stocking a 70 g oceanic tank?

[drea]

just picked one up today... i'm going from a 30 to a 70 gallon... whats the best way to set it up?
i'm thinking of preparing 30-40 gallons and adding in the almost 30 from the tank i have now...
will the water remained cycled? I have a coral B, peacock puffer, percula, and a blue chromis..
i do have some live rock, i'm purchasing live sand today.....
thanx

 

[harlequinnut]

You may have a small, short cycle of your new tank. Where is the new tank going? If it's not the same place, then you can set up the new tank with the LS and newly mix water and let it sit for a few days to let the cloudiness settle and then add the old water and the fishes. I'm not 100 percent sure what is a Coral B, but your other fishes should be hardy and strong enough to make the transition.

 

[drea]

sorry, coral beauty... yeah, i'm gonna work on it the entire day, i hope it all works out, so i guess i'll add the fish tomorrow or a few days and just let it run w/ an air line? i'm just a little nervous...

 

[jcrim]

What are you filtering the tank with? If you have a wet/dry or refugium, I would try to get some cycled substrate (preferably crushed coral) and place it in a mesh bag in the filter. I have done this many times and it helps to reduce the potential cycle. Check with your LFS or friends to try to get some from an established tank.

 

[drea]

lol, i only have a peguin 330 or whatever, daul bio wheel for now, its been great untill i upgrade, i also have a prizm skimmer

 

[drea]

ok, its all done, how long do you think it will be safe to know that i have gone through any small cycle?
i added extra bacteria, used the same filter cartridge and all, added live rock and sand and used about 30 gallons of new water and 25 of old water.
also, when should i turn on the protein skimmer?
thanx

 

[sinner's girl]

It's safe to add when your am and nitrites are 0, and nitrate are under 20 and your other levels are ideal. Also, you may need to acclimation the fish to the new tank if all your levels aren't 100% the same. I'd wait at least a day or two for any am to show up, if done does, you may be good to go.
When we moved the 55gl to the 75gl, I added all the water, cc, and lr from the 55gl, then just added fresh saltwater over the next couple of weeks. the water level was low, but I didn't have any fish, so it didn't matter, I just made sure all the lr was covered and the water level was high enough for the filter.

 

[drea]

whats the deal w/ my nitrates? they seem to be stuck around 50, i just changed a filter cartridge yesterday..am i just suppose to wait it through or?