moving the contents of one tank to another?

[seecrabrun]

This just crossed my mind. Last time I upgraded in size it was actually just a few weeks after I started, so things hadn't settled much.

I'm now moving my 29g that has been up and running for 9 months in this one tank, to a larger tank...

And I'm going to completely disrupt its ecosystem.

It has a DSB that is well established and I'm going to completely mess that up!

I'm wondering... What should I do??

I'm considering making the 29 a refugium on the bigger tank so I don't have to disrupt the sandbed.

Would this be a good idea? If I drain most of the water I can move it without shifting things, with the help of another adult.


My plan was to move the live rock to the new tank with its sand and also new live sand and get it cycled and then move the fish. But now I think I should leave the fish in the 29 and do all new sand in the bigger tank with the rock from the current tank.

What is your input on this?

 

[pegasus]

If you use live sand in the new, bigger tank, and your live rocks from the 29, if you by chance have a cycle, it will be a "mini" cycle. There should be no die-off in the new sand, so if for some reason there is a spike in ammonia (I doubt it), it shouldn't be much and shouldn't last long at all... especially if the 29 is being used as refugium. You will still have the same sand and rocks, so your biological filtration is already in place. Since you will be adding new water to the larger tank, any pollutants that may get released in the move will be highly diluted. Just try to match the salinity, temp, and PH of the 29's water before tying them together. The closer it is, the less it will stress your fish.

PS: If you carefully remove the rocks with minimal disturbance to the sand bed, you shouldn't have any problems with "messing it up".

 

[lmforbis]

I just moved everything from my 55 to a 125 on Sunday. I moved all the rocks to the new tank then I took out all the sand (in place for a few months but not a deep bed) and washed it with salt water then put it in the new tank. After that was in place I took half of the water from the 55 an put it in the new tank and moved the sump. The water tested the same then I moved the 4 small fish I have and the inverts. So far all is well. Ammonia and nitrite have stayed at 0. I do need to get a couple more bags of sand and a lot more rocks. The bio load is the same so I hope there will be minimal problems with die off.
I only have half the flow to the sump as I need to buy a new return pump. Mine is keeping up fine with the flow from one side of the tank but not both.

 

[pegasus]

I just moved everything from my 55 to a 125 on Sunday. I moved all the rocks to the new tank then I took out all the sand (in place for a few months but not a deep bed) and washed it with salt water then put it in the new tank. After that was in place I took half of the water from the 55 an put it in the new tank and moved the sump. The water tested the same then I moved the 4 small fish I have and the inverts. So far all is well. Ammonia and nitrite have stayed at 0. I do need to get a couple more bags of sand and a lot more rocks. The bio load is the same so I hope there will be minimal problems with die off.
I only have half the flow to the sump as I need to buy a new return pump. Mine is keeping up fine with the flow from one side of the tank but not both.

Actually, there shouldn't be any die off since the sand is fairly new and you rinsed it in saltwater. You may have lost a little of the bacteria, but most of it is attached to the sand grains, so it shouldn't take any time at all for it to repopulate.

Adding sand to a tank after it is up and running can be a PITA. When you add more, I recommend you rinse it to eliminate a cloud storm. If it's live sand, rinse in salt water so you don't kill the bacteria in it. Add it in small patches in different areas of the tank... or mix it into the old sand with your fingers. Putting a layer of new sand on top of matured sand will smother and kill the bacteria in the old sand. You don't want to do that...

 

[pegasus]

Since your sand is fairly new, and you rinsed it in saltwater, you shouldn't experience any die off. You may have rinsed a little of the bacteria out of the sand, but most of it is attached to the sand grains. It won't take it long to repopulate.

Adding sand to a tank that's up and running can be a PITA. I recommend rinsing the new sand to eliminate a dust storm in the tank. If it's live sand, rinse in saltwater as well. When adding the new sand, either add it in small patches in different areas of the tank... or mix it in with the existing sand with your fingers. Putting a layer of new sand on top of mature sand can smother and kill the bacteria in it. You don't want to do that...

 

[lmforbis]

The left third of the tank has almost no sand so nothing will be smothered. I plan to put some more rocks there and didn't want sand under them. I heard that it helps to use a wide PVC pipe to pour the sand into the water to avoid some of the cloud.

 

[pegasus]

The left third of the tank has almost no sand so nothing will be smothered. I plan to put some more rocks there and didn't want sand under them. I heard that it helps to use a wide PVC pipe to pour the sand into the water to avoid some of the cloud.

Cool... that will work. The pipe will help, but the cloud is unavoidable without rinsing. Just saying...

 

[lmforbis]

I'll rinse it but there will still be a bit of a cloud I just want to minimize it.