Upgrading from 29 g to 90 g reef not as smooth as hoped. Aaaaaaaaahhhh

jamsher

jamsher

New Member
On Saturday I decided the day had come to finally do the upgrade from a 29 g reef to the 90 my husband bought me 2 years before. I have spent the last several months getting everything prepared and available for the switch over. I even cycled my Q Tank properly just in case there happened to be a glitch in my plan. The first day went off as planned. Tore down the old tank, put my live rock and coral in tubs complete with heater and airation. Captured my fishies after a bit and transferred them to the Q tank. Feeling quite confident. Set up and checked the new tank placement for stability and level. Oh yeah, I got this! Started filling up my new 90 about 3/4 full and turned on the filter. Nothing to it. Dug out my new sand, opened the bags and started to wash the new sand in a 5 g bucket as recommended, after about 15 minutes and all the water sucking into the sand decided who needs to do this, scrap this. Gently returned the sand to the bags and lowered it into the water as not to stir up too much silt. Huh! Washed my reclaimed sand and placed it on top of the new sand as recommended. It is now Tuesday and my coral are looking up at me and I'm fairly sure I can hear them mocking me, "fool" as this morning after the water finally cleared enough to start to add my base live rock I have extremely cloudy water again. I think I got maybe 6 pieces of base rock down before it turned back into "white out" conditions. Question? Am I doing something wrong? I feel like I am being punished for not washing the new sand by the aquarium gods. Or am I just being impatient? Lets hope when this evening comes I can see enough to finish aquascaping. I have read these forums and see how some people seem to be able to accomplish this in a day. What am I missing? Help!
 
al&burke

al&burke

Active Member
Welcome to the site, maybe a little more rinsing would have avoided this but nothing to worry about. Do you have any PH's in your tank, tall us a bit about your tank filtration, lights , etc etc
 
jamsher

jamsher

New Member
Hey Al, I am running an AquaClear 110 pf hangs over the back, sorry don't have all the acronyms figured out just yet. Not running the my Seio Super flow PH 620 g per hr as yet(I figured that will stir things us even worse), Coral Life CF light fixture, BakPak protein skimmer ( probably will upgrade)what would you suggest for protein skimming? This equipment is all just larger versions of what I used on my 29 that worked very well. I am learning as I go and would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
this is what i do .i have moved tanks at least 15+ times.put the new tank where you want it.have plenty of new saltwater on hand at the right temp.wash the new sand.put the new sand in the tank.take out the rock in the old tank and shake them in a bucket of fresh saltwater to get all the loose stuff off.put the corals in a bucket of water.put the lr in the new tank pushing it to the glass through the sand.add the new saltwater by putting a dinner plate on the sand and pouring the new water on the plate so it dont disturb the sand.. take the fish and put them into the new tankwith the corals and add as much of the old water from the old tank to it.get the system running.i have never lost a fish or coral .a healthy fish wont have a problem .
but now you just have cloudy water ,not a big deal it will clear up and it wont bother the fish as much as it bothers you.
 
jamsher

jamsher

New Member
Thanks deejeff, 15 times, wow, this is only my second time to setup and my first time tearing down an established tank. The first tank started as FO so I haven't dealt with much live rock in the beginning. I wondered if you could build it and than add water. I guess I am going to learn the hard way! At least my fish and coral are safe and healthy for now!
 
jamsher

jamsher

New Member
Just an update. I finally got all my rocks and coral out of their tubs and into the new tank.Checked my parameters and evrything is doing well. Coral look great! Protein skimmer going. Set up my lights but am waiting on the ph for the cloudiness to completely dissipate. Will try to post some pics asap.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Well....I'm going to jump in, just IN CASE THERE IS A DANGER...I noticed you added the sand first, the rock should have gone in first. Some people push the rock down into the sand until it touches the very bottom, I don't think it's wise to do it that way but it takes all kinds off folks to make the world go around. If you built your rock just on top of the sand...you need to redo the rock before the sand shifts causing a rock slide and crushes a critter or breaks the tank.
If you did add the rock properly..ignor my warning and accept my compliments...because the rockwork does look good. Welcome to the site, i also have a 90g, it's awesome, you will be happy with the new tank, it's a great size...two years! I never could have waited that long.
 
jamsher

jamsher

New Member
Thanks ...I took great pains aquascaping, not quite finished yet. I need to shift a few more things around but right now I am enjoying the clear water so I am putting it off. Thanks for the heads up Flower, I don't mind advice at all especially from seasoned hobbyists. I did squish my rocks down in the sand really well which is why my water was so cloudy for days. I don't know how I waited two years either now that it is up and running.
 
jamsher

jamsher

New Member
I moved more things around in the tank tonight so as soon as the "fog clears" I will be happy to oblige snake.
I can see that I need to do something with the tank back, the cords are starting to get on my nerves. I can feel my OCD starting to flare up. LOL
 
xcali1985

xcali1985

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by jamsher http:///t/389905/upgrading-from-29-g-to-90-g-reef-not-as-smooth-as-hoped-aaaaaaaaahhhh#post_3450241
I moved more things around in the tank tonight so as soon as the "fog clears" I will be happy to oblige snake.
I can see that I need to do something with the tank back, the cords are starting to get on my nerves. I can feel my OCD starting to flare up. LOL
LOL! I think just about everyone on here has OCD when it comes to their tanks!
I know I have a 5 foot no running, jumping, etc. zone around my tank. I enforce it strictly and if you don't like it, the door won't hit you when you leave, cause I will close it politely and tell you to Have A Nice Day :)
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by jamsher http:///t/389905/upgrading-from-29-g-to-90-g-reef-not-as-smooth-as-hoped-aaaaaaaaahhhh#post_3450241
I moved more things around in the tank tonight so as soon as the "fog clears" I will be happy to oblige snake.
I can see that I need to do something with the tank back, the cords are starting to get on my nerves. I can feel my OCD starting to flare up. LOL
For my back on the 90g.....I got a panel of that plastic light cover 2 X 48 it looks like frosted glass, it fit on the back of my tank perfectly, I painted it black and then used boxing tape right on the very edge in the back...It looks great and now no more cords to look at. If I get tired of it, I can always change it.
 
jamsher

jamsher

New Member
That's a good idea. I was thinking maybe you could use that static plastc window decal material. A friend uses it to put in windows she doesn't want to use blinds for like a bathroom. In comes in all different styles. There is smoky, one way, stain glass. I think it can be used to do detailing on vehicles. Think I will look into it.
Xcali1985...LOL...I think you may be right! Whenever people come to my home they are drawn to the tank like flies on _______. My tank is in the foyer/den near my front door.
 
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