Tank transfer and cycle

bwrag · Feb 16, 2015

I'm upgrading to a 300 gallon from a 75. Im about to have the 300 running. My question is can I just move everything from my 75 to the 300 or so I need to cycle the tank. Since I'm using live rock and not adding fish my bio load should increase so should current rock cover the bioload.

mrukus · Feb 16, 2015

Following along. If this hobby is addicting as its starting out to be and as everyone says it'll be. I'll probably be doing something similar this time next year

deerhunter06 · Feb 16, 2015

As long as u don't add a bunch of life right away the tank won't cycle. Even if u did it would only be a Mini cycle the bacteria from established aquarium can double over night so I do not think u will see a cycle. This assuming u are using the rock from your 75 to seed the 300.

deerhunter06 · Feb 16, 2015

The only thing I would be worried about is adding more shipped live rock that could be enough ammonia to spell disaster.

nazzman · Feb 16, 2015

You should be fine on switching stuff over but if you are going to add a bunch more of rock you will have to cycle it before adding livestock

thefrog · Feb 16, 2015

Can one add more live rock incrementally over time? By this I mean I don't have enough rock and want to add more without shocking the system. I'm also thinking of upgrading later in the year and carrying everything over.

deerhunter06 · Feb 16, 2015

It depends on where u get it, if it is shipped in there is going to be a lot of die off you need to let it sit in a seperate container until the ammonia is 0 then u can add all you want. If you are getting live rock from your LFS I would still do the same thing and check your ammonia after a day. There will be less die off the only thing about LFS liverock is its rarely ever cured so you might still see ammonia in that aspect from it curing. So unless you absolutely know your rock is cured I would never put it directly into your main tank.

deerhunter06 · Feb 17, 2015

I guess after thinking about it more you could add individual pieces and be ok as long as it doesn't have a ton of dead stuff just be careful. If you do decide to do it like this u are going to see a good rise on your nitrates though. I think it's safer to just to cure seperately I use a cooler with a hole in the bottom to drain it easy.

thefrog · Feb 17, 2015

deerhunter06 said:
It depends on where u get it, if it is shipped in there is going to be a lot of die off you need to let it sit in a seperate container until the ammonia is 0 then u can add all you want. If you are getting live rock from your LFS I would still do the same thing and check your ammonia after a day. There will be less die off the only thing about LFS liverock is its rarely ever cured so you might still see ammonia in that aspect from it curing. So unless you absolutely know your rock is cured I would never put it directly into your main tank.

I'd get it from my LFS a couple of weeks after it's been sitting in their tanks. They got a new shipment of live rock (very nice) about two weeks back. It sits in the usual big tank with good circulation and lighting. So I'm thinking of adding a few pieces at a time, every couple of weeks. Leaving enough time for any die-off to be managed by the existing tank bacteria load.

deerhunter06 · Feb 17, 2015

You should be fine doing that

Humblefish · Feb 17, 2015

bwrag You can just move everything over from the 75 and that will be fine. Assuming you'll want to add more LR (or dry rock) to fill your new 300, that is fine as well so long as you do it gradually. 2-3 new pieces every couple of weeks.

ctsps · Feb 17, 2015

If its new sand be carefull of a cycle, I lost acros that way in a tank move, dumb mistake on my part

bwrag · Feb 17, 2015

I have 200 more pounds of rock in saltwater in a container. It started out as dry I added seed rock and a few pieces of shrimp and a pump for water movment has been in the container for roughly 3 months. But I am adding new sand I have 400# in the aquarium currently I dont want to add a little rock at a time because I want to aquascape and be done. My original plan was to put sand in aquarium add my old and new live rock then fill with water after i got it the way I wanted now Im thinking maybe just set all new rock in aquarium and sump let i sit a few days and see if i get a cycle. then add old rock and aquascape. my old rock has corals all over it.

I do appreciate everyones response

Humblefish · Feb 17, 2015

bwrag said:
I have 200 more pounds of rock in saltwater in a container. It started out as dry I added seed rock and a few pieces of shrimp and a pump for water movment has been in the container for roughly 3 months. But I am adding new sand I have 400# in the aquarium currently I dont want to add a little rock at a time because I want to aquascape and be done. My original plan was to put sand in aquarium add my old and new live rock then fill with water after i got it the way I wanted now Im thinking maybe just set all new rock in aquarium and sump let i sit a few days and see if i get a cycle. then add old rock and aquascape. my old rock has corals all over it.

^^That sounds like a good plan. Adding all new sand/some newly cycled rock does introduce an "X" factor. I still think you'd be fine, assuming all the new rock is fully cycled. But better safe than sorry when dealing with live animals IMO.

Triggreef · Feb 17, 2015

Humblefish said:
@bwrag You can just move everything over from the 75 and that will be fine. Assuming you'll want to add more LR (or dry rock) to fill your new 300, that is fine as well so long as you do it gradually. 2-3 new pieces every couple of weeks.

This. Your initially only swapping out the glass and sand. Everything else stays the same. Don't add anything new for a few weeks. You will get Dino's and such on your new sand in time just like setting up any new tank. What ever you do don't try to use your old sand. To much die of and tank toxicity. It can be saved and thoroughly cleaned to be used when you move into a 600g though. Lol

Edit, after seeing above post, that will work too. If it's been sitting 3 months you won't see a cycle. I would get most water in first though. Just a few minutes with the live rock out of water is enough to kill a good amount of bacteria.