Preparing to make the move . . . should I do it?

[justinx]

Well, I am going to move my tank regardless, but I am debating switching from my good ole' 20 to a 32 cube. According to the LFS, I should start with all new substrate, seed it with a good helping of what I have now, and start with all new saltwater. Does this sound like a good idea to you? A 100% water change as he put it.
Also, just out of curiosity, should I go with the 32 cube? I would have to build a new canopy, but that might be kinda fun . . I need something to occupy my time now that I cant be consiedered a lazy college kid anymore

 

[chinnyr]

I moved my 60gal about three months ago and kept about 75% of the water.I also did two 5gal water changes about a week apart,after everything was back in place.

 

[wrassecal]

When I went from a 55 to a 135 I used all the 55 water along with the new. If you have a dsb use the top inch or so at least for live sand. You can use it all if you don't get the "bad smell". I can't think of why someone would recommend a "100% water change" unless you have water chemistry problems with it.

 

[krunk]

justin where are you moving too? and what are the dimensions of the cube.
we really should get the reef club going...

 

[wrassecal]

Possibly scratch my answer...I didn't realize you are actually moving to another place. I didn't have enough info for the answer I gave.

 

[maroonclownfan]

Just moved my 29 gal. to a new apartment over the weekend, I used all the same water and it went seamlessly.
The trouble I see with using all new water is that if the ph or salinity is off from the current setup, you could shock you fish and/or inverts, which could lead to sickness or death.
The way I did it, there was no need to reacclimate the fish because they never left the original tank water. Then do water changes over the next few weeks if you want to refresh things.
I purchased some 7 gal. blue plastic water jugs from Meijer when I moved the thank 1 yr ago and both times now I have had great success with no casualties.
Good luck.......MCF
IMO, if you are going to upgrade your tank, I would set the old tank up temporarily somewhere just to give your inhabitants the best chance to recover from the move. Then work on the new tank. But that is just a thought.

 

[cb]

Last week I upgraded to a larger tank and used all the old water and then filled the rest up with fresh. So it was like doing a big water change and everything in the tank is doing fine.

 

[justinx]

I think that I have decided on keeping as much of the water as I can, but about the DSB . . . . Should I use only the top layer to seed some brand new sand? And will doing this cause a cycle?

 

[cb]

I put in a 3in layer of yardright and then put 1/2 of old sand on top to seed it and I am going through a mini cycle now but it's not too bad the readings are very low.