Considering getting a larger tank

[jbarnhart5]

I am thinking about getting a larger tank and transferring everything from my 20 gallon. There are currently 5 fish, various snails and crabs, and a condy anemone. Since this is my first tank and I am still new to the hobby, I was looking for tips on how to go about making the transition, or if moving everything to a bigger tank is a mistake. Everything is currently stable, and the condy is back to its normal tan color. I would want to go bigger to avoid some of the buildup of algae and slime but also to give the fish more room to live. I am only able to feed every other day or every two days because any more frequent feedings cause the ammonia to get out of balance. I hate having them all swimming in their own waste, and it seems very crowded in there for five fish to live. Also, if I wanted to put a shrimp or urchin or anything else into my reef, I think it would be too much for the current tank size. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[NC2WA]

wow..5 fish in a 20 gallon is a lot..what are they?

IMO part of your ammonia issue is too many fish in this size tank.

what size tank are you moving into?

depending on size of fish and bigger tank you are going to, this should help the ammonia issue.

 

[jbarnhart5]

Ocellaris, coral beauty, bicolor blenny, fire fish, and six line wrasse. The ammonia levels has been stable since i started feeding less frequently. I worry that the anemone needs to be fed more often though. I was thinking 40 gallon or larger, but like I said, I dont really know what I should be doing.

 

[Tom22re]

Bigger is better if you do not want to buy new equipment make sure you're equipment is able to handle I like it bigger you have more you can catch problems before they become major ones because of the volume of water good luck.

 

[NC2WA]

the min. size tank for a coral beauty is 70 gallons according to live aquaria.com

I would consider a bigger tank than a 40B if you still want to keep the coral beauty..they like a lot of live rock so they swim within it and can graze on it..
if you were to rehome the coral beauty then I would think a 40B would be ok for the remaining fish you have

 

[jbarnhart5]

the min. size tank for a coral beauty is 70 gallons according to live aquaria.com

I would consider a bigger tank than a 40B if you still want to keep the coral beauty..they like a lot of live rock so they swim within it and can graze on it..
if you were to rehome the coral beauty then I would think a 40B would be ok for the remaining fish you have

I am currently shopping stands, tanks and equipment, and I think I will end up going bigger if I can afford it. If I can get the 75 or 90 gallon setup, how do I do the actual transfer? Do I need to transfer live sand and live rock to the new tank and let it cycle all over again? Or can I just add my existing live sand/rock to the new tank and fill the rest in with dry sand/rock? And how long before I can put the animals into a new tank with this kind of transition taking place?

 

[Tradewinds]

I wouldn't foresee any problems with going with a bigger tank if it is cycled properly before moving the live stock from the original tank. (I am assuming that you are planning on placing additional live rock in the bigger tank.)

I would go with new sand.

 

[Mufasa31]

Since you are seeing ammonia spikes with your current setup when you feed everyday, you will probably see a mini cycle when you upgrade.

You can help offset this by getting additional live rock when you upgrade.

I upgraded from a 30 to a 90 using this method with no problems.

Would need more information on your setup to offer any more recommendations.

 

[jbarnhart5]

I currently have a 20 gallon long tank with live sand, live rock, an API hang on back filter with carbon and little plastic rods for filtration, Aqua C Nano Remora protein skimmer, and Current USA Pro T5HO 10k/460nm actinics set for 8 hours a day. I have 1 Coral Beauty, 1 Ocellaris Clown, 1 Six Line Wrasse, 1 Firefish, and 1 Bicolor Blenny. There are 2 XL Turbo Snails and five or six small hermit crabs. I also now have a Condylactis Anemone. My ammonia levels have been stable for about 3 months now. In fact all levels have been stable for a long time, with the only exception being that my ammonia was at 0.5 ppm (I think that is the right ratio) about 3 months ago. That was when I stopped feeding every day. I have always fed them frozen brine shrimp, thawed and applied with a baster. I now feed them every 2-3 days, but I worry that the anemone is not getting enough to eat. I do no water changes. All I do is top off as needed with RO water, and my salinity and other levels remain stable. I occasionally get some short green growth on the live rock in very small patches. It is not really hair algae, but more of a short turf looking growth that comes and goes. I have combated this by changing my carbon every three weeks instead of 4-6, and frequently emptying the skimmer cup.

I have found a 55 gallon tank with a nice stand and canopy, sump/filtration system with bioballs, overflow/topoff system, power heads, test kits, refractometer, a mag float, and an Eheim gravel vacuum, all for $250. I am trying to get down and pick it up this week so I can start getting it ready. I have a spot picked out for it and I just need to figure out the sand and rock situation. I have some extra dry rock stored in the garage that I can reintroduce as base rock for my current live rock. I will probably just buy some premade salt water at the LFS and I can always buy new sand. My main questions are:

What else do I need that I am not thinkng of?
Do I need to seed the new sand?
Do I need to let the new tank cycle before transferring livestock?
If so, how long does it take, or do I just test regularly until it levels out?

I have been told that there is no need to seed or cycle the new tank, and to just transfer everything over the same day after acclimating livestock. I have also been told that there will be a new cycle for the new tank and I will need to let it be for a few months before making the transfer. Obviously, I am confused by the conflicting advice and just want some more input from people to figure out which is going to work best for me. I am completely open to rehoming fish that are going to be too crowded in either setup, so that is not an issue. I mainly just want a nice looking tank that is not harmful or stressful to the inhabitants.