downgrading...will I cycle?

mopar9012

mopar9012

Active Member
i have a 65 gallon full reef tank right now and I am downgrading to a 20 gal Long. My 65 is full of rock and of course water and sand.
If i use all of the rock from the tank and the sand and water, will I cycle in the 20 gal tank?
also I have a problem. I think i might have a pistol shrimp. If a rock has a coral on it, what will the outcome be if I dip the rock in fresh water for a couple of seconds to try and get the little guy out?
the rocks I suspect either have no corals on them, zoas and he might be on a rock that has a purple idaho monti on it.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
IMO get new dry sand, or rinse the beejeesus out of the old sand. If you, and you will, stir up the old sand there is a distinct possibility of sitting up the detritus contained in the sand and possibly causing an ammonia spike. Can't tell how big of a spike, or if it will be even noticeable, but why take the chance. Then if you can move the rocks without being out of the water for any real length of time you should be golden. Less shock to the system if you can save enough of the old water for the new tank too. Then after a day do a 10-20% water change.
On the pistol, mix up a batch of hyper-saline water. About 1.033 or so. Put the rock you suspect in this batch and it should cause a bunch of critters to come running out for the hills. Then you can pick and choose what you want to keep in the display or not.
JMO
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
No, you will not have a cycle as long as you deal with your sand properly.
whenyou remove the sand keep it wet of course, but when you put it back in the tank dont put the water thats in the container with the sand into the tank.
There is always a possibilty you may get a spike, but this is by far the best way to keep it at bay. Also, if you have mechanical filters be sure and keep the media wet and get that stuff into the new tank. Anything you can do to bring the ammonia eating bacteria into the new system will prevent the cycle.
 
wfd1008

wfd1008

Member
The freshwater dip shouldn't hurt anything. I do it to all corals I get before I put them in my tanks and I've never had a problem.
 
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