Please Critique My Tank Upgrade/Transfer Idea

[CoralDanimal]

Hello! I'd love your thoughts on something. I currently have a Red Sea Reefer 170 (43 gallons) and I'll be upgrading to a Red Sea Reefer 425 (112 gallons) in the next few weeks. My tank is doing really well (but getting full) so I really don't want to screw this up like my last transfer crash. In preparation for the transfer, I've cycled a 30 gallon container and added fresh prodibio bacteria weekly to seed some of the new rock going into the upgrade. My thought is: the more cycled, bacteria-rich rock that goes into the upgrade, the less likely the transfer will result in a re-cycle or experience issues (more details on this thought process here). I've also loaded my current sump with rubble rock too. Here is my idea and what I'd love you to critique:

I plan to have sand in the RSR 425 because I have a yellow coris wrasse. Not a deep sand bed, maybe 1 - 1.5 inches. I do not intend to bring any sand from the existing tank over; however, I have two, washed mesh bags of sand seeding in the 30 gallon container:

My thought is that (similar to the dry rock that's been curing) the additional bacteria on the sand will help the tank transfer succeed from day one. Since the sand is in the closed mesh bags, they're not collecting detritus. So, in your opinion, do I:

1. Transfer the contents of the RSR 170 + rock/water/sand of the container (will be ~2.5 months old/seeded) and fill the rest up (additional 40 gallons) with freshly mixed saltwater for a holeshot transfer/upgrade. ....OR....
2. Transfer the contents of the RSR 170 with fresh sand (not the sand that's been curing/seeding), but nothing else. Run the RSR 425 partially filled with only water/rock from the existing system + fresh sand to mitigate risk of issues. Then every week add 5 gallons of freshly mixed saltwater until the 425 is completely full. Then move over the new rock that will be even more cured by then and ditch the cured sand.

 

[jeffrey750750]

I know this isn't what your looking for but if it was me...I would keep the tank that's doing well alone and start a new tank

 

[Peach02]

I would do 1, IF you do not want to eradicate any pests you have In the reefer 170 if you have any. If you want to eliminate pests I would only add new cycled rock and sand ideally dry rock / sand and not transfer water.
Another thing to note, make sure the fish are going into water the right temperature which can change during long transfers.

 

[CoralDanimal]

I know this isn't what your looking for but if it was me...I would keep the tank that's doing well alone and start a new tank

In ideal world, yea two tanks would be awesome as I'd turn one into a frag tank Unfortunately I don't have the space for it so it has to be one tank.

I would do 1, IF you do not want to eradicate any pests you have In the reefer 170 if you have any. If you want to eliminate pests I would only add new cycled rock and sand ideally dry rock / sand and not transfer water.
Another thing to note, make sure the fish are going into water the right temperature which can change during long transfers.

The impatient person within me is I'm leaning towards #1 too. I'm not worried about pests from either tank - is that the only reason you're suggesting dry rock / sand?
Good call on the temperature - it's all going to happen in the same room so hopefully the temperature shouldn't be an issue .

 

[OriginalUserName]

I did something similar. Moved from a 29cube to reefer 140g. Cycled my dry rock in a tub for a couple months and used love sand. You will still get the uglies IMO but I was able to transfer everything without issue. I did include a couple pieces of my old rock as well.
I was moving so it made sense. If I did it in home I’d ideally take a longer time before moving critters.

 

[Peach02]

The impatient person within me is I'm leaning towards #1 too. I'm not worried about pests from either tank - is that the only reason you're suggesting dry rock / sand?
Good call on the temperature - it's all going to happen in the same room so hopefully the temperature shouldn't be an issue .

Yes, if you have access to clean live rock and sand it’s much better just be careful not to kill all the bacteria if aquascaping out of water but I’d also be careful adding new live rock due to pests etc

 

[av8soulfly]

I think #1 is the way to go. It's gonna be like doing a 50% water change for the livestock...not a big deal. Go for it. I've set up new nano tanks using Marine Pure Balls from a seasoned tank and there was no new cycle in the new tank. Enough bacteria was already in place. Granted, I went from a larger tank to smaller ones, but the principle is the same. I've done this 3 times with no ill effects. The 3 nano tanks are doing great, plus they got newly rinse Fiji Pink sand...not even cured. I think you'll be fine.

 

[CoralDanimal]

I did something similar. Moved from a 29cube to reefer 140g. Cycled my dry rock in a tub for a couple months and used love sand. You will still get the uglies IMO but I was able to transfer everything without issue. I did include a couple pieces of my old rock as well.
I was moving so it made sense. If I did it in home I’d ideally take a longer time before moving critters.

Thanks. Yea I imagine I'm going to get something (ex: diatom bloom), but I'm hoping to avoid a cycle. Of course I wouldn't want the fish to go through that, but I have a nice SPS collection that it would crush me if I lost.

Yes, if you have access to clean live rock and sand it’s much better just be careful not to kill all the bacteria if aquascaping out of water but I’d also be careful adding new live rock due to pests etc

The live rock I've been curing has already been aquascaped so when it comes time to transfer there's going to be minimal time out of water.

I think #1 is the way to go. It's gonna be like doing a 50% water change for the livestock...not a big deal. Go for it. I've set up new nano tanks using Marine Pure Balls from a seasoned tank and there was no new cycle in the new tank. Enough bacteria was already in place. Granted, I went from a larger tank to smaller ones, but the principle is the same. I've done this 3 times with no ill effects. The 3 nano tanks are doing great, plus they got newly rinse Fiji Pink sand...not even cured. I think you'll be fine.

Thanks for taking the time to respond - another vote for route #1.

Anyone want to make the case that #2 is better? Would love to here the counter argument

 

[New&no clue]

I'm another vote for 1. I did the same thing when I switched from a 55 to 75+15 sump. The reason I would be against adding rocks later is you would be disturbing your sand bed when you move them which can create other issue. Doing it all at once seems the cleanest way.

 

[Fred2482]

If there is no way to run them parallel for a bit, I would say 1 is the best of these options.

 

[Shaka_Reefer]

You should also have a couple of bacteria bottles ready in hand. If you can, move the reefer 170 to different location, and start the new tank. Then you can slowly transfer. That would be the best option (that's what I'm doing for my upgrade). I'm also building my new aquascape and it will by cycling in the garage because I want a different aquascape (a lot more minimalist) in my reefer peninsula 500.

 

[CoralDanimal]

If there is no way to run them parallel for a bit, I would say 1 is the best of these options.

You should also have a couple of bacteria bottles ready in hand. If you can, move the reefer 170 to different location, and start the new tank. Then you can slowly transfer. That would be the best option (that's what I'm doing for my upgrade). I'm also building my new aquascape and it will by cycling in the garage because I want a different aquascape (a lot more minimalist) in my reefer peninsula 500.

Okay I think I might need to find a way to go with hidden door #3 - find a way to run them in parallel. Only transfer the tank over when I'm confident the new tank is doing great (I can probably move things over in waves from hardiest coral to SPS at the end). Thank you!

 

[Fred2482]

Okay I think I might need to find a way to go with hidden door #3 - find a way to run them in parallel. Only transfer the tank over when I'm confident the new tank is doing great (I can probably move things over in waves from hardiest coral to SPS at the end). Thank you!

I would feel most safe with the hidden door option...

 

[New&no clue]

Okay I think I might need to find a way to go with hidden door #3 - find a way to run them in parallel. Only transfer the tank over when I'm confident the new tank is doing great (I can probably move things over in waves from hardiest coral to SPS at the end). Thank you!

I would agree if there is a way to run both at the same time I would go with that. When I transferred mine, the new tank was going in the same spot as the old tank. So I had no option except to do it all at once.

 

[Peach02]

As many have said, the ‘hidden door’ option is probably best if possible to do