jbarnhart5
New Member
I currently have a 20 gallon long tank that I bought from someone after it was already set up. I have had it for seven months, and in that time, I have made plenty of mistakes. I have lost a firefish, a coral beauty, a sea urchin, a fire shrimp, three different corals, and a few turbo snails, mostly due to leaving the tank in the care of a neighbor who let the water evaporate to less than half the proper level. I rehabilitated and the tank has survived with live sand, live rock, 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. For filtration, I have 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. 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 also tried scrubbing the live rock, but the turf is tenacious. It does not come off easily or completely. I think that the tank is overcrowded at the moment. I also get a slimy green growth on the outflow spout on both the filter and the skimmer. I have one power head in the center of the tank flowing from back to front.
I am currently looking to get a bigger tank. I am trying to figure out the actual transfer process, so I have a few questions. Please keep in mind that I really have only been doing this for a few months, so I don't really know what I have to do to make the transfer successful. 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. I am thinking I can use the 20 gallon or a 10 gallon tank that I have as part of a sump/refugium system that will make the new tank easier to maintain. I would need to get a better filter and skimmer, and probably new lights. My main questions are:
What else do I need that I am not thinkng of?
Do I need to seed the new sand with the current 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.
I am currently looking to get a bigger tank. I am trying to figure out the actual transfer process, so I have a few questions. Please keep in mind that I really have only been doing this for a few months, so I don't really know what I have to do to make the transfer successful. 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. I am thinking I can use the 20 gallon or a 10 gallon tank that I have as part of a sump/refugium system that will make the new tank easier to maintain. I would need to get a better filter and skimmer, and probably new lights. My main questions are:
What else do I need that I am not thinkng of?
Do I need to seed the new sand with the current 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.
