I have a small 30 gallon tank currently (we bought it from someone about six months ago and moved it all intact--the tank had been running for around six years before that).
It's currently a FOWLR tank, but I decided to upgrade to a larger tank before we start building our coral reef, so we're making that our big family holiday gift. It will be a 60 gallon tank (the absolute largest I can fit in my space!)
My questions are about how to move this tank. The new tank will have to go in the same spot the current one is in. I know a bit about how to do it (I'll siphon off as much water as I can into buckets, fish in bucket with heater, live rock in another).
My two biggest issues are the substrate and the live rock. Current substrate is two inches of crushed coral with an inch of live sand on top. I'm not totally attached to this substrate and wouldn't mind changing it out, but I'm not sure if that will cause a full cycle to start again? Can I just use some of my current substrate to 'seed' the new tank? Should I use all of it? I'm keen to get rid of it because it's full of bristleworms (I know they're great for cuc, but I HATE them and want them GONE). I've read through the post about substrates, but I still can't make up my mind what to get, really. Do I have to use all living sand for the sand bed? It's awfully pricey, and I want at least a three inch sandbed for wrasses. My live rock is deep purple, and I'm thinking about the black sand, but I'm wondering if anyone has any opinions on it? Will it affect what fish I can get? (And probably a dumb question, but we have a cute scooter blenny that blends right in with our current spotted sand--would switching to a solid color sand stress her out too much?)
The second is the live rock--again it's full of bristle worms and teacup microalgae (which isn't awful, but it's grown out of control). Can I do anything to the rock to keep from transferring all the worms over to the new tank without killing the rock? Same with the algae--I'm thinking I can just hit the algae with a wire brush, but if there's something easier to do, I'm all ears.
Oh, I just thought of one more thing--my current tank has a HOB filter that seems to work pretty well, so I'm thinking to replace it with the same type, only much larger. I was thinking to take some of the filter media out of the current filter and stuff it in the new one to also help seed the bacteria. Good idea, or no?
Sorry for the novel here, I'm just nervous to do it right! thanks!!!
It's currently a FOWLR tank, but I decided to upgrade to a larger tank before we start building our coral reef, so we're making that our big family holiday gift. It will be a 60 gallon tank (the absolute largest I can fit in my space!)
My questions are about how to move this tank. The new tank will have to go in the same spot the current one is in. I know a bit about how to do it (I'll siphon off as much water as I can into buckets, fish in bucket with heater, live rock in another).
My two biggest issues are the substrate and the live rock. Current substrate is two inches of crushed coral with an inch of live sand on top. I'm not totally attached to this substrate and wouldn't mind changing it out, but I'm not sure if that will cause a full cycle to start again? Can I just use some of my current substrate to 'seed' the new tank? Should I use all of it? I'm keen to get rid of it because it's full of bristleworms (I know they're great for cuc, but I HATE them and want them GONE). I've read through the post about substrates, but I still can't make up my mind what to get, really. Do I have to use all living sand for the sand bed? It's awfully pricey, and I want at least a three inch sandbed for wrasses. My live rock is deep purple, and I'm thinking about the black sand, but I'm wondering if anyone has any opinions on it? Will it affect what fish I can get? (And probably a dumb question, but we have a cute scooter blenny that blends right in with our current spotted sand--would switching to a solid color sand stress her out too much?)
The second is the live rock--again it's full of bristle worms and teacup microalgae (which isn't awful, but it's grown out of control). Can I do anything to the rock to keep from transferring all the worms over to the new tank without killing the rock? Same with the algae--I'm thinking I can just hit the algae with a wire brush, but if there's something easier to do, I'm all ears.
Oh, I just thought of one more thing--my current tank has a HOB filter that seems to work pretty well, so I'm thinking to replace it with the same type, only much larger. I was thinking to take some of the filter media out of the current filter and stuff it in the new one to also help seed the bacteria. Good idea, or no?
Sorry for the novel here, I'm just nervous to do it right! thanks!!!
