moving live sand/rock/fish to new bigger tank help

[penny ish]

is it possible to transfer the contents of another tank into a bigger tank. I am thinking about getting a bigger tank and i would like to transfer my sand bed, live rock, and all fish to a bigger tank. is this possbile??? do i have to cycle the tank first???? i might add a little bit more sand but i may buy it from my LFS and not use the bagged kind. has anyone done this?? any success????? can my fish die from stress of levels get thowen off? the tank they are in now has been running for about 1 1/2 years. thanks for the help.

 

[thegrog]

I did that not too long ago by moving my 55 into a 125.
Shouldn't have to cycle the tank over if nothing is out of the water for very long. Use dry sand to increase your sand bed as it will come live over time.
Use buckets/tupperware to transfer everything. It's best if you can have the new tank set up at the time of transfer. That way you can move everything one at a time and don't have to worry about moving everything at once. I didn't loose a single tank inhabitant by doing that.
When moving the sand, the water will get REALLY cloudy. Have an extra HOT filter for a day or so to help clear it up.
Have plenty of water mixed up in case you need to do a water change. Monitor your parameters closely for a week or so.

 

[jcrim]

Originally Posted by TheGrog
I did that not too long ago by moving my 55 into a 125.
Shouldn't have to cycle the tank over if nothing is out of the water for very long. Use dry sand to increase your sand bed as it will come live over time.
Use buckets/tupperware to transfer everything. It's best if you can have the new tank set up at the time of transfer. That way you can move everything one at a time and don't have to worry about moving everything at once. I didn't loose a single tank inhabitant by doing that.
When moving the sand, the water will get REALLY cloudy. Have an extra HOT filter for a day or so to help clear it up.
Have plenty of water mixed up in case you need to do a water change. Monitor your parameters closely for a week or so.

I just did this recently and followed a similar procedure. The only difference was that I did not set up the new tank prior. I used a lot of water from my old tank so I had to do break down the old and set up the new in one day.
1) fill new tank with enough water to cover your rock,
2) add rock then sand, (this will help your rock structures to be stable)
3) fill rest of water and start filters,
4) add fish and livestock
If you have bio-balls, keep them submersed in a bucket with an airstone to preserve the bacteria. The fish should be okay in a good size plastic bin with a powerhead for circulation. Good luck.

:happyfish :happyfish

 

[penny ish]

so what to do is add the sand then rocks, add enough water to cover the rocks then add the rest of the water, then let the sand settle and add the rest of the water?
my tank wont recycle since im mixing it with soo much new water will it?? im doing from a 12 to a 24 gal nano cube.

 

[keonia]

Originally Posted by penny ish
so what to do is add the sand then rocks, add enough water to cover the rocks then add the rest of the water, then let the sand settle and add the rest of the water?
my tank wont recycle since im mixing it with soo much new water will it?? im doing from a 12 to a 24 gal nano cube.

Jcrim means to == add rocks, then add sand so the rocks are stable on the aquarium bottom. when you add the sand, got to have patients, if not, the sand will build on rocks. In time, it will be moved off though.
I just did a change too
1. w/new tank ready, yes mix water match same salinity (i mixed 15 gallons for 30 gallons).
2. move LR place in New tank
3. catch fishies and place in container with same tank water
4. move sand bed (YES, very cloudy)
5. move remaining water from old tank to new tank
6. run filter and powerhead (after sand bed placed in new tank!)
7. test water parameters -- establish baseline
8. wait a while -- I waited 4 hours!! ouch)
9. retest water parameters.
10. it was okay so I went ahead and acclimated fish to new tank -
Your tank should not have to recycle, since you are using same LR. just make sure that water is mixed well - old water & new water. I dont know if your nano 24 gallon -- you should have a powerhead right?
I also added bags full of ammonia remover to the new tank - which helped lower my ammonia level.