Moving On Up...

[fishtails]

Upgrading tank. More of a newbie question than anything, but can't "experienced" hobbyist still have questions.

Anyways, I found a great deal on a 45 setup so I'm going to pick it up next week. Currently have a 25, so its' just a 20 gallon difference, but that's enough for me, atleast for now.
Now for my plan. I'm going to place all the LR, LS, and living creatures' in a few buckets with water. I'll add some Southdown in the 45 along with my LS and was thinking this would cause a mini-cycle. IS that a possibility? Next, I'll place as much water as possible from the old tank into the newer tank, to cut down on wasted water and simply because the water is "prestine". Next comes placing the LR in the tank. Lastly I'll add all the livestock, which consist of a pair of clowns and cardinalfish, a few coral and a few inverts. Will any of these creatures be harmed? Will I experience a minature cycle, considering I'm adding around 25 gallons of new water. Any tips/help/pointers on how to make the transition easier and safer.:nervous:
As always, all help is grealty appreciated.

 

[dburr]

Place fish and inverts with a couple peices of rock in one bucket. Put all the LS in the other with the rest of the rock. Move the tank out, put the new one in. Dump in new sand/old sand and some rock. My thought is, know matter what, when you move the sand you will have a cycle. It will be short, maybe 4 days. Then you can add the rest of rock and live stock.
Save all your old water and add most of it to the fish bucket. Add new water and some old to the new tank. Don't fill your new tank all the way with water while cycling, you have the fish bucket water to add also.
Good luck.