Tank upgrade 20g to 40g - Help!

[liam31]

So the time has come for an upgrade. I have a Nuvo 20 that has been running for around 12 months. No major problems with it just wanted more water volume. But I am not happy with my current aquascape. For now, the tank is not set up in the same place so I have some time to set up the new tank. I have purchased a new bag of special grade sand for the new tank.
What would be the best way to go around this?
In my old tank, I currently have two clownfish and various flags of SPS, LPS and Zoa's.

My old tank has horribly shaped rocks and is currently a 'rock wall' I can either keep a few smaller pieces to seed new dry rock or can I break the current rock into smaller pieces and try and arrange something? (I Don't want to remove too much from my old tank) Or break up some of the rocks and place them in the sump?

I am a bit lost in moving everything over. Should I build a new aquascape out of dry rock and place a couple of smaller pieces of my rock in the new tank and some bottled bacteria and ammonia source and let it cycle or just move all the old rock( Keep the rock wall), new sand and new water and move everything over in one go? I am trying to prevent any loss of coral and fish!

Hope I have explained this well and seems like a fairly common question! Just want my new tank to have a nice aquascape As I have learnt a lot more since my initial setup of the 20g.

Thanks

 

[MnFish1]

So the time has come for an upgrade. I have a Nuvo 20 that has been running for around 12 months. No major problems with it just wanted more water volume. But I am not happy with my current aquascape. For now, the tank is not set up in the same place so I have some time to set up the new tank. I have purchased a new bag of special grade sand for the new tank.
What would be the best way to go around this?
In my old tank, I currently have two clownfish and various flags of SPS, LPS and Zoa's.

My old tank has horribly shaped rocks and is currently a 'rock wall' I can either keep a few smaller pieces to seed new dry rock or can I break the current rock into smaller pieces and try and arrange something? (I Don't want to remove too much from my old tank) Or break up some of the rocks and place them in the sump?

I am a bit lost in moving everything over. Should I build a new aquascape out of dry rock and place a couple of smaller pieces of my rock in the new tank and some bottled bacteria and ammonia source and let it cycle or just move all the old rock( Keep the rock wall), new sand and new water and move everything over in one go? I am trying to prevent any loss of coral and fish!

Hope I have explained this well and seems like a fairly common question! Just want my new tank to have a nice aquascape As I have learnt a lot more since my initial setup of the 20g.

Thanks

Its unclear - are you hoping to keep the 20 gallon running? If not - I would move everything to the new tank - if you want to break and re-set it up - great. I am starting to favor the more 'open' designs. You might find that if you move your current rock - in a different configuration you will like the more openness better. Additionally, you should not have to 'cycle' the new tank. When I did this, I took 1/2 my old water, added 1/2 new water moved all my old rock over - I did add 2 pieces of table rock becasue I was going to a much larger tank - added some bottled bacteria according to instructions (Stability), put new dead sand in, and put my old fish and coral back in - with no problem. Never tested ammonia, etc.

 

[liam31]

Thanks for the help @MnFish1 This is exactly what I will do.

 

[Aqua Man]

new bag of special grade sand for the new tank.

Mnfish gives good advice. I will only add, rinse the new sand.

 

[MnFish1]

Thanks for the help @MnFish1 This is exactly what I will do.

BTW - the easiest way to do it - is to move your 20 gallon to another table - leaving your filter etc on - set up your new tank where you want it - so its 'ready to go'. You might want to leak test the system you're using with fresh water before doing it (i.e. tap water) - just to make sure there are no problems. Then set up the new tank where you want it - put in the rinsed new sand (unless you have bought sand you dont have to rinse) - then 1/2 the water, then put the rocks and fish in, and any coral - then add the new water (same temp, salinity, etc - like you were doing a water change). You can then arrange your rocks the way you like them. If youre going to glue them - I would keep them damp etc - with spraying water, etc while youre doing it. Just try to be 'quick'