novahobbies
Well-Known Member
So, by fair providence, luck, or the old Uncle Sam return check, I've gotten a chance to upgrade from my 55 gallon SW LPS reef to a brand-spankin' new 110 high aquarium that's pre-drilled with the overflow!
I'm absolutely beside myself in wanting to get this set up, and done properly, but I need some help with a burning question:
How do I safely transfer the fish and corals once said tank is ready, and (most importantly) am I gonna kick off a new cycle? I'm thinking probably yes, but here's what I plan to do. I hope someone can read this and tell me if I'm on the right track or way off base, 'cause it's the first time I've tried a transfer like this.
1: After setting up the DIY sump/refugium, leak-testing everything, etc, I'm going to go buy two 30-gallon rubbermaid totes and fill them with the most of the water from the 55 gallon tank. Fish and a couple rocks will go in one tote, along with the emperor 400 HOB filter that was being used for filtration. One powerhead in this tote also. The second tote will be for the rest of the live rock, two powerheads in this tote to keep the water moving.
2: Now that the 55 is essentially empty (just wet sand) I'll move the 55 out of the way and slide the 110 in its place. Thank goodness for nylon sliders and tile floor! The wet sugar sand from the 55 tank is going to go down in the refugium section of the sump, I figure about half of the sand for a good deep LSB. The rest of the established sugar sand will go in the display, and mixed with bags of live sand for the display sand bed.
3: Here's where I feel like I'm running into a problem. I have to fill the new tank with essentially sterile salt water from my LFS. The established water (well, sans water changes, but you know what I mean!!) will be in the totes with the fishies, so I don't want to stress them any more than regular water changes would do.
4: Now the water's in the tank, the LR from the rock-only tote will be added to the display. I'll probably keep a piece or two in the fish tote along with fake corals to allow the fish their hiding places during this process. I'm adding more live rock, of course, but I'm also trying something entirely new: a technique called live-framing I read about in Marine Fish and Reef 2008 annual. So a lot of the rock is going to be bare tufa rock, seeded with LR, to decrease costs. The actual new live rock is going to do its cycle in another tote while I'm putting this together, so by the time rock is ready to add to the 110 display, it will be completely cured. So here's the final set-up, live sand, established sand in the refugium, established live rock, but sterile water.
Is this going to set off a major cycle? If so, how long can I safely keep the fish in the tote? How long do you think I should wait before returning the fish to the new system? I guess after all this reading these are the main questions I have, but I wanted to post my strategy to make sure it's going to be effective. Any help would be much appreciated!
How do I safely transfer the fish and corals once said tank is ready, and (most importantly) am I gonna kick off a new cycle? I'm thinking probably yes, but here's what I plan to do. I hope someone can read this and tell me if I'm on the right track or way off base, 'cause it's the first time I've tried a transfer like this.
1: After setting up the DIY sump/refugium, leak-testing everything, etc, I'm going to go buy two 30-gallon rubbermaid totes and fill them with the most of the water from the 55 gallon tank. Fish and a couple rocks will go in one tote, along with the emperor 400 HOB filter that was being used for filtration. One powerhead in this tote also. The second tote will be for the rest of the live rock, two powerheads in this tote to keep the water moving.
2: Now that the 55 is essentially empty (just wet sand) I'll move the 55 out of the way and slide the 110 in its place. Thank goodness for nylon sliders and tile floor! The wet sugar sand from the 55 tank is going to go down in the refugium section of the sump, I figure about half of the sand for a good deep LSB. The rest of the established sugar sand will go in the display, and mixed with bags of live sand for the display sand bed.
3: Here's where I feel like I'm running into a problem. I have to fill the new tank with essentially sterile salt water from my LFS. The established water (well, sans water changes, but you know what I mean!!) will be in the totes with the fishies, so I don't want to stress them any more than regular water changes would do.
4: Now the water's in the tank, the LR from the rock-only tote will be added to the display. I'll probably keep a piece or two in the fish tote along with fake corals to allow the fish their hiding places during this process. I'm adding more live rock, of course, but I'm also trying something entirely new: a technique called live-framing I read about in Marine Fish and Reef 2008 annual. So a lot of the rock is going to be bare tufa rock, seeded with LR, to decrease costs. The actual new live rock is going to do its cycle in another tote while I'm putting this together, so by the time rock is ready to add to the 110 display, it will be completely cured. So here's the final set-up, live sand, established sand in the refugium, established live rock, but sterile water.
