How hard will my tank cycle????

[Bigtom802l]

So its been a long time since i set up a saltwater tank. I have a 60 ish gallon corner tank that has been up and running for like 8 years and doing well. But i have decided to upgrade to a new larger tank. My new tank is 120 gallons and I am adding a new refugium sump along with a new sand bed. I decided to upgrade a while back so I have been slowly buying live rock and adding it to my existing tank. I have also cooked the old rock I have so my live rock is in good shape I feel. I am going to move most of the rock say like 80 to 90 percent to the new tank and leave the rest in the old tank so it can remain running while my new one gets going? I should have around 80 to 100 pounds of rock in the new tank and 20 to 30 in the old one. So like i said its been a while since i have cycled a tank and I was wondering on how long it would take to be able to completely switch over to my new tank. What do people think days, weeks, months. I am thinking it is going to be in the days to weeks time frame but just wondering?? I am not going to rush it but still curious on how long it will take.

Thanks
Tom

 

[bairdimusprime]

since your rock is already cured from the existing it will not take as long, maybe 3 weeks or so.. but thats just a guess as i dont know what your current levels are in the original tank. if any of the new rock is leaking amonia or anything else it will take longer

 

[redfishbluefish]

I’m confused by this statement in your OP, “I have also cooked the old rock I have so my live rock is in good shape I feel.”

Where is this rock now? Has this been cured or is it sitting dry? If not cured, it will need to be cured.

Now, if you are adding ALL rock that has been cured and the only thing new is the sand, you should only have a mini cycle.


However, you can potentially speed up the cycle by adding a nitrifying product like Bio Spira or Dr. Tim’s. Otherwise I’ve got to believe you’re looking at a typical cycle.

 

[Mike&Terry]

As long as your rock is fully cured and you are using new sand, you should be good to go. We've done this with all of our tank upgrades as well as with our 300g tank replacement in 2011.

 

[bct15]

When I moved up tanks twice, I didn't see much I a cycle but still kept everything out for six weeks except a clean up crew that I dropped food in for every saturday. I kept my fish and stuff in plastic bins and 20 gallon tanks. There was a small cycle that was about three - four weeks. When moving up I swapped the rock and half the water straight over from old tank to new tank.


Sent Via the R2R Forum APP

 

[Bigtom802l]

I cooked the old rock and then put it back in the main display tank so I have no dry rock. I would consider all my rock to be cured at this point. The levels in my established tank are all were they should be so I am hoping for a cycle that is on the short side.


Sent Via the R2R Forum APP