upgrading by next week.need help real qwik

[lazypinoy]

my old 55 gallon tank is going down and will be replaced with a 120. the area where my 55 gallon stands is wheres my 120 will be. so im lost to where to put my fish for a week...i was thinking of buying a 55 gallon storage bucket at walmart and just dump everything in there as the 120 gets filled up and seeded with bacteria. my lfs says that i dont have to wait for new tank to cycle as long since im using the things out of my canister filter and his supple of cycling bacteria. so at max about 5 days? would the bucket idea be safe for a while? and how about the new tank cycling? (i dont have too much time to wait and cycle naturally)

 

[puffer32]

If you save your water and use it in the new tank, you won't need to cycle again. Just take everything out of the 55, maybe use 2 30 gal new trash cans. Move old tank out of the way, put up new tank and put everything back into the new one.

 

[dejaco]

Hey - I concur with above post. Premix additional water you will need. Then remove old 55g occupants, rock, sand, etc. to buckets. Plave new tank and stand. Set up everything and run a wet test to check for leakage. If everything is ok then drain and reload! It works and I have done it. It is just a very long day!

 

[reefrank]

I did this about 6 months ago.
I have done it a few times and it works great, here ya go.
Perform a few water changes in your 55, and save the water in 18 gallon totes or trash cans (I like the totes due to the shape and size). Premix water and have all the water you need ready for the new tank. If your new tank has approximately 3/4 of its capacity filled with the established water from the 55 the cycle will be minimal, although you will still have a small cycle assuming you are adding live rock.
Once you have enough water, dry plumb your new tank and fill with tap water just to check for leaks and flow, drain the tank and get ready for the move. Now empty the contents of the 55, place the rock, corals, fish and water in your totes and place a pump in each tote, to keep the flow going.
dissassemble the 55 get it out of the way, move the big tank in its place.
I would not recommend using all of the old sand, if you stir it up you will have issues, just use about four cups worth to seed new sand. Put new sand in, start filling with water and inhabitants and enjoy.
I had a very slight cycle, but this was due to the addition of live rock. I lost one coral, other than that everything is doing very well.
Good luck

 

[bonebrake]

Make sure the fish are placed in the trash can with the live rock and put the sand in a separate trash can. You may stir up some detritus when you disturb the sandbed and that could pollute the water and harm you fish. Test the water of the trash can with the sand before you add it to your new tank.
:joy:

 

[lazypinoy]

thanks. u guys been a real help

 

[lazypinoy]

alright just one more. um everyone said to save the water from my old tank and put it in the 120. but what if the water from the old tank has nitrates over 80 and beyond??? is it still safe to put in of should i just use new water and dilute it?

 

[bonebrake]

Don't save all of your old water if the quality is poor; save enough to transport the fish and corals in and then acclimate them to the new cleaner water very slowly.
:joy:

 

[lazypinoy]

ahh another quick question. so im getting t-6 vhos at 140 watt each. the lfs gave 2 for my reef. they give the option of adding one more. so is 2 lights enough at 280 watts or should i add another one to make a total of 420watts. if i add another one what color should it be. 10,000k or atininc blue??

 

[yeffre kix]

Originally Posted by LazyPinoy
ahh another quick question. so im getting t-6 vhos at 140 watt each. the lfs gave 2 for my reef. they give the option of adding one more. so is 2 lights enough at 280 watts or should i add another one to make a total of 420watts. if i add another one what color should it be. 10,000k or atininc blue??
More lights are always better. 10k will give better growth. Actinics make the colors pop. So it's a matter of preference.

 

[blazehok68]

I Would Tell Them To Scrap The T-6s And Upgrade To 2 250 Watt Mh.
I Actually Just Did The Same Thing As You Last Sunday. Went From 55 To A 120. What A Pain, But I Did Get It Done In One Day. All I Did Was Get About 40 Gals Of Water Ready And Just Moved Everything Over And Added The New Water To The Old. Didnt Lose Any Coral Yet, But My Xenia Is Getting Bad. When You Empty The 55, Just Try Not To Mix Up The Sand Bed And You Should Be Fine.

 

[polarbear1]

I agree with everybody on this save as much water as possible. In august I bought my friends 120 reef we moved it in about 7hrs. We kept 60 or so gallons. As far as lights upgrading to the mh is a good idea I have 2x 150mh and 2x96 watt pc atinics.

 

[lazypinoy]

so more is better huh..damn tough decison between atinics or 10,000k... i cant add mh's because i ordered a canopy that is only 6 inches from the surface. the lfs said i needed a higher canopy for mhs but here in socal we get a crazy dry summer and my electric bill avreages in the 300's so mh's wouldnt help at all. plus im only having soft corals. if i cant decide im just going to try to squeeze 4 140watt vhos in.
as in water yeah i get it thanks to u guys. i saved about 40-50 gallons of water and saved the biofiltraion from my canister and will place them in mesh bags in the sump. ive also purchased 80pounds of livesand and 30lbs of dry sand. about 80 pounds of lr.