Tank transfer or slow cycle and move things slowly?

[mrpontiac80]

hi everyone. I have a 65 gallon waterbox that’s been running for 2 years. I just ordered a 180 gallon tank and really don’t think I want 2 systems to maintain long term.
In everyone’s experience I wonder what is best…. Set up and cycle the new tank like it was the first and only tank and go slowly OR transfer all the existing rock, coral and fish in one move?

the new tank is in the same room but not the same location if that influences the decision.

A quick transfer would keep costs down as far as lighting and water changes and such.
A slow build would allow fish additions in an order of aggression and things like that. Current fish include a
purple tang,
Bristle tooth tang
Foxface
Cardinals
Clowns
Midas blenny
Wrass
Zebra darts

I already have most of everything for the new build except lights and heaters.
Appreciate your thoughts. And here is the current setup for just because

 

[TheReefDiary]

youre only issue is that youre jumping 120+ gallons. with your current rock you definitely dont have enough to get everything up and running for that many fish. if you buy live rock for the new setup in addition to yours doing a full transfer is probably possible. I just did a transfer from a 15g to a 40g. i cycled the new tank and will be adding new fish every week or so. will shut the old tank down after that. much different story for you with a 65g and 180g.

 

[LouisianaReef]

I would honestly think you would be ok either way as long as you didn't increase the bioload rapidly in the 180. BUT I would much prefer to cycle the new tank and then transfer IMO. The new tank would have a new sandbed I assume?

 

[Rmckoy]

youre only issue is that youre jumping 120+ gallons. with your current rock you definitely dont have enough to get everything up and running for that many fish. if you buy live rock for the new setup in addition to yours doing a full transfer is probably possible. I just did a transfer from a 15g to a 40g. i cycled the new tank and will be adding new fish every week or so. will shut the old tank down after that. much different story for you with a 65g and 180g.

I went from a 90 gal to a 230
The 90 had close to 150 lbs of rocks in it at the time .

 

[MelancholyBlenny]

I also think you would be fine moving everything over at once as long as you don't increase the bioload with more fish at the same time. The only reason i would cycle the new tank first would be if i was not moving any rock from the old tank (don't reuse the sand either way). If the rock is good and not full of pests, then i would just bring it all over with additional rock to fill the tank.

 

[TheReefDiary]

I went from a 90 gal to a 230
The 90 had close to 150 lbs of rocks in it at the time .

Thats a lot more rock than what looks to be in here though. 150+lbs for a 230g tank is still a solid amount of live rock.

 

[mrpontiac80]

youre only issue is that youre jumping 120+ gallons. with your current rock you definitely dont have enough to get everything up and running for that many fish. if you buy live rock for the new setup in addition to yours doing a full transfer is probably possible. I just did a transfer from a 15g to a 40g. i cycled the new tank and will be adding new fish every week or so. will shut the old tank down after that. much different story for you with a 65g and 180g.

So I have 200 lbs of new Caribsea life rock and 100 lbs of new Caribsea Fiji pink live sand. My current rock in the 65 is the same stuff but 2 years old. And much less of it. The only pests on the rock are a few vermited snails. Otherwise everything in the tank is pretty decent

 

[mrpontiac80]

I would honestly think you would be ok either way as long as you didn't increase the bioload rapidly in the 180. BUT I would much prefer to cycle the new tank and then transfer IMO. The new tank would have a new sandbed I assume?

Yes it would. Along with more rock

 

[mrpontiac80]

I also think you would be fine moving everything over at once as long as you don't increase the bioload with more fish at the same time. The only reason i would cycle the new tank first would be if i was not moving any rock from the old tank (don't reuse the sand either way). If the rock is good and not full of pests, then i would just bring it all over with additional rock to fill the tank.

The bio load would stay the same for some time. The only pests are a few verminted snails here and there

 

[TheReefDiary]

Yes it would. Along with more rock

youll need legitimate live rock. Caribsea is just cement dry rock called liferock. If thats what you have id start the new tank from scratch. get it up and running with the new rock and just clean the old rock after, dry it and either sell it or keep it for another tank.

instant transfer will be risky imo with dry rock and adding all those fish immediately.

 

[MelancholyBlenny]

The bio load would stay the same for some time. The only pests are a few verminted snails here and there

As long as you are good with moving the vermitids into the new tank it should be fine. The bacteria in the rock should support the same bioload even with more water. While you move you can try to kill as many as you can but you won't get them all.

 

[mrpontiac80]

youll need legitimate live rock. Caribsea is just cement dry rock called liferock. If thats what you have id start the new tank from scratch. get it up and running with the new rock and just clean the old rock after, dry it and either sell it or keep it for another tank.

instant transfer will be risky imo with dry rock and adding all those fish immediately.

Yeah it’s dry rock for sure. I was under the impression though that adding what I have would work for the same bioload though.

 

[mrpontiac80]

As long as you are good with moving the vermitids into the new tank it should be fine. The bacteria in the rock should support the same bioload even with more water. While you move you can try to kill as many as you can but you won't get them all.

That’s agreed. The one thing I feel like though is I can try to prevent pests but will inevitably see them anyway.

 

[MelancholyBlenny]

That’s agreed. The one thing I feel like though is I can try to prevent pests but will inevitably see them anyway.

Also agreed, I've transferred tanks by cycling because of pests and algae and also just moved everything at once, never had a problem either way as long as you take your time. Some pests are inevitable but sometimes they are so prevalent its easier to start fresh

 

[brandon429]

Where I’m from, thats about a five thousand dollar reef. Given that worth, this is the only method Id trust. If you change rocks for new we can, but that’s massive dinos risk by losing the biota on your current rocks. The system needs a skip cycle transfer, no bottle bac, skip cycle which is what we do here:


you’d move over your current rocks and pre rinse the sand for the new tank as we did there for a few hundred jobs.

Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread

If you are reading this thread to cure a tank invasion from a link I sent you, we do not need to identify your type of invasion here we do not need you to test anything at anytime regarding nitrate, phosphate etc Above all, we do not need to see a microscope slide picture of your invasion at...

www.reef2reef.com

we could plan your move live time right here and the new tank will skip cycle perfectly based on the moves above. I would like the job, thats a lot of cash on the line and we like high pressure move jobs. Of course I won’t be leaving the couch the whole time but I promise it’ll skip cycle and you won’t kill those fine corals

based on the steps above we’d make a new plan customized for your setup here, live time.

 

[mrpontiac80]

Where I’m from, thats about a five thousand dollar reef. Given that worth, this is the only method Id trust. If you change rocks for new we can, but that’s massive dinos risk by losing the biota on your current rocks. The system needs a skip cycle transfer, no bottle bac, skip cycle which is what we do here:


you’d move over your current rocks and pre rinse the sand for the new tank as we did there for a few hundred jobs.

Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread

If you are reading this thread to cure a tank invasion from a link I sent you, we do not need to identify your type of invasion here we do not need you to test anything at anytime regarding nitrate, phosphate etc Above all, we do not need to see a microscope slide picture of your invasion at...

www.reef2reef.com

we could plan your move live time right here and the new tank will skip cycle perfectly based on the moves above. I would like the job, thats a lot of cash on the line and we like high pressure move jobs. Of course I won’t be leaving the couch the whole time but I promise it’ll skip cycle and you won’t kill those fine corals

based on the steps above we’d make a new plan customized for your setup here, live time.

I’ve seen a lot of your posts. I’m not against trying it either. The one thing keeping me on the fence, is I’m not sure I want to shut the old 65 gallon down right away.
I don’t think I want two tanks long term but I am also intrigued about adding the fish in a particular order along with new additions. This would be where keeping the 65 running would be nice. Slowly start the 180 gallon while also slowly taking life out of the 65 gallon.

 

[vetteguy53081]

hi everyone. I have a 65 gallon waterbox that’s been running for 2 years. I just ordered a 180 gallon tank and really don’t think I want 2 systems to maintain long term.
In everyone’s experience I wonder what is best…. Set up and cycle the new tank like it was the first and only tank and go slowly OR transfer all the existing rock, coral and fish in one move?

the new tank is in the same room but not the same location if that influences the decision.

A quick transfer would keep costs down as far as lighting and water changes and such.
A slow build would allow fish additions in an order of aggression and things like that. Current fish include a
purple tang,
Bristle tooth tang
Foxface
Cardinals
Clowns
Midas blenny
Wrass
Zebra darts

I already have most of everything for the new build except lights and heaters.
Appreciate your thoughts. And here is the current setup for just because

I just transferred everything into a 400g three weeks ago and I filled tank at 70%, added Fiji lived sand- Micro Bacter XLM, added lots of seeded rock as will be in your case (rock raised the level of tank water), I then Allowed the tank to run overnight, and verified salt and Temperature and ph and added coral and 8 hours later added fish acclimating fish to new tank as if they were just purchased. No diatoms, all numbers optimum and all livestock very happy.
I am doing 3 gallon water changes every 3 days as an insurance of water quality. Tomorrow I am adding about 30 baseball sized colonies to the system

 

[brandon429]

Let’s split the rock. Half that rock above will carry all your fish in the current system

taking it apart halfway while running isn’t ideal it kicks up waste that isn’t kicked up currently.

reefs are grossly overdone on surface area. Half that rock in the new tank still skip cycles and it prevents dinos very well in the new system.
Leaving half in this tank keeps it going.


you can easily cycle up some dry rocks in the new tank but the uglies seating in on highly reflective surfaces will be notable.

new cycling science helps out here by identifying you’ll still have plenty of active surface area with half the rock. Old cycling science thinks all the bacteria must be commuted to all surfaces in the new tank. Thats not the case at all. If you don’t want to take this reef apart at all, and move into a new dry tank heres a thread where tuffloud did exactly that. look at them uglies…he also beat them too. Shows the fight and expected turnaround time:

Connecting Established Reef To New Tank

EDIT: In conclusion, if using the method I did - connecting an established reef to a new system with dry rock (clean), I recommend the following: 1. Dose your new tank prior to connecting to your old tank with NO3 and PO4 enough to raise to your established tank levels. 2. Take your skimmer...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[mrpontiac80]

Let’s split the rock. Half that rock above will carry all your fish

reefs are grossly overdone on surface area. Half that rock in the new tank still skip cycles and it prevents dinos very well in the new system.


new cycling science helps out here by identifying you’ll still have plenty of active surface area with half the rock. Old cycling science thinks all the bacteria must be commuted to all surfaces in the new tank. Thats not the case at all.

I’m not opposed to this idea. I would love to start off with my new tank, the current reefbreeders 48” light I’m currently using and I could install some old AI primes over the 65 gallon. I could move a couple of old fish like my clowns or blenny or cardinals whenever it is deemed ok. And I have several pieces of rock I’d like to move over anyway, like the zoa colonies and stuff.

It is likely going to be a couple more months before the tank shows up and all the plumbing is complete so I have some time.

 

[mrpontiac80]

How much would it help over a month or two if I could squeeze in a few pieces of smaller new dry rock into my current tank?