Old to New

[SMB]

I have a 3(+) year old 45 gal cube, the contents of which I want to move over to a new Red Sea 425XL (112 gal).
The old tank is full of mixed corals, none particularly advanced, and four fish all also three years old.
The new RS has been running for five weeks with wet sand and I have moved Leather and GSP into the new tank.
Meanwhile 60 lbs. of CaribSea dry rock have been curing in a trash can for a week with tank water. Today PO4 and ammonia from the trash can are both zero. (I think the rock is just inert and no cycling has occurred. Also shows no PO4 leaching.)
Time to scape the new tank but I want to include the base rock from the old tank. If I just move everything over to the new tank, my thought is that I shouldn't be increasing the bio load and the new rock can slowly cycle in as new inhabitants are added. BTW the water parameters in both tanks are now almost identical.
Any recommendations on how to complete this transition would be appreciated.

 

[laverda]

I would cycle the new rock longer. At least two more weeks. Add some old tank water to it and a little food occasionally during that time. Otherwise you should be fine doing as you are thinking.

 

[SMB]

I would cycle the new rock longer. At least two more weeks. Add some old tank water to it and a little food occasionally during that time. Otherwise you should be fine doing as you are thinking.

Thanks,
Would you push the trash can to a measurable cycle with ammonia spike, etc.? Or just "nudge" the new rock a bit to get some bacteria going?
Also when the full move is made would you bring the fish at the same time? I think the old tank would get really stirred up when removing the rock. I have a very minimal sand bed in the old tank.

 

[laverda]

It is better to have it cycle in the trash can then in your tank.
When you move the tank I typicaly start pulling rock leaving circulation in place until the water level gets too low. As you fill the bins with rock. I drain tank water to wash them off and submerge them as much as practical. You will get die off from sponges and a few other things when exposed to air. So I like to keep it to a minimum. Depending on how much die off there is you will get a mini cycle in the new tank. Once you have the rock out catching the fish should be easy. The water should not be to stired up at this point. I prefer to use clear plastic containers to catch fish in. Place them on the side against the glass and you a net to gently manover them into the container. It is much less stressful in the fish and you will avoid stirring up the water making it easier to catch the other fish.

 

[SMB]

Thanks again.
This is a quick cell phone shot of the 45. The base rocks are covered with small sponges so I will move them directly into the new system. The rest of the pieces have attached coral.

The new system RS 425 XL has been up for a month and the coral was moved because of crowding issues in the 45. On the left is a few pieces of CaribSea dry rock that I cured for several weeks as a test to see if they actually contain some P04 which it didn't. The rest is now being more aggressively cycled in a 30 gal trash can.