New tank coming soon

marine2463 · Jan 20, 2018

Hello ,
Alright guys big question. So I’m thinking of pulling the trigger on a Red Sea reefer tank [emoji16]
Now the problem is I have a 75 gallon already running . I want the new tank to go in the same area as where my tank sits now . How hard will this build and transfer be ?,or should I just look for a new a place to put the tank [emoji17]. I’m scared I’m going to loose fish and coral in this transfer it’s still a month or so out but want to get ready
How would you guys go about making this transfer ?
TIA!!!!!
Pic of current 75 gallon

PatW · Jan 20, 2018

Your 75 is a decent looking tank. Are you keeping your 75?

The thing you can do is get some food safe containers like Brute trash cans or a bunch of 5 gallon buckets. Make sure you have an air pump and an air stone for each container. Your critters should be fine for a few days this way. Take out your rock and fish and stick em in the containers. Move your 75. If you are keeping it, you can move it and toss pretty near everything back in. Disrupting your tank can release a bunch of hidden detritus which could decay and produce a mini cycle releasing ammonia. This happens sometimes when people stir up a deep and dirty sand bed. You might want to scrub your rock while you move it to get off excess growth.mmit is a good chance to clean things up.

Some people just toss out sand in a move. I would just stick it in a bucket and wash it a few times to get the gunk out if it is dirty.

Once you have your old tank out of there, you can set up your reefer. Your rock will be ok as long as it does not dry out.

Of course, tanks are far heavier than the look. It is always good to get in some people to do the move. Bribing them with beer and pizza is a good idea.

marine2463 · Jan 20, 2018

Thanks !!!!
I’m getting rid of the 75 and putting all the stuff from it in the new tank
I’m definitely going with new sand in the new tank
Just wondering on having to cycle the new tank properly before putting all my fish and corals back in
I think it would be a small cycle with all my old rock
I guess I’m just a little nervous of loosing live stock
Specially my hippo tang and clown fish
Had them for like 6 years

What do you think of this ,building the new tank next the old one getting everything wired and plumbed
Then start taking down the 75 put in containers as you said , slide the new tank into place throw in new live sand fill . Get it running and when clear start adding live rock and so forth
Should I add some of the old water in the new tank to help with transition ?
What do you think of this idea ?
How long you think I should wait before transferring live stock ?

PatW · Jan 21, 2018

If you are using your established live rock you should be fine.

If you are worried about a new cycle, put in the rock and sand. Fill the tank up. Get the power heads and pumps running. If you have a mini cycle, I would think you will see ammonia in the water in 24 to 48 hours. Getting an ammonia alert badge and sticking it on the tank would be a good idea. That way you can tell at a glance if there is a problem with ammonia. I doubt that you will see a mini cycle if a) you have good flow around your rock work and b) you do not have detritus build up under the rocks or in the sand. One way to test for detritus is to get a big turkey baster and use it to blast under the rocks and into the sand. If doing so does not muck up the water much, you are probably fine.

Filling the tank is a good time to do a 100% water change. But if you are happy with the old water, you can use as much as you want.

If you are going to run your old tank too, you could move it. Refill it. Keep some of the rock in it. And keep the fish in there. You cold take a few days to transfer the fish and rock over. In that case, I would run ammonia alert badges on both tanks. It should go fine. But the badges are cheap and worth it just for the peace of mind.

It would be a good idea to have some ammonia neutralizer on hand just in case.

marine2463 · Jan 21, 2018

Thank you PATW !!!!! I’ll keep you posted on the build next month [emoji16]

marine2463 · Feb 6, 2018

Just ordered my tank today [emoji16][emoji16][emoji16][emoji16] can’t wait to start my build thread
I ordered a Red Sea max s-500 and a new apex [emoji16][emoji16][emoji16][emoji16][emoji16]