Tank leaking, getting worse quickly.

[I_Got_Crabs]

I moved my biocube 29 yesterday and noticed a slow leak this morning, now the leak is getting worse by the hour. I have an Evo 13.5 and think I can put most of my live rock in there but obviously moving the sand will be harder.

Feeling a little overwhelmed and would like some clear headed advice on what to do things I might be missing.

The plan:
- drain biocube and put everything into buckets
- fish bucket will have heater and circulation pump
- Fill Evo with water from previous tank
- move in rocks, corals, then fish (2 clowns, 1 highfin goby, clean up crew)

That part is simple enough I think... But what else do I need to consider in the near future? Will it cause the tank to cycle to remove the sand from the system?

Thanks for the help.

 

[cracker]

Hello , can ya get a larger tub & put rock fish & all in it ? I'm thinking it would be less complicated . How long will they be in another container?

 

[lapin]

You have a pretty small bio load. I think if you have enough rock which is sounds like you do, it will work for a temp fix as long as you dont let your rock dry out. I would keep some extra water on hand and some prime, just in case you need to do a water change because of a small ammonia spike. I assume you will be using the same filters?
https://www.seachem.com/prime.php

 

[ilyad]

If your tank was previously cycled and already chugging along, the rocks, water and filter media should have plenty of biological diversity (bacteria) for the small tank to not have any cycle. I would leave the sand in the old tank, moving that to the little one can cause a mini cycle in fact. You can either go bare bottom or put in new sand.

If available, get a large plastic bin, put all fish, coral, and rocks in there. Then you can use the heater and power heads for everyone to be happy. If the water where rocks will be get too stale (no circulation) or too cold, you can have a lot of die off which will cause a cycle.

 

[I_Got_Crabs]

Hello , can ya get a larger tub & put rock fish & all in it ? I'm thinking it would be less complicated .

How do you mean? I figure putting it in a tank is a better short to medium term solution... I have a 65 gallon that I am currently setting up and curing the liverock for...

 

[ilyad]

How do you mean? I figure putting it in a tank is a better short to medium term solution... I have a 65 gallon that I am currently setting up and curing the liverock for...

I think he means instead of separate buckets. But if you are just housing the stuff in there temp while you go into the tank, then no need.

 

[I_Got_Crabs]

You have a pretty small bio load. I think if you have enough rock which is sounds like you do, it will work for a temp fix as long as you dont let your rock dry out. I would keep some extra water on hand and some prime, just in case you need to do a water change because of a small ammonia spike. I assume you will be using the same filters?
https://www.seachem.com/prime.php

Its about 30 lbs of liverock. Enough to cram the evo full, but I imagine I want to keep a balance between water volume and rock volume.... I only have liverock, sand, marine pure bio balls, and a bag of activated carbon/phosguard as my filter. I was planning to move all but the sand and bag of media. Think that will be enough?

 

[lapin]

Its about 30 lbs of liverock. Enough to cram the evo full, but I imagine I want to keep a balance between water volume and rock volume.... I only have liverock, sand, marine pure bio balls, and a bag of activated carbon/phosguard as my filter. I was planning to move all but the sand and bag of media. Think that will be enough?

Yes and you prob dont need all the rock. As for the sand you can go with new or rinse the old sand really well.

 

[ilyad]

Its about 30 lbs of liverock. Enough to cram the evo full, but I imagine I want to keep a balance between water volume and rock volume.... I only have liverock, sand, marine pure bio balls, and a bag of activated carbon/phosguard as my filter. I was planning to move all but the sand and bag of media. Think that will be enough?

A bit of rock and the bio balls should be more than enough. Those bio balls are crazy porous and hold a ton of surface area for bacteria, scape the rock as you would for that tank and you should be fine. Toss the rest of the rock into the curing bin (if you're doing the cycle curing and not the acid wash), that'll actually speed up the rock cycle as well.

 

[I_Got_Crabs]

I moved my biocube 29 yesterday and noticed a slow leak this morning, now the leak is getting worse by the hour. I have an Evo 13.5 and think I can put most of my live rock in there but obviously moving the sand will be harder.

Feeling a little overwhelmed and would like some clear headed advice on what to do things I might be missing.

The plan:
- drain biocube and put everything into buckets
- fish bucket will have heater and circulation pump
- Fill Evo with water from previous tank
- move in rocks, corals, then fish (2 clowns, 1 highfin goby, clean up crew)

That part is simple enough I think... But what else do I need to consider in the near future? Will it cause the tank to cycle to remove the sand from the system?

Thanks for the help.

What a bloody mess. Thanks for the advice everyone