old water... there isn't enough beneficial bacteria for it to be of really any use.
I would just re-acclimate coral and fish. then you should be good to go. Depending on your saltwater mixing situation, they should be fine in buckets with bubblers and heaters for a few hours.

I'd also save the old sand to rinse for later... it take a while to get it clean. but then you can have a nice deep sand bed.

Yeah, I just used 5 gal buckets as a generalization. I have lots of large 5g buckets as well as Rubbermaid totes that are larger if needed. Not worried about containing everything

 

[reefmaster70]

If you're putting ~75g of old water into your 180g tank, you're basically doing a 50%-60% water change. That along with the old rocks/blocks should retain a lot of your bacteria. I don't think it's crazy to use some of your old sand to "seed" the new stuff, but nasty stuff builds up in my sand, and I'd look forward to a nice clean sand bed.

I didn't move tanks, but I just added sand to my tank this week which involved removing all of my rocks/corals. If you're going to use 5g buckets, consider if you can safely stack some rocks in there without crushing any coral. I had to play some tetris fitting my rocks into a single bucket.

I think I'll use some of the old sand as well. Not all of it, but maybe a thin layer into the bottom of the new tank before the new sand goes on top?? I am not a fan of deep sand beds, and both of my current tanks have maybe an inch to 1.5 inches of sand only.

 

[JTP424]

I think I'll use some of the old sand as well. Not all of it, but maybe a thin layer into the bottom of the new tank before the new sand goes on top?? I am not a fan of deep sand beds, and both of my current tanks have maybe an inch to 1.5 inches of sand only.

Absolutely can, I did the reverse when I moved my tank, I put down fresh sand first... so I could take the time to thoroughly clean my old sand. Otherwise you run the risk of releasing under sand nasties.

 

[vlangel]

I think I'll use some of the old sand as well. Not all of it, but maybe a thin layer into the bottom of the new tank before the new sand goes on top?? I am not a fan of deep sand beds, and both of my current tanks have maybe an inch to 1.5 inches of sand only.

Do it the other way around. Put the new sand in with a little of the old sand on top. Otherwise the beneficial bacteria in the old sand will be smothered by the new sand on top. Those bacteria need to be where they get oxygen.

 

[reefmaster70]

I think I'll use some of the old sand as well. Not all of it, but maybe a thin layer into the bottom of the new tank before the new sand goes on top?? I am not a fan of deep sand beds, and both of my current tanks have maybe an inch to 1.5 inches of sand only.

Absolutely can, I did the reverse when I moved my tank, I put down fresh sand first... so I could take the time to thoroughly clean my old sand. Otherwise you run the risk of releasing under sand nasties.

That sound's like a good plan.

 

[reefmaster70]

These are pics from my Sept. upgrade. The first pic is my old tank. The 2nd pic is when I went to bed. The 3nd pic is the next morning after coral and fish were in the new tank.

Thanks for the write up and pics.....however, I am going from a 75g display (20g sump) to a 180g display and (60g sump) so a HUGE jump. I really am worried about a small cycle that will harm my fish and corals...BUT I think, I'll make up two 50 gallon brute cans of new saltwater ready and waiting in my garage, and then with my 75g approx. of old water, I should be able to make the transition over fairly quickly into the new tank. I plan on just filling the 180g with sand, old and new rock, and old and new water, and getting livestock back in, on day one...and then getting plumbing and sump connected below it on day 2, so the sump won't be running until late day 2. I'll just have my heater, and a HOB filter and a couple powerheads running on the 180g until I get the sump running. That's my plan I think.

 

[BryanM]

That sound's like a good plan.

I wouldn't bother with the old sand, the rock has the majority of your beneficial bacteria in it.

I'd get new sand, and I'd rinse it, and I'd toss the old.