NEW TANK

[bostonjoey]

hay im going to be upgrading my tank soon
heres what i was wondering
can i skip the cycle?
i have a reef i have had for over 2 years now
allmost time for a bigger tank
if i transfer all in one day can i skip thee cycle?
heres what i was thinking ... draining about half my tank into the new
add new water as well to raise the water level
then transfer all my rocks and sand and corals
drain the rest of current to new
then top off the new with fresh water
now tht i laid it out .... seems like a bad idea
but i still want opions .. maybe past experiences
i got to Fl. beachs alot ... could i take live rock from the ocean to my tank on my way back home?
or is that a bad idea?
stick to buying the stores liverock?
i have allmost a year untill i upgrade
but you never know i could run into a good priced tank befor that
knowing me ill jump on it and get this project started

 

[fretfreak13]

I'm pretty sure it's illegal to take anything from the beaches, but you might want to check that out. Also, there are a lot of nasty little critters, like flatworms and other microscopic things, that could be piced up along the shore. Generally LR is harvested from miles out into the ocean to help avoid things like pollutants that could wash up along the shoreline. I'd say stick with the store bought.
I'd like to say yes, you can skip your cycle, but I'd always have a bunch of saltwater waiting around just incase you stir something the wrong way and do get a spike. If you're upgrading, you'll probably be getting more rock, yes? Shipping the rock from where ever you get it might cause some die off, but if you cure it before you actually make the switch you'll have a much better chance of not getting a spike.
And for the sandbed, you should probably just buy all new sand and seed it with a bit from the top layer of your current. Moving the sand from one tank to the other will stir it up and release all kinds of junk that's been sitting in there.
Also, I think you're better off doing a 100% waterchange. New water never hurt anything, but you will have to acclimate your critters again like they were new, just in case there is any minor change in PH or salinity that might stress them out more than they already are.
I love that you're planning so far ahead. I do the same thing and people call me silly.

 

[bostonjoey]

I recently been reading on flat worms ... until recently they were thout to be bad in a tank but they pose no real threat .... in less they are 18 in or bigger (which would be hard to miss).. they are good scavenger .. some live in my canister filter ....I will check the laws thank you
100% water change huh?
Will their be no benefit to keeping my oldwr water?
At the moment I don't pkan on getting no new live rock yet
I won't have any new fish
any new anything but the tank
probably a new filter
I will eventually add more LR but that's not at the top of my list
But i will be adding more

 

[btldreef]

Quote:
Originally Posted by bostonjoey http:///forum/thread/382523/new-tank#post_3338891
I recently been reading on flat worms ... until recently they were thout to be bad in a tank but they pose no real threat .... in less they are 18 in or bigger (which would be hard to miss).. they are good scavenger .. some live in my canister filter ....I will check the laws thank you
100% water change huh?
Will their be no benefit to keeping my oldwr water?
At the moment I don't pkan on getting no new live rock yet
I won't have any new fish
any new anything but the tank
probably a new filter
I will eventually add more LR but that's not at the top of my list
But i will be adding more
Flatworms are bad, specifically ones that look like this:

I think you were reading about Bristleworms, NOT flatworms.
Anyways, I agree with a lot of what Fishfreak13 had to say.
When you move everything to the new tank, will you be using any of the same filtration (sump, filters, pumps, etc)? If so, then yes, you can probably skip the cycle, IF you do things very carefully and keep an eye on water quality.
My suggestion (because I have done this many times and it's worked):
A few weeks before you move to the new tank, go out and buy foam blocks from your LFS and place them in your tank. Allow them to colonize with good bacteria. When you're ready to move to the new tank, put all these foam blocks in the new tank. And leave them there for a few weeks (they can go in the sump or canister filter) until you are sure your levels are constant again.
Set up rock work in new tank and buy new sand to put in, then seed the new sand with a little sand from your tank. I like to do this over a few days so it doesn't stir up too much and cause ammonia spikes, etc. You can leave the sand in a tupperware container with water for abut 3-4 days without any ill effects. Let the tank "cycle" (pumps running, etc) overnight as the water will get a little cloudy from sand being stirred around. Remember, when you take sand out of the existing tank, do so very carefully, you don't want to stir up anything in that tank and allow an ammonia spike either.
Keep plenty of water on hand in case you need to do any emergency water changes. When I upgraded from my 40 to my 155, I kept 50G of water made at any time and did small 10-15G water changes daily for 2 weeks just to be on the safe side.
I did not have room for the 155 and 40 to be running at the same time, so overnight while the 155 was settling after sand was stirred up a little, my 40G ran off just powerheads because I had transferred the sump over to the 155. Transferring the sump was a huge help, by doing this, instead of cycling a new tank, it was basically like just doing a larger water change since all filtration was already cycled.
Good luck!

 

[bostonjoey]

Your right not flat worms but bristle worms my mistake
The sites I was looking at had pics of what I have in my tank looked nothing like what you posted
I like that foam block idea I will def use that
I will be using the same filtration plus adding another large canister filter
Thanks for the tips
If I do decide to cycle how long should i?
I didn't cycle this tank I got now
I just set it up let it run until the sand settled
Git like a damsel or a goby or something small like that
Waited a few days to make sure it lived
Then added little by little what I got now

 

[btldreef]

If your transferring the same filtration, you should be fine.
I would put the foam blocks in the new canister filter that you will be adding. Many canister filters come with foam in them, if you buy the canister ahead of time, take the foam out of it and place that in your tank, when you're ready to move, just put them back in the canister.
Don't use a fish to test whether the tank is safe or not, that's just cruel. Test your water. Keep water on hand in case of a spike and you should be okay.

 

[bostonjoey]

I have one canister filter now ... I love it ill be using it and getting another
And run both on my current tank then transfer both canister over
I'll be getting the same brand canister but the biggest model they have
Thanks for your help BTLDreef