Tank transfer question:

[renato120]

Hey guys Im upgrading my 60g cube to a 120g.
Not sure whats the right way to do it.
Should I use the sand of the 60g or its better to just start with all new sand?
The 60g is a little over a year old.

 

[Martin H. Lawton]

new tank .. new sand .. what I did when I upgraded to a new tank.

 

[BlueDevil]

Unless there is some issue with the old tank (pest etc) there is no reason to not transfer the old sand over. In fact it will help tremendously in seeding your new tank with the beneficial bacteria.
Does your current tank have livestock in it that you are transferring over? If so you probably should add the old sand to the new sand (assuming you will need more for the larger setup) and wait for the new tank to cycle completely before transferring the livestock over.
If you're adding new live rock to the new tank, make sure it is properly cured as well.

 

[renato120]

Howabout the water? Im loaded with corals?
This is my tank now:

 

[renato120]

Unless there is some issue with the old tank (pest etc) there is no reason to not transfer the old sand over. In fact it will help tremendously in seeding your new tank with the beneficial bacteria.
Does your current tank have livestock in it that you are transferring over? If so you probably should add the old sand to the new sand (assuming you will need more for the larger setup) and wait for the new tank to cycle completely before transferring the livestock over.
If you're adding new live rock to the new tank, make sure it is properly cured as well.

The new rocks half of them are not cured.
Can I still use it?

 

[BlueDevil]

If you still haven't cycled the new tank I would do new water since you will need to change it out often in any case during the cycle.
As far as corals go I would definitely wait u tip the cycle is complete and new tank parameters have stabilized for a while before moving them over.
Very nice looking tank and corals btw.

 

[Martin H. Lawton]

go with what bluedevild is saying.

 

[BlueDevil]

The new rocks half of them are not cured.
Can I still use it?

If not cured you run the risk of phosphate issues. If you're not in a hurry I would cure them first.

 

[renato120]

This is the new rock setup. Purple on I assume is cured.
Its all im adding for rocks

 

[renato120]

If not cured you run the risk of phosphate issues. If you're not in a hurry I would cure them first.

How do I cured them? Bucket of salt water for a couple of weeks?

 

[Feltman]

How do I cured them? Bucket of salt water for a couple of weeks?

If it's dry it will need to be cured. Curing as far as I understand it is basically letting all the dead stuff break down and disolve out. You can do it in a bucket or u can do it in the new tank with your new sand(maybe some old sand to seed) that way u use the curing process to help cycle the new sand this is if you use new dry sand. For the sand you could simply rinse the old stuff thoroughly to get rid of the detritus and reuse although ull still have a small nutrient spike so many people won't reuse old sand. That part is up to u. Either way I'd at least cure that rock before adding

 

[BlueDevil]

Unless the new rock is coming directly from an established (and stable) setup I would cure it. Phosphates from uncured LR could take forever to eliminate and if you have time on your side why take the chance?
To cure it you basically stick it in a bucket with no lights and a powerhead for flow. Keep testing that water and do water changes as necessary. There's really no way to tell how long the process will take. Once all your readings check out and stabilize you're done.

 

[renato120]

If it's dry it will need to be cured. Curing as far as I understand it is basically letting all the dead stuff break down and disolve out. You can do it in a bucket or u can do it in the new tank with your new sand(maybe some old sand to seed) that way u use the curing process to help cycle the new sand this is if you use new dry sand. For the sand you could simply rinse the old stuff thoroughly to get rid of the detritus and reuse although ull still have a small nutrient spike so many people won't reuse old sand. That part is up to u. Either way I'd at least cure that rock before adding

I will not be able to cure the rocks in the new tank. Its not setup yet! Im getting the "live sand" not sure if its live at all. 6 bags of it. What im going to do is, Im going to cure the new rocks in a bucket with some water moviment. Place all the new sand on the new tank and the old one on top of it. Thats way I will introduce some bacteria to the new tank. I should read some po4 on the new rocks right? When DonI know the rocks its good to go? When all reads 0?

 

[BlueDevil]

If you're still unsure on the process just google "curing live rock" and hundreds of posts will pop up.

 

[renato120]

Unless the new rock is coming directly from an established (and stable) setup I would cure it. Phosphates from uncured LR could take forever to eliminate and if you have time on your side why take the chance?
To cure it you basically stick it in a bucket with no lights and a powerhead for flow. Keep testing that water and do water changes as necessary. There's really no way to tell how long the process will take. Once all your readings check out and stabilize you're done.

Thank you! How about corals? My lps, sps's is that a chance of it to die?

 

[BlueDevil]

Live sand for the most part is worthless IMHO. A waste of money. If you already have sand from an established setup there's nothing like it. You really only need a few cups of that sand and the bacteria will multiply and seed the new sand before you know it. If you haven't already ordered the live sand I would save the money and put it towards something else.

 

[renato120]

If you're still unsure on the process just google "curing live rock" and hundreds of posts will pop up.

Oh no.. You guys were really helpful. I understood everything.

 

[renato120]

Live sand for the most part is worthless IMHO. A waste of money. If you already have sand from an established setup there's nothing like it. You really only need a few cups of that sand and the bacteria will multiply and seed the new sand before you know it. If you haven't already ordered the live sand I would save the money and put it towards something else.

Already bought it :/

 

[BlueDevil]

Thank you! How about corals? My lps, sps's is that a chance of it to die?

Once the new tank is setup and all the parameters are spot on for a while you should be ok to move all the corals over. However don't be surprised if you see some of them get shocked. After all it's a new setup and corals don't like being moved around too much, especially SPS. You might see them close up but assuming you've done everything right they should adjust in due course.

 

[renato120]

Once the new tank is setup and all the parameters are spot on for a while you should be ok to move all the corals over. However don't be surprised if you see some of them get shocked. After all it's a new setup and corals don't like being moved around too much, especially SPS. You might see them close up but assuming you've done everything right they should adjust in due course.

Thank you! You, and the other members that posted here were very helpful.