Tank transfer

TexAgReefer · Sep 19, 2019

I have a Nuvo 38 that has been up and running for 3 years. LPS mostly with a RBTA. I am considering getting a 50g cube with a sump.

If I transfer everything over including water and rocks, will I experience a cycle?

I’d like to replace the sand if it would be possible without crashing the tank.

Soldja12 · Sep 19, 2019

You will not. Keep your water and bacteria load from previous tank, and you will be perfectly fine. Changing out the sand bed is great! People try to reuse but it's honestly best to get rid of old and add new.

Rjukan · Sep 19, 2019

Whooop, gig em Aggies.

The water is less important when compared to the LR. In fact it might be beneficial to take this chance to do a decent sized water change in the process. Are you going to be putting the new tank in the same spot as the old one? If not will you be able to have the new one running before you transfer the livestock?

The sand is a different story, from what I've read you can take the sand out and rinse it really well until it runs clear, then put it back in the system. I recently added new sand to my system and I rinsed it then let it sit in SW for a little while before I put it in my established system, to no ill effect.

TexAgReefer · Sep 19, 2019

The new tank would be going in the same spot as the current. I could, however, put the new sand in the new tank and let it run with fresh saltwater in a different location for a little while and then drain enough of it to move the tank into the new location.

I don’t like the sand that I have now so I saw it as an opportunity to replace it with what I like, I just know that the sand has some bio filtration and I don’t want to crash my tank and kill my LPS with the move.

Rjukan · Sep 19, 2019

Yeah you don't have to worry about that then. Just make sure you really rinse out the new sand, even if it's "live" in a bag with water.

TexAgReefer · Sep 19, 2019

Rjukan said:
Yeah you don't have to worry about that then. Just make sure you really rinse out the new sand, even if it's "live" in a bag with water.

Thanks! It’ll be dry sand so I’ll rinse it really well.

Spanky05 · Sep 19, 2019

Youll probably have a small cycle and some minor new tank issues but nothing too crazy.

I moved my 29 to a 90 earlier this year.

Are you in CS?

TexAgReefer · Sep 19, 2019

Spanky05 said:
Youll probably have a small cycle and some minor new tank issues but nothing too crazy.

I moved my 29 to a 90 earlier this year.

Are you in CS?

Hopefully whatever it is will be minimal enough to not take anything out.

My wife and I graduated from Texas A&M but we live north of Dallas now. We go down regularly though.

Spanky05 · Sep 19, 2019

TexAgReefer said:
Hopefully whatever it is will be minimal enough to not take anything out.

My wife and I graduated from Texas A&M but we live north of Dallas now. We go down regularly though.

Ah cool stuff. I stuck around after graduation.

I would highly recommend changing sand and highly recommend rinsing it thoroughly. I did and was shocked at how much silt came out.

How to rinse out an older sand bed, and why... | Melev's Reef

If it is time to move from one tank to another one, or you are simply moving the tank from one location to another, the big question that comes up often is "how do I transfer the sandbed?" The reason this is a concern is because the sand bed traps all kinds of detritus and this builds up to...

www.melevsreef.com

TexAgReefer · Sep 20, 2019

Spanky05 said:
Ah cool stuff. I stuck around after graduation.

I would highly recommend changing sand and highly recommend rinsing it thoroughly. I did and was shocked at how much silt came out.

How to rinse out an older sand bed, and why... | Melev's Reef

If it is time to move from one tank to another one, or you are simply moving the tank from one location to another, the big question that comes up often is "how do I transfer the sandbed?" The reason this is a concern is because the sand bed traps all kinds of detritus and this builds up to...

www.melevsreef.com

Thanks! I’ll be using Tropic Eden Reef flakes (a recommendation from Mr Saltwater Tank). I used it in my very first build about 5 years ago and loved it. Rinses clear pretty quickly and looked great in the tank. Plus it’s dry sand so I don’t have to worry about introducing new pests.