Nem garden upgrade

[ATC]

So the wife started a 16gallon tank for the sole purpose of doing a rocknem garden it’s been running for about 8 months. It’s now full to the brim with nems and she wants more. So we are upgrading to a 55 gallon. The question is how can I do this without triggering a cycle and keeping her nems alive? I know we need to add new rock but I know we we will have die off just want to do what I can to make the transition as smooth as possible. Only other livestock in the tank are 2 maroon clowns and a bubble tip. Any guidance would be awesome.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

What I would do is build the 55, then cycle it.
Then I would do the tank transfer when the cycle is complete

 

[collins.jason.k]

If you use existing rocks from a running tank you should be good to go if I understand some of the things I've read in here correctly.

I'm sure @brandon429 can go into much better of an explanation than I can.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

So the wife started a 16gallon tank for the sole purpose of doing a rocknem garden it’s been running for about 8 months. It’s now full to the brim with nems and she wants more. So we are upgrading to a 55 gallon. The question is how can I do this without triggering a cycle and keeping her nems alive? I know we need to add new rock but I know we we will have die off just want to do what I can to make the transition as smooth as possible. Only other livestock in the tank are 2 maroon clowns and a bubble tip. Any guidance would be awesome.

Done this a ton of times before.

I setup the new tank, move all over, add all new rock, but KEEP THE BIOLOAD THE SAME. I will then allow for tank to go through some uglies with the algae and such and slowly add more bio load as time goes on.

Clean up crew usually takes care of uglies just fine and have found that by keeping bio load the same when moving (not moving and throwing in 5 new fish an 15 new nems) that it takes the move just fine.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

If you use existing rocks from a running tank you should be good to go if I understand some of the things I've read in here correctly.

I'm sure @brandon429 can go into much better of an explanation than I can.

Going from 16 gallon to 55 gallon, I assume about 30 lbs of rock will be added.

If adding 30 lbs of real live rock, then the tank will insta cycled.
But if adding 30 lbs of dry rock, the tank will cycle.

 

[brandon429]

Do it this way for the win and the easiest method:

For the new sand destined for the new tank, even if you're bringing over old sand to add, as a separate preparation step for the new tank, you take that sand in increments in a bucket and you tap water rinse it to perfection, each increment. It'll take hours to pre rinse one bag at a time, in little sections.

Be taking a test handful of sand after each section rinse, drop the handful into a clear glass of water to see if it falls down like snowglobe grains totally cloudless. If you get any clouding, redo it all until every section is cloudless.

Do the final rinse of each step in saltwater, to evacuate the tap.

Set this perfectly rinsed, impossible to cloud sand in the new 55. Fill the 55 with saltwater matching temp and salinity of the old water


It does not matter if you add new rocks that aren't cycled, simply rinse off whatever extra rocks you're going to add and set them in the cloudless new tank. Nothing clouds due to pre rinsing, it doesnt matter if your rocks are cycled or not, the old ones are.


You then pick up and set over squarely in the new tank the old rocks and anemones and fish and it all skip cycles


Do not move over any unrinsed sand

You didn't increase your bioload in the transfer you tripled the dilution and kept the same bioload and rocks that ran your previous tank which is why this doesn't recycle

No bottle bac is needed, its a waste of cash if you use any

If you installed already live rocks from a pet store in addition to the old rocks that's a skip cycle


If you install dry rocks, not cycled, it doesn't harm your new tank because we kept and transferred all the old rock

In fifteen days of merely sharing the water, any new dry rocks will be fully cycled but you didn't need them anyway, they're just extra, you didn't increase the bioload in this transfer... you lowered the bioload those old rocks see because you increased dilution and kept the same number of fish.

Expect algae issues soon if you choose to add white dry rocks into the mix.

Do not skip one iota of pre rinsing new sand, even if the bag says not to.

 

[ATC]

Going from 16 gallon to 55 gallon, I assume about 30 lbs of rock will be added.

If adding 30 lbs of real live rock, then the tank will insta cycled.
But if adding 30 lbs of dry rock, the tank will cycle.

All my tanks have been dry but they were new builds no livestock I was already planning on goo with live rock and no new additions for a bit but still heard that it can trigger a “mini cycle”. We’ve got 6 reef tanks from as small as a 4.8 up to a 100 but never swapped yet I’m pretty sure she loves those nems and clowns more than me and the kids lol

 

[brandon429]

It will only mini cycle if:

You skip any sand rinsing

Or if you add ocean rock that is uncured, which pet stores don't sell.

Any rock you buy from a pet store, wet or dry, isn't going to mini cycle in this particular upgrade swap.


Please take detailed pics of your tank transfer so I can link them to the huge tank transfer thread. Picture all the rinse steps, the final assembly etc

Others will use your pics to guide the action. Don't use ammonia testing, this is all testless, here's why: when people do ammonia testing on api or red sea vs seneye, they invariably see .25 or .5 which they attribute to a mini cycle and then they start souping up the tank with prime, bottle bac/ oxygen sapping additives without asking if that's acceptable, they do it reactively and it's bad to do that

Not testing for ammonia and not doubting the fifty page method goes much smoother

The rocks from the old tank shouldn't be on the bottom of a pile of dry rocks, that takes them out of presentation

Keep them prominently up top for clean water contact in the new tank, don't put them in a sump etc=skip cycle placement is up top where display water cleanly contacts the old rocks.


Re ramp up your lights down from a low setting; don't start the new tank on full power lighting, work up over five days.

 

[ATC]

Do it this way for the win and the easiest method:

For the new sand destined for the new tank, even if you're bringing over old sand to add, as a separate preparation step for the new tank, you take that sand in increments in a bucket and you tap water rinse it to perfection, each increment. It'll take hours to pre rinse one bag at a time, in little sections.

Be taking a test handful of sand after each section rinse, drop the handful into a clear glass of water to see if it falls down like snowglobe grains totally cloudless. If you get any clouding, redo it all until every section is cloudless.

Do the final rinse of each step in saltwater, to evacuate the tap.

Set this perfectly rinsed, impossible to cloud sand in the new 55. Fill the 55 with saltwater matching temp and salinity of the old water


It does not matter if you add new rocks that aren't cycled, simply rinse off whatever extra rocks you're going to add and set them in the cloudless new tank. Nothing clouds due to pre rinsing, it doesnt matter if your rocks are cycled or not, the old ones are.


You then pick up and set over squarely in the new tank the old rocks and anemones and fish and it all skip cycles


Do not move over any unrinsed sand

You didn't increase your bioload in the transfer you tripled the dilution and kept the same bioload and rocks that ran your previous tank which is why this doesn't recycle

No bottle bac is needed, its a waste of cash if you use any

If you installed already live rocks from a pet store in addition to the old rocks that's a skip cycle


If you install dry rocks, not cycled, it doesn't harm your new tank because we kept and transferred all the old rock

In fifteen days of merely sharing the water, any new dry rocks will be fully cycled but you didn't need them anyway, they're just extra, you didn't increase the bioload in this transfer... you lowered the bioload those old rocks see because you increased dilution and kept the same number of fish.

Expect algae issues soon if you choose to add white dry rocks into the mix.

Do not skip one iota of pre rinsing new sand, even if the bag says not to.

Awesome on thing I have is the patience to rinse 60 lbs of sand lol. I will probably go live rock from the store just based on cosmetics alone. Should I use dry sand instead of “live”.

 

[Uncle99]

Done this a ton of times before.

I setup the new tank, move all over, add all new rock, but KEEP THE BIOLOAD THE SAME. I will then allow for tank to go through some uglies with the algae and such and slowly add more bio load as time goes on.

Clean up crew usually takes care of uglies just fine and have found that by keeping bio load the same when moving (not moving and throwing in 5 new fish an 15 new nems) that it takes the move just fine.

So on the money!
100%

 

[brandon429]

again I want to state: there is no sand you'd skip rinsing, even if it says live, I'm aware of the temptation to customize this part of the plan and I directly recommend not to follow that instinct

buy dry sand if you prefer, but if you use wet pack caribsea sand marked live, you still rinse it exactly as stated

there is a specific reason we want complete cloudlessness in your new tank, even if that doesn't seem important, it gets you the ends you want 100% of the time.

pdxmonkeyboy​

 

[ATC]

again I want to state: there is no sand you'd skip rinsing, even if it says live, I'm aware of the temptation to customize this part of the plan and I directly recommend not to follow that instinct

buy dry sand if you prefer, but if you use wet pack caribsea sand marked live, you still rinse it exactly as stated

Perfect now begins the gathering of the goodies. Thank you for the assist I figured there had to be a way even though Google searches net nothing more than set ul the new tank and cycle then move, otherwise how would the trade shows not lose thousands of dollars in inventory. Thank you again for the help