Adding new tanks to an existing system

[ngdo]

Hi,

I'm trying to come up with a gameplan for adding to my existing tank, and building out a bigger system. Right now I have a 120G DT with a 25G sump. The problem that I have, is that the DT is setup for sepia bandesis - and they spend 99% of their time hiding in the liverock. This was my first attempt (and very successful) at keeping the cuttlefish, although I followed some bad advice from the LFS as far as aquascaping goes. Anyone familiar with raising cephalopods is familiar with the time and cost, so I feel a little bit cheated when I don't get a decent level of interaction out of my cuttles!

So - what I'd like to do is to move most (all?) of my LR to a second 75 gallon tank, remove the 25G sump from beneath the DT (my main DT is built into an old piano, there is limited cabinet space beneath monopolized by the sump, which is hard to clean) and have both empty into a 60G custom sump. I may connect a third DT, as I have two of these custom 60G acrylic tanks as well.

I assume if I simply use dry/base sand and rock in the new DT and move the current LR and corals over, that I shouldn't face any problems? I won't add any additional livestock to the system for quite a while. Obviously I'm concerned about starting off any new cycles and killing my precious cuttlefish population.

I haven't been able to find any talk on people adding on to existing systems, so if there is already a good article/thread somewhere and someone could direct me I'd appreciate it. And obviously, I'd love any input from people as well!

-ngdo

 

[Reefing Madness]

If your going to plumb all the tanks together, theres no point in moving any of the LR over, as the water will already have bacteria in it from your current set up. You can however use dry rock and not start any cycles, as this doesn't have any die off, its not live, and the bacteria will colonize that. If your not comfortable doing that, you can add a few pounds to the set up every couple of weeks until you have what you need.

 

[ngdo]

Thanks!

I want to move the LR though so I can have a better aquascape and my cuttlefish are more visible. I want to add additional base rock to the secondary tank, to ensure I have enough for the entire system. So I'll just add dry sand/rock to the second tank, move the current LR over - and eventually start better aquascaping for both.

If your going to plumb all the tanks together, theres no point in moving any of the LR over, as the water will already have bacteria in it from your current set up. You can however use dry rock and not start any cycles, as this doesn't have any die off, its not live, and the bacteria will colonize that. If your not comfortable doing that, you can add a few pounds to the set up every couple of weeks until you have what you need.

 

[angelsbeamer]

Are you running a chiller? If so that's how I added a 75g to mine. I used the return from the chiller pump to feed the 75g and drains into the main DT sump. Works great and nice slow flow for a Fuge or additional filtration system.

 

[prdubois]

If your going to plumb all the tanks together, theres no point in moving any of the LR over, as the water will already have bacteria in it from your current set up. You can however use dry rock and not start any cycles, as this doesn't have any die off, its not live, and the bacteria will colonize that. If your not comfortable doing that, you can add a few pounds to the set up every couple of weeks until you have what you need.

What he said.

 

[Flameback Pair]

Can you post pictures and tell us more about the cuttlefish: husbandry, diet, where you got it etc, etc.

 

[flyingfish]

Cool!

 

[evan.lundberg4]

We're it me, just to be safe, I would cycle the new dry rock in a Rubbermaid tub for a few weeks with a piece of live rock from your DT before adding to the main system. This way you would know that the dry rock wasn't going to cause any trouble for you. Then when it's all set you can move your rock from the DT to the new tank add the newly cycled dry rock. It's more work and time but it would avert any possible problems.