125 upgrade ?

[cmpowell]

Hi everyone. I'm getting ready to upgrade from my 55 to 125 gal.I have a few questions.First can i simply remove livestock out of the 55 to my rubbermaid tubs until all thats left is sand then put the sand from 55 to the 125 and add the prepared saltwater.Then slowly start adding LR and livestock back in.

 

[mlm]

If you take all the sand out of the 55 you will surely get an ammonia spike. I faced this dilema when I set up my 120. I chose to add all new sand and just take the very .5 inch of sand from the top of my old tank. I am glad that I did it this way after I saw how much crap the old sand has been holding in it.

 

[cmpowell]

Thanks mlm. Currently there is 6" of sand and the DSB is only 6 months old.Could this make a difference allowing me to keep more of the old.Also if i did have to go with new sand how many lbs did it take for your 120 keeping in mind that i would like at least 6" maybe more.

 

[mlm]

I needed about 200 to 235 pounds of sand for my tank. The dimensions are 48x24x24. I would not try to keep any of the old under 1/2 inch from the top if yu plan on changing everything at once. To many things could go wrong its not worth risking all the livestock you have now.