Upgrading to larger tank step by step…advice needed to keep fish alive

[Reefacist]

Hey guys,

I need some advice/step by step plan on how to move fish and rocks to new larger aquarium in the same house.

So I recently moved and prior to finishing my remodel I got a xxl750 Red Sea reefer. Currently the reefer is set up but still dry. I don’t have coral yet as I knew I was upgrading and moving so I didn’t want coral to go through a move. So currently my 4x2x2 reef ready tank is sitting in the garage with all the bells and whistles (t5/kessil lights, 2 mp40s, apex, rocks and fish) and I want to move all the rocks fish and equipment correctly into the new tank and avoid an ammonia spike and fish death.

I know I need more rocks so I bought more rocks (been in a brute curing for a month now), bought new sand, bought more light and bought a second varios6 return pump.

My current plan for the move and would LOVE expert advise:

1. Create a pvc diagram of new tank roughly 6ft and aquascape a new section for the bigger tank (I will keep the 4ft of aquascape the same).
2. Upon doing that remove all the rock from current tank and place in new tank along with the new aquascaped rock.
3. Put some maxjet pumps for flow and return pump runing for flow in new tank. Get new tank established without fish.
4. In the meantime create aquascape with left over rock and pvc for old tank. Just so the fish have Place to hide while new tank is being established.
5. After about a week match tank parameters and move all fish and equipment to new tank.

Would this be a good plan? I’m real ocd and perfectionist when it comes to this and I just want to do it the most ideal way which is the reason I have had the xxl750 for a year and it’s still dry. Maybe while I put new rocks and pvc in old tank with fish I will feed less for the time being.

 

[blaxsun]

Congrats on your new Red Sea! (I have the same model) You're actually all setup to insta-cycle your tank and move all the fish over halfway through step #3. While you don't need to, I used Bio-Spira to boost the bio media in the new tank in step #3.

The existing rock, rock that's been curing and the Bio-Spira (optional) is all you need to move all your fish over. If you test your saltwater prior to adding the rock all your parameters should be optimal (or at least in-line those stated for the salt mix).

If it were me (and I did this when I moved from 2x25-gallon lagoon tanks to my 750XXL), I'd put all the gear I'm keeping on the 750XXL (Apex, lights, MP40s, etc.) and just jury-rig the old tank to keep on plugging away. Cable management, etc. is something you'll want to spend time on beforehand as it's a major PITA to try to implement later.

Are you planning to run a UV at all? This is something that I always recommend as it offers a lot of benefits. A fleece roller is something else to consider (you'd want a ReefMat 1200 or equivalent). An ATO is something else as well.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I've upgraded twice this year on 2 different tanks, above is the best advise. Get the new tank up and running with sand and water, fix everything in the tank. When you're ready, switch the rocks to the new tank along with the fish.

When you remove the rocks you remove the biofilter, so the fish have to go with the rocks. Also, you'll see, once you move the bottom rocks (the ones in the sand) it will stir up a lot of crap and poison the water, the fish can't stay there.

 

[Reefacist]

Congrats on your new Red Sea! (I have the same model) You're actually all setup to insta-cycle your tank and move all the fish over halfway through step #3. While you don't need to, I used Bio-Spira to boost the bio media in the new tank in step #3.

The existing rock, rock that's been curing and the Bio-Spira (optional) is all you need to move all your fish over. If you test your saltwater prior to adding the rock all your parameters should be optimal (or at least in-line those stated for the salt mix).

If it were me (and I did this when I moved from 2x25-gallon lagoon tanks to my 750XXL), I'd put all the gear I'm keeping on the 750XXL (Apex, lights, MP40s, etc.) and just jury-rig the old tank to keep on plugging away. Cable management, etc. is something you'll want to spend time on beforehand as it's a major PITA to try to implement later.

Are you planning to run a UV at all? This is something that I always recommend as it offers a lot of benefits. A fleece roller is something else to consider (you'd want a ReefMat 1200 or equivalent). An ATO is something else as well.

Thanks @blaxsun some great advice.
I don’t think I can do the whole switch equipment now and do bcable management for 2 reasons. 1. My ocd wouldn’t allow a jury rigged tank with fish in it. 2. I have already placed the tank in place and adjusted all the feet. Most annoying thing in the world. I had no idea that part of my house had such an uneven floor. So I will not move the tank for cord management.

Would it be easy to put the rocks back together with a tank filled with water?

After your advice I think the plan is to:
1. Fill 750 with like 30-60gal of saltwater. Place the sand.
2. Add new rock
3 Use some bio spira let it wait a day or two
4. Transfer fish and rock
5. Transfer equipment

 

[blaxsun]

Thanks @blaxsun some great advice.
I don’t think I can do the whole switch equipment now and do bcable management for 2 reasons. 1. My ocd wouldn’t allow a jury rigged tank with fish in it. 2. I have already placed the tank in place and adjusted all the feet. Most annoying thing in the world. I had no idea that part of my house had such an uneven floor. So I will not move the tank for cord management.

Would it be easy to put the rocks back together with a tank filled with water?

After your advice I think the plan is to:
1. Fill 750 with like 30-60gal of saltwater. Place the sand.
2. Add new rock
3 Use some bio spira let it wait a day or two
4. Transfer fish and rock
5. Transfer equipment

You don't necessarily have to move the tank for cord management - it was more a suggestion to use the opportunity to figure out where you'd like to run and place everything (easier now than when it's full of water and the sump is in-place). Yes, you can place the rocks once the tank has water in it - just be sure to only fill it 50-75% full as the rocks will displace quite a bit.

If you've already cycled the new rock, that and the Bio-Spira insta-cycles the tank. Adding additional rock from your existing tank is just the cherry on top.

I run the same Red Sea tank so if you'd like me to take some pictures of how I configured things just drop me a line. Best of luck!

 

[Reefacist]

You don't necessarily have to move the tank for cord management - it was more a suggestion to use the opportunity to figure out where you'd like to run and place everything (easier now than when it's full of water and the sump is in-place). Yes, you can place the rocks once the tank has water in it - just be sure to only fill it 50-75% full as the rocks will displace quite a bit.

If you've already cycled the new rock, that and the Bio-Spira insta-cycles the tank. Adding additional rock from your existing tank is just the cherry on top.

I run the same Red Sea tank so if you'd like me to take some pictures of how I configured things just drop me a line. Best of luck!

Thanks @blaxsun. Yes I think I’ll take you up on that offer.

We have also had a pretty detailed back and forth in another thread about control panel boards.