Moving to a larger tank looking for tips

bobbyrobot · Jul 31, 2013

Ok. I currently have a biocube 29. It has been up for a year this month. I have recently picked up a standard 125 (6ft) I am wanting to merge the 29 into that. I have about 30lbs of live rock in the 29, about 70ish pounds of dry rock and was going to pick up another 10ish pounds of live rock. Im starting with all dry sand but was thinking about one 20lb bag of live sand. Skimmer is an ASM G3. I have two phosban reactors one I run GFO in the other carbon.

I need the 30lbs of live rock from my current tank for the setup and dont have room to leave both up until a cycle finishes. The new tank is going in the same place as the current one. My main concern is the tank going through a cycle and me loosing my sps, RBTAs or really any livestock. For fish I have a Mystery Wrasse, Golden Dwarf Moray Eel, (very small) Red Elongated Pseudochromis, and a pink skunk clown
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Any tips would be appreciated!

Thanks

Genesis Corals · Jul 31, 2013

Buy a brute trashcan and cure the dry rock and sand in it prior to setting up the tank. This way once the dryrock is cured you can set up the new tank and move everything right on over and there should be no cycle.

bobbyrobot · Jul 31, 2013

I thought about that. Would you put the sand in there also?

Zero Nitrates · Jul 31, 2013

I like the trash can idea.

Genesis Corals · Jul 31, 2013

I would, just make sure you wash the sand prior to putting it in. It will help get rid of a lot of crud that sand normally has.

bobbyrobot · Jul 31, 2013

What do you normally rinse sand in? just a fine mesh I assume by running ro/di thorugh it?

Mrfresh · Jul 31, 2013

The way I washed out my sand was put some in a 5 gallon bucket and pump the hose into it.
All the crud will float up and once it fills the bucket poor it to the side and keep flooding the hose thought the sand to stir the sand as the water pours out.

Genesis Corals · Jul 31, 2013

Mrfresh said:
The way I washed out my sand was put some in a 5 gallon bucket and pump the hose into it.
All the crud will float up and once it fills the bucket poor it to the side and keep flooding the hose thought the sand to stir the sand as the water pours out.

+1, I used the same technique except I would fill 1/3 with sand and 1/3 with water a use my hands to stir the sand really good, dump out the water and repeat. Both ways get the job done. I would only rinse the same sand 4 or 5 times this way as I could never get everything out, but this helped a lot to keep the dust out of the tank.