upgrading tank

[bronco300]

well i think i may be upgrading from a 10 to 20 or so long....not to much of a change, but a change non the less....and so i am wondering how i should go about making this change...and the big problem i see is that the tank i want now is going to have to go where the 10 gallon is now.....so should i put water in a bucket just high enough for the rocks/corals...have a small container to hold the fish and one for the inverts....then take the sand in a bucket....then put the water that was leftover in another bucket....take down the 10gal, put up the 20 or whatever it ends up being....put in the sand, then the leftover water....then put in the rocks/corals and add that water......add inverts...then later add the fish? or is there a better way, how long should i wait till i put in the fish and inverts?(two damselfish and snails...and maybe an urchin if he is still with us)...any suggestions? i plan on cleaning my sand of the stupid crushed coral i left in there, i hate it all laying on top now.... i left just a little cc in for effect i think...

thanks all for any help
Luke P

 

[hot883]

Sounds about right IMO Luke. Good luck. I will be tearing down my 55 this weekend hopefully and changing out substrate and also adding a large sump/refugium w/ skimmer under neath the tank in the stand. I will add 40 more lbs. of rock, 60lbs. of LS too. Barry

 

[bronco300]

woah, good luck to you to, sounds like a lot for ya..you'll be happier with ls hopefully, i sure am since i changed it out..lol...i'm gonna be adding a refuge this next week....maybe it'll be a good time to get rid of my black and gold damsel....

 

[mikeyjer]

Originally Posted by Bronco300
well i think i may be upgrading from a 10 to 20 or so long....not to much of a change, but a change non the less....and so i am wondering how i should go about making this change...and the big problem i see is that the tank i want now is going to have to go where the 10 gallon is now.....so should i put water in a bucket just high enough for the rocks/corals...have a small container to hold the fish and one for the inverts....then take the sand in a bucket....then put the water that was leftover in another bucket....take down the 10gal, put up the 20 or whatever it ends up being....put in the sand, then the leftover water....then put in the rocks/corals and add that water......add inverts...then later add the fish? or is there a better way, how long should i wait till i put in the fish and inverts?(two damselfish and snails...and maybe an urchin if he is still with us)...any suggestions? i plan on cleaning my sand of the stupid crushed coral i left in there, i hate it all laying on top now.... i left just a little cc in for effect i think...

thanks all for any help
Luke P
When you do a change like that, you'll have a cycle again. Once you clean out the cc from your sand, put it all in the new tank. Yes to keep ALL the water since you'll be adding in more water with the new tank. Just make sure all your live rocks are submerged in the water so no die offs occur during this process. I would check your water parameter closely in the new tank as you will incur a mini cycle. I would wait until things settle down before adding in your inverts and fish. Good Luck! :happyfish

 

[bronco300]

i just got my 20 gallon long, i think i'm really gonna enjoy this one even more..lol...what if i add about 10+ gallons to the 20 gallon long plus some live sand and rock so it can start its mini cycle...then when im gonna switch, take out the water in buckets, etc...then do the whole process?

 

[mikeyjer]

Originally Posted by Bronco300
i just got my 20 gallon long, i think i'm really gonna enjoy this one even more..lol...what if i add about 10+ gallons to the 20 gallon long plus some live sand and rock so it can start its mini cycle...then when im gonna switch, take out the water in buckets, etc...then do the whole process?
IMO I would let the new tank run first with your LR and LS, then once things start to settle then add in your inhabitants. It start's it's mini cycle when you move everything into the new tank, same sand + same rocks + same water. Just watch your water perimeter closely during this switch and do water change accordingly. Like around 10-25% every 3 days, depends what your perimeter's at. Just my thought! If anyone else thinks differently, please advice! :happyfish