Tank upgrade process tips

[themadman]

I'm one year into my 60 gallon cube build and everything has been going really well and I've been very happy with it. So what do I decide to do? Take everything apart and upgrade to something with a little more real estate. Lol. I'm going to be putting a 48" long 75 gallon tank where my current tank is sitting now. I want to give a general rundown of my plan and get any tips or suggestions and also verify that I won't have a cycle at all in the new tank if done correctly? The water volume obviously isn't significantly different. I also currently have a trigger ruby 20 cube sump and will be going with a trigger emerald 34 sump in the new tank. I'll be using 2 radion XR15 pro gen 4's for lighting. Also upgrading from current MP10's to MP40's. But my plan is fairly simple I hope....

Get Rubbermaid tote(s) with heater and pump and or air stone.

Pump water from tank into tote.

Place rock and corals in tote.

Place fish in tote or separate bucket. (Currently only have 2 clownfish, a bicolor blenny, and 1 cleaner shrimp.

Save as much additional water from tank as possible without having any debris stirred up in water.

Tear down old tank.

Install new tank.

Place live rock from tote into new tank.

Use brand new live sand in new tank. (Rinse or don't rinse ?)

Fill tank with water. (Mix of old and new)

Put fish in new tank.

So that is my general plan. Question is there should be no cycle if done this way correct? I can't imagine any significant die off if I am able to do the transfer in less than 24 hours? Any suggestions or input on if this is correct procedure would be awesome! Thanks!

 

[donnievaz]

I did basically the same exact thing when I went from a 14g BioCube to a 29G except I put the sand and water in first, then the rock (I know that's not the preferred method). I did not rinse the CaribSea Fiji Pink sand and let it settle out before I put the rock in. I had a very slight diatom bloom afterwards but nothing major. That being said, I only had one clownfish at the time so it wasn't like I was putting much of a bioload on it.

 

[Johniejumbo]

Sounds like a decent plan. I would keep some Prime on hand and be prepared to do some water changes just in case. I have moved a few tanks and there was almost always a bit of an upset to the biological balance. I did much the same method however I was moving them from one house to another. You may not have any issue.

 

[themadman]

Sounds like a decent plan. I would keep some Prime on hand and be prepared to do some water changes just in case. I have moved a few tanks and there was almost always a bit of an upset to the biological balance. I did much the same method however I was moving them from one house to another. You may not have any issue.

Good call on the prime! Thank you!