How do I upgrade my reef tank?

[jameslafo]

Can someone please tell me the safest way to upgrade my 20 gallon reef tank to a 75 gallon reef tank. I have a pair of clownfish, hammer coral and zoanthids. Will I have to wait months for the tank to cycle if I put all my media in it... I have approximately 40 pounds of live rock as well as a hang on the back filter filled with ceramic media

 

[lucasb.]

Can someone please tell me the safest way to upgrade my 20 gallon reef tank to a 75 gallon reef tank. I have a pair of clownfish, hammer coral and zoanthids. Will I have to wait months for the tank to cycle if I put all my media in it... I have approximately 40 pounds of live rock as well as a hang on the back filter filled with ceramic media

in my opinion if you put all ur media and rocks in and the parameters are fine you can move everything.

 

[jameslafo]

in my opinion if you put all ur media and rocks in and the parameters are fine you can move everything.

Even if the tank is 4 times the size... I have to fill up 55 gallons of new water... I feel like that would throw something off

 

[hds4216]

I would fill the new tank with completely fresh saltwater - don't try to drain your old tank into the new one and transfer as soon as the new one sees water for the first time. I would buy some bottled bacteria (like Dr. Tim's) and use that after introducing a source of ammonia (fish food, or pure ammonia) and test to make sure it's converted to nitrates.

 

[Tastee]

When I setup my 2nd tank (130g) I filled it with dry rock and water 1 Mar 20, used some bottled bacteria (Seachem) and seeded it with some LR from my other tank. I monitored the cycle and the look of it and by April I was happy to add fish - pair of Occ Clowns went in on 6 Apr. Went in well, going strong today. A few more fish followed in the next 2 months. I added my first corals at about the 3 months mark as I wasn’t in a hurry - couple of Hammers and Torches. All going well now. I didn’t add anything I felt was more sensitive until quite a bit later.

In your case those fish and corals are all fairly robust. If it were me I would be comfortable moving them over any time after about 4 weeks if I was happy with how the new tank progressed. I would move the clowns first and then a week or so later the corals and the rest of your live rock.

Regularly test your water and watch the new tank to make sure you are happy it is in a good place before you move anything. Ideally you want to have very similar salinity, Alk, Ca and Mg in both tanks. Ultimately you know your tanks way, way better than we do on the other side of a keyboard however so trust your own judgement.

 

[brandon429]

Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread

If you are reading this thread to cure a tank invasion from a link I sent you, we do not need to identify your type of invasion here we do not need you to test anything at anytime regarding nitrate, phosphate etc Above all, we do not need to see a microscope slide picture of your invasion at...

www.reef2reef.com

there is fifty pages of successful moves and they all share one single thing in common, not mentioned here so far ~

the sand


should you move over a cup’s worth into the new tank? All of it? Absolutely none of it? That choice is what determines if your stuff lives or dies. I guarantee in that thread we can move your tank once a week into a new system and it will never recycle, its all about that stinky stinky sand. On page one, a loss of all fish by moving over old sand. you can play the risk game or select for no risk.

 

[LaxFrags]

I took a 50g tank and made it into a 75, no bad affects everything’s healthy.

 

[Super Fly]

Can someone please tell me the safest way to upgrade my 20 gallon reef tank to a 75 gallon reef tank. I have a pair of clownfish, hammer coral and zoanthids. Will I have to wait months for the tank to cycle if I put all my media in it... I have approximately 40 pounds of live rock as well as a hang on the back filter filled with ceramic media

if u reuse the LR, HOB filter and ceramic media then it should be fine as all the beneficial bacteria reside in these items. When I moved house and upgraded tank from 60 cube to 93 cube, I reused the LRs and equipment and all livestock survived even though sump, sand and pipes were new. The worst case, tank may go thru a mini cycle. Also just ensure water parameters match between the two prior to moving livestock.