Need help to switch from 37 to 75

[inawe]

I am officially in the planning stage to make the switch from my 37 to a 75. I am so excited!!! :cheer: I have a friend building the stand and canopy, and I've decided to spend a little extra and go with a 75 reef ready tank. I plan to have a 20g refugium underneath. I will be doing this hopefully in about a month, but in the meantime, I want to make sure things go as smoothly as possible. The only thing I am going to add to my existing tank right now is more rock in prep for the bigger tank and that is because my lfs has some very cool pieces right now I'd like.
The tank has to go where my other one is now, so here is what I am thinking...Using water from my existing tank, I will transfer my little fish to my 10g QT tank. Fish wise I only have a pj cardinal, sixline wrasse, and LMB.
Question - I have about 40lbs LR now. How much more can I safely add to this tank?
Question - Can I house my clean up crew in the same tank? (2 cleaner shrimp, 2 strawberry crabs, several snails and hermits, and my evasive gorilla, which I plan to place his rock eventually in the fuge along with him!)
Question - If I use my existing sand and some of my existing lr in the fuge, in addition to some of my original water, will my cycle time be shorter?
Question - Will it help to put my filters from my canister somewhere in the fuge or no?
Question - How long before I can move my fish back to the new tank, and will I have to re-acclimate them???
Thanks!

 

[fish3]

i would be misleading if i said anything but plan plan plan and plan somemore for the move

 

[monalisa]

Originally Posted by inawe
I am officially in the planning stage to make the switch from my 37 to a 75. I am so excited!!! :cheer: I have a friend building the stand and canopy, and I've decided to spend a little extra and go with a 75 reef ready tank. I plan to have a 20g refugium underneath. I will be doing this hopefully in about a month, but in the meantime, I want to make sure things go as smoothly as possible. The only thing I am going to add to my existing tank right now is more rock in prep for the bigger tank and that is because my lfs has some very cool pieces right now I'd like.
The tank has to go where my other one is now, so here is what I am thinking...Using water from my existing tank, I will transfer my little fish to my 10g QT tank. Fish wise I only have a pj cardinal, sixline wrasse, and LMB.
Question - I have about 40lbs LR now. How much more can I safely add to this tank?
Question - Can I house my clean up crew in the same tank? (2 cleaner shrimp, 2 strawberry crabs, several snails and hermits, and my evasive gorilla, which I plan to place his rock eventually in the fuge along with him!)
Question - If I use my existing sand and some of my existing lr in the fuge, in addition to some of my original water, will my cycle time be shorter?
Question - Will it help to put my filters from my canister somewhere in the fuge or no?
Question - How long before I can move my fish back to the new tank, and will I have to re-acclimate them???
Thanks!
I did the exact thing about a month ago or so, having to move my new tank into the same place my new one needed to go. I created a diary here https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/show...=248731&page=1
There is definitely a lot of planning that goes into it. If you can, save some clean change out water, keep it heated and aerated in a bin or something. That way the chances of starting a cycle in your new tank will be minimized.
When are you making the switch? If you run into problems or have any questions, please post here. Lots of peeps to help you out. And by all means, post pics of the process...great way for others to learn.
Lisa :happyfish

 

[andy51632]

?1. You can keep as much lr as you want but you can't add it unless it is cured. I would bring the pieces you want home put them in some saltwater w/ a ph and heater. Test a day later and see if you are getting readings for nitrite or ammonia. If yes continue in tote until you they drop to 0. If no you can safely add them
?2 I am guessing u are wondering if u can put them in the 10gal w/ your fish while you switch. It will be pretty crowded in there for any length of time. I would recommend putting livestock temporarly in the 10gal w/ water from the 37gal. When u tear down your 37 save the water and then find a place temporarly for your 37 fill it back up and put your livestock back in there. That way you can slowly tranfer over to your 75gal.
?3 If you remove your sand and notice a bad odor ditch it and get new. If you do your switch right u should be able to keep all existing beneficial bacteria alive. That way you really won't have to worry about cycle time.
?4 Yes, keep your filters in the tank with your livestock. They have the good bacteria on them. You will want to treat the filter media like it is alive because it is.
?5 When nitrite and ammonia levels are 0. Do not stick anything but lr in there until they are 0. Then switch over slowly one fish at a time if possible.

 

[inawe]

MonaLisa, thanks for the link

. I probably won't be switching tanks until mid April or so. As I said, a friend is building the stand and canopy, and with working also, I figure it'll take him a good 3 weeks. Then for me to find the time to sand and stain, etc. But that gives me time to start saving change water. I assume from these posts I will have to re-acclimate the fish and inverts :happyfish:? And where did you find that cute vase? Too cool!

Andy, why would my sand have a bad odor? What does that mean? And if it does, is this going to be a problem in the next tank, or how can I avoid it? :thinking:
Another question...I've seen several posts about using egg create under the lr to help keep it off the bottom of the tank and provide better flow. When I think of egg create I think of 2 things...the foam pad for a bed and the thing my eggs come in. Assuming it is neither, exactly what is this and where do I get it? :notsure:
Thanks for the help.

 

[monalisa]

Originally Posted by inawe
MonaLisa, thanks for the link

. I probably won't be switching tanks until mid April or so. As I said, a friend is building the stand and canopy, and with working also, I figure it'll take him a good 3 weeks. Then for me to find the time to sand and stain, etc. But that gives me time to start saving change water. I assume from these posts I will have to re-acclimate the fish and inverts :happyfish:? And where did you find that cute vase? Too cool!

Andy, why would my sand have a bad odor? What does that mean? And if it does, is this going to be a problem in the next tank, or how can I avoid it? :thinking:
Another question...I've seen several posts about using egg create under the lr to help keep it off the bottom of the tank and provide better flow. When I think of egg create I think of 2 things...the foam pad for a bed and the thing my eggs come in. Assuming it is neither, exactly what is this and where do I get it? :notsure:
Thanks for the help.

Great, if you're not switching until about April, that gives you a lot of time for planning. You will need to re-acclimate the fish and inverts to the water in the new tank. I did this simply by taking water out of the bin they were kept in, and adding water from the new tank a 1/2 gal pitcher at a time. I did that every 15 minutes or so for about 3 hours...I also checked the SG and other params to make sure they matched (or were at least close). If you are upgrading your lighting as well, you will also need to acclimate to that. I went out to Home Depot and bought some window screening and laid that across, 3 sheets of it. Every 3 days, I removed a sheet of screening. Kind of a pain, but well worth it in the long run.
I actually found the vase at my LFS...as soon as I saw it, I knew it had to fit in somewhere in my new reef. I think it worked out great.
As far as your sand stinking...YEAH, it's going to stink. Try as I could, I couldn't come up with any way to reuse the sand I had in the 37gal. I wasn't going to put in the 46 for fear of starting a new cycle, and it stunk so bad that I wasn't going to leave it in the 37gal either...out it went. I started both tanks with brand new sand. I'm glad I did too. Pee-Ewe!!
I was also really confused about the egg crate thing. When I did my tank switch, I headed out to Home Depot (again) to find some. The guys there were clueless as to what I was asking about. You'll find it in the lighting section. It's much more rigid than I thought it would be. It's a plastic sheet of .75" squares, 3/8" thick. It's used for a grating for flourscent lighting in drop down ceilings. I'll post pics of the stuff I have left (I want to use it for frags eventually). If you look at the labeling of this, it actually is called eggcrate.
Hope this helps.
Lisa :happyfish