Need help with Tank transfer

Nicolas Sabrun · Mar 7, 2017

Hey everyone,

Not sure if I am posting in the right category but I need suggestions on how to transfer 2 mature reef tanks into one.

I have two tank running side by side:

1) 55 G with sump below it with a few SPS frags

Fish

Blue hippo tang
3 green chromis
Flame angel
Coral beauty angel
Percula clown
Matted filefish

2) 20 G with a lot of sps running on a separate canister filter.

Fish:
Arabian pseudochromis
Six line wrasse
Sleeper banded goby

They both share the same stand and hood.

To my question, I am getting 120 g that would go to the exact same location.
How do I go about making the transfer? Any easy way to do it?

I know about setting up new tank and cycling but I don't know if the same rules applied to tank upgrade. I will reusing the same live rock and sand unless I am not suppose too.

Also my skimmer is a EV 120. Is there any bad thing about using an underrated skimmer on big tank?

Basically, I could use all your helps on making my upgrade go smoothly.

Thank you in advance

divewsharks · Mar 7, 2017

When i did this, I had:
- large tubs w/heaters
- fresh saltwater made
- new sand, some additional cured rock

A few days before the move, i did a large water change on the tank. On the day of the move, i moved the rock and most of the existing water to the largest tubs. Moved the corals to another tub and the fish/livestock to a separate tub all had heaters, as it was going to take a while. I did not reuse the existing sand- except maybe a couple of cups to seed the microfauna)
Took the old tank down, moved the new tank into position, reconnected the plumbing (all had been fitted and tested beforehand - so that all i'm doing is re-connecting).
added water (old & new) > sand > rock > livestock. It took quite a few hours but had no major issues.
The key is all in the prep work before the move date.

You will have the extra concern of two different tanks with different water parameters, but if you take your time acclimating, you should be fine.

if you have specific questions, please post.

as for the skimmer, being underrated means thats its not going to pull out all that it could, so long as you are prepared for increased water change schedule you can do it (you don't need a skimmer); but it does make a significant difference.

HTH

Nicolas Sabrun · Mar 7, 2017

divewsharks said:
When i did this, I had:
- large tubs w/heaters
- fresh saltwater made
- new sand, some additional cured rock

A few days before the move, i did a large water change on the tank. On the day of the move, i moved the rock and most of the existing water to the largest tubs. Moved the corals to another tub and the fish/livestock to a separate tub all had heaters, as it was going to take a while. I did not reuse the existing sand- except maybe a couple of cups to seed the microfauna)
Took the old tank down, moved the new tank into position, reconnected the plumbing (all had been fitted and tested beforehand - so that all i'm doing is re-connecting).
added water (old & new) > sand > rock > livestock. It took quite a few hours but had no major issues.
The key is all in the prep work before the move date.

You will have the extra concern of two different tanks with different water parameters, but if you take your time acclimating, you should be fine.

if you have specific questions, please post.

as for the skimmer, being underrated means thats its not going to pull out all that it could, so long as you are prepared for increased water change schedule you can do it (you don't need a skimmer); but it does make a significant difference.

HTH

Thank you for the fast reply.

How large was the water change before the move?

I will be going from a roughly 85 g (both tank plus sump) to a 145g so with all the new water needed, it will like doing a 50% water change already.

I know it will take a lot of prep specially that I will be reusing the controller and powerhead.

Did you put a pump in the tub with livestock ( fish and coral) to keep the water agitated? I was thinking about airstone.

Why you did not reuse all the sand?

I am already working both existing tank to same parameters to avoid a bigger swing during the move.

I am sure it is done all the time but it seems pretty overwhelming at first. Always scare of something going wrong specially with the livestock

p7willm · Mar 7, 2017

In the run up to the move I would start to transfer water between the two tanks to be sure the parameters are as close as possible.

When you take stuff down it is a great time to get the stuff you could never get at while the scape was up.

The bacteria on the rock should have no problem, since it will be in water all the time, and most of your cycle should be fine. Just keep a close eye on ammonia and nitrites and if they start to go up you will have to do water changes to bring them down.

divewsharks · Mar 8, 2017

Nicolas Sabrun said:
Thank you for the fast reply.

How large was the water change before the move?

I will be going from a roughly 85 g (both tank plus sump) to a 145g so with all the new water needed, it will like doing a 50% water change already.

I know it will take a lot of prep specially that I will be reusing the controller and powerhead.

Did you put a pump in the tub with livestock ( fish and coral) to keep the water agitated? I was thinking about airstone.

Why you did not reuse all the sand?

I am already working both existing tank to same parameters to avoid a bigger swing during the move.

I am sure it is done all the time but it seems pretty overwhelming at first. Always scare of something going wrong specially with the livestock

In the run up to the upgrade I changed out at least 60% of the water (not all at one time). Then added all the new water for the additional capacity.
Yes I did keep a powerhead on in livestock tub.
The reason I did not reuse all the sand is that over the years my tank was up, I'm sure it collected plenty of detritus and such, saw no reason to introduce that to the new tank.

Nicolas Sabrun · Mar 8, 2017

divewsharks said:
In the run up to the upgrade I changed out at least 60% of the water (not all at one time). Then added all the new water for the additional capacity.
Yes I did keep a powerhead on in livestock tub.
The reason I did not reuse all the sand is that over the years my tank was up, I'm sure it collected plenty of detritus and such, saw no reason to introduce that to the new tank.

Thank you for the info. I thought that reusing the sand would with keeping the bacteria but the detritus argument makes a lot of sense and the rock should have enough on them to seed the new tank.

I guess upgrade goes well with clean up time

Nicolas Sabrun · Mar 8, 2017

p7willm said:
In the run up to the move I would start to transfer water between the two tanks to be sure the parameters are as close as possible.

When you take stuff down it is a great time to get the stuff you could never get at while the scape was up.

The bacteria on the rock should have no problem, since it will be in water all the time, and most of your cycle should be fine. Just keep a close eye on ammonia and nitrites and if they start to go up you will have to do water changes to bring them down.

Got it. Seems like upgrade goes well with clean up time.

In regards to the rock, I probably won't be reusing all of them. Like the one from the 20g are a bit small. I am concern about the bacteria from the 55g rock not being able to keep up since I will be adding 3 extra fish ( the one from the 20g)

I guess I could stick some of the extra rock in the sump just in case.

How do you go about corals? Any tips on making there transition easier?

Should I dip them before putting them back?

How do you remove monti cap from there without breaking them into pieces?

Nicolas Sabrun · Mar 8, 2017

p7willm said:
In the run up to the move I would start to transfer water between the two tanks to be sure the parameters are as close as possible.

When you take stuff down it is a great time to get the stuff you could never get at while the scape was up.

The bacteria on the rock should have no problem, since it will be in water all the time, and most of your cycle should be fine. Just keep a close eye on ammonia and nitrites and if they start to go up you will have to do water changes to bring them down.

Got it. Seems like upgrade goes well with clean up time.

In regards to the rock, I probably won't be reusing all of them. Like the one from the 20g are a bit small. I am concern about the bacteria from the 55g rock not being able to keep up since I will be adding 3 extra fish ( the one from the 20g)

I guess I could stick some of the extra rock in the sump just in case.

How do you go about corals? Any tips on making there transition easier?

Should I dip them before putting them back?

How do you remove monti cap from there without breaking them into pieces?

divewsharks · Mar 8, 2017

Nicolas Sabrun said:
Got it. Seems like upgrade goes well with clean up time.

In regards to the rock, I probably won't be reusing all of them. Like the one from the 20g are a bit small. I am concern about the bacteria from the 55g rock not being able to keep up since I will be adding 3 extra fish ( the one from the 20g)

I guess I could stick some of the extra rock in the sump just in case.

How do you go about corals? Any tips on making there transition easier?

Should I dip them before putting them back?

How do you remove monti cap from there without breaking them into pieces?

Yes put the rock in the sump at least temporarily.
As for the corals, I did not dip them again, if you are worried about a pest then it would be a good time - I was not.
Are you changing lights with the upgrade? If so may just want to set them on the bottom /or low to let them acclimate to the new lights. Then take your time finding their new homes as everything settles.
With a monti cap, likely your best bet may be to cut the rock its attached too with a dremel or similar tool.

Nicolas Sabrun · Mar 8, 2017

divewsharks said:
Yes put the rock in the sump at least temporarily.
As for the corals, I did not dip them again, if you are worried about a pest then it would be a good time - I was not.
Are you changing lights with the upgrade? If so may just want to set them on the bottom /or low to let them acclimate to the new lights. Then take your time finding their new homes as everything settles.
With a monti cap, likely your best bet may be to cut the rock its attached too with a dremel or similar tool.

For the light, I will be reusing the 3 165w marsaqua that I already have.

The new tank is 72x18x21. What would you suggest as a sump? I was thinking about a 20g long but not sure if it is big enough.

Triggreef · Mar 8, 2017

Also suggest not moving sand, due to it releasing toxic gas when you disturb it. A few cups spread over the new sand will be enough to help. The liverock will keep your cycle just fine, your only changing the glass essentially.

For the fish airstones will be fine. I might consider holding them in a couple separate containers since it will take a while and there could be aggression issues in the confined space. At least give some hiding spaces either with the rock or some pvc. If you can get a brute 32g can that would help hold everything for the move. Of course you could also break down the 20g first and use that to hold everything.

Triggreef · Mar 8, 2017

Your 55g would make a great sump if you can fit it.

divewsharks · Mar 8, 2017

Nicolas Sabrun said:
For the light, I will be reusing the 3 165w marsaqua that I already have.

The new tank is 72x18x21. What would you suggest as a sump? I was thinking about a 20g long but not sure if it is big enough.

How big can you fit??

tj w · Mar 8, 2017

I second not using the old sand unless you have been keeping it constantly stirred and cleaned while doing maintenace

Nicolas Sabrun · Mar 8, 2017

Triggreef said:
Your 55g would make a great sump if you can fit it.

The 55g would be great and probably fit but it is too high. I won't be able to get anything in

Nicolas Sabrun · Mar 8, 2017

divewsharks said:
How big can you fit??

I should be able to fit anything that is 48" long but I need to keep it low for equipment clearance and access.

A 40 g breeder is too wide and I am afraid a 20 g Lonf is not big enough. I need to put in skimmer, biopellet reactor, 2 pumps and the 1" return with socks. I have also 2 TLF reactor but they can be hang outside until they don't leak.

I also want space for a refugium.

Do they make a 30 g long?

Nicolas Sabrun · Mar 8, 2017

Also I think my return pump is on the low side. It is a rio 3100 that also feeds the 2 TLF reactor. I have about 4' to 5' of head.

Any suggestions on a replacement pump?

divewsharks · Mar 8, 2017

I use a Vectra, I have about 4'-5' if head pressure and run it about half power; but I don't have other items plumbed in.

Triggreef · Mar 8, 2017

Nicolas Sabrun said:
I should be able to fit anything that is 48" long but I need to keep it low for equipment clearance and access.

A 40 g breeder is too wide and I am afraid a 20 g Lonf is not big enough. I need to put in skimmer, biopellet reactor, 2 pumps and the 1" return with socks. I have also 2 TLF reactor but they can be hang outside until they don't leak.

I also want space for a refugium.

Do they make a 30 g long?

I have a 30L is 3 feet long. Could possible do a 20g high fuge, and let it overflow into a 30 long sump. Just sit it on 2x4's and drill a 1.5 inch overflow.