Help! Need advise! Switching tanks... again...

[rvamarcel]

I currently have a 40g breeder turned All-In-One (picture attached) and I'm considering moving to a IM Fusion 30L. It's almost a decision made, BUT...

My current setup has live rock and sand that I moved from an established tank. This tank has been running for about four months and it is starting to get coralline.

Here are my questions:

- the sand in my current setup has a lot of spaghetti worms and other sand critters. I have periodically moved the sand bed a bit to prevent big pockets of gas. Can I move it from one tank to the other? Should I only move a bit of the top layer?

- what's the best, safest way to switch tanks? The tank I'm getting is up and running, so I don't know if I should reuse that water and sand or switch it with mine. Keep in mind I can't have both tanks running at the same time, so I need to move the corals to the new tank that same day.

- pros and cons of no bare bottom setups? Deep sand bed vs one inch or less?

- Chaeto in the rear chamber of a IM fusion, is it possible? Is it worth it? I was planning to get a mandarin goby for my 40G (I have a good population of pods in the chaeto in the back chamber of the 40). That would not work on a 30g, right?

- I currently have 2 jebao TW-25 powerheads. Too much? Recommendations? A vortech is out of questions at the moment (no budget).

 

[melypr1985]

I find it best to not reuse somebody else's sand. I always advise dumping old sand and starting again with fresh new sand. I don't think a mandarin would do well in a 40 breeder or anything else smaller than that for the long term. It would wipe out any pod population pretty quickly unless you are adding pods constantly or have another source of constant food for them.