Upgrading Tank Questions

[Jisko]

So I've had my 29g setup for less then a year now and honestly I said when I took this tank down it would be when I moved. I wanted to go from this tank to a 100g+ and just work on building a tank I'd really love. Well I guess I lied because I have a 55g long sitting in my basement right now haha...

The plan is to setup a 65" stand where the 55g will sit. The 55g is only 48" long giving me around 15" of wiggle room with an inch or so on each side. I plan to put my 5g fluvel AIO on the side of it because I use that as a little frag tank/QT tank for new frags. The sump, skimmer, and just about everything else will be used on the 55g so purchasing that stuff isnt what I'm worried about. However I do have a few questions and concerns...

1. Adding more rock: Currently I have around 40lb of rock if you count whats in the display and the sump. I would like to over double this when I upgrade so I've been looking at the BRS reef saver rock just because I've ordered it before and its very cleaned up and nice looking when it arrives. My only concern is not curing it and having problems. I didn't cure the rock in the last build I did and things seemed to turn out alright but this time I have corals and fish being moved over so I'm trying to plan a little bit a head. I have a tiny Hippo Tang, Splendid Dottyback, Fire Shrimp, and Cleaner Shrimp in the display. I'm worried that by not curing I might have PH swings that will stress the Hippo out and possibly effect my corals. Does anyone have any suggestions to help deal with this or maybe some input?

2. Sand or BB?: So this has really been on my mind a lot because of my current gold and black algae issue that I've been dealing with for a few weeks now. I see a lot of people go BB because it make cleaning much easier plus it allows for corals to grow right on the glass. I LOVE acans so having an acan farm would be a dream. When I move the tank I'd just toss what ever sand I have and go BB. If anyone has any knowledge or links to threads about the pros and cons of this that would be amazing!

3. Where to Drill: I've been debating on putting the overflow box either in the back center or back left side of the tank. If I put the overflow on the back center I'd try to put two return nozzles one on the left center and one on the right center so the tank has good flow all around. My concern with this is that the tank is kind of old so I'm worried about it cracking or something going wrong when drilling it. (I'm crazy paranoid -.- )... If I was to drill it on the left side and put a return on the right it would only require two holes to be drilled but I fear it may not create enough circulation in the tank and possibly create dead spots. I do have 2 Jebao power heads so if need be I can really crank up the flow in the tank. Has anyone here ever drilled a 55g long? If so where did you drill it and what do you wish you did differently?

4. Kalk in The ATO: Currently I'm putting kalk in the ATO because I had a problem with bleaching of corals and coraline. Since I've began this things have bounced back and are doing better then they ever have. What I'm wondering is if I'll still need to do this once I get the 55g because the water volume will be increased greatly. I'm pretty sure the only way I'll find out is by testing the water frequently the first few weeks to get a good idea of where the perimeters are falling.

Lastly if anyone has a 55g long and would like to share anything please do so. I'm very curious about different aquascapes

 

[Jisko]

@saltyfilmfolks Maybe you can shine some light on my lil thread here... sorry it's a lot of writing and most of which is pretty basic I guess. The adding more rock is most likely going to have to happen slow so I can cure the dry rock but I'm worried by waiting I'll just be expanding the cycle of the tank from when I make the upgrade then again when I add more rock :\

 

[Bdog4u2]

I would cure the rock first even if just for a few weeks. I'd put the over flow in the center, it's easier to hide and I think it just looks better. sand or no sand....hmm well if you want to get certain wrasses or gobies then yes just make sure it's not to fine I also think sand makes a tank look more natural, now if it's gonna be a sps tank with crazy flow and don't want certain fish then go bare bottom and if you change your mind add sand later it's not hard.
Good luck and take your time and use the knowledge you've learned since your first tank and make it better.

 

[Jisko]

I would cure the rock first even if just for a few weeks. I'd put the over flow in the center, it's easier to hide and I think it just looks better. sand or no sand....hmm well if you want to get certain wrasses or gobies then yes just make sure it's not to fine I also think sand makes a tank look more natural, now if it's gonna be a sps tank with crazy flow and don't want certain fish then go bare bottom and if you change your mind add sand later it's not hard.
Good luck and take your time and use the knowledge you've learned since your first tank and make it better.

yeah, Honestly I think I'm gonna cure the rock for a few weeks this way I have time to purchase a few upgrades before setting up the tank. Figured why not set it up how I want this time instead of rushing it like I did before.

 

[Bdog4u2]

Planning can save a ton of loot, nothing like replacing equipment because you impulsed bought something thats not good enough or just flat wrong....we've all done it

 

[CodyRVA]

1. If you don't have many expensive corals, I would just add the new rock, after you do an RODI rinse. I've done this many times, no problems. I would also check out billys reef connection, you can save some buck. Rock won't be purple out of the box, but its quality stuff.

2. Personal preference on sand, my only recommendation is to thoroughly rinse your existing sand if and when you transfer it.

3. Make sure you can actually drill this tank before going any further... Depending on what brand it is, i would be surprised if you can drill it at all let alone a side or back or bottom.

4. Depends on your system and what's in it. I dose 2 part, ALK, MG, CA... heavily stocked on SPS, no need for KALK. Depending on what you do with your system you may be able to get away with KALK, all depends.

Overall... map out your new build piece by piece starting with your limitations like if you can drill it, how it must be plumbed, pump sizes, spaces for extras like reactors, fuge, socks (sump) etc. When you have that mapped, I would focus on your transfer; if you go with sand, you'll likely need to add more. This, along with a bottle of bacteria, is a wise choice in replacing your losses.

 

[Jisko]

1. If you don't have many expensive corals, I would just add the new rock, after you do an RODI rinse. I've done this many times, no problems. I would also check out billys reef connection, you can save some buck. Rock won't be purple out of the box, but its quality stuff.

2. Personal preference on sand, my only recommendation is to thoroughly rinse your existing sand if and when you transfer it.

3. Make sure you can actually drill this tank before going any further... Depending on what brand it is, i would be surprised if you can drill it at all let alone a side or back or bottom.

4. Depends on your system and what's in it. I dose 2 part, ALK, MG, CA... heavily stocked on SPS, no need for KALK. Depending on what you do with your system you may be able to get away with KALK, all depends.

Overall... map out your new build piece by piece starting with your limitations like if you can drill it, how it must be plumbed, pump sizes, spaces for extras like reactors, fuge, socks (sump) etc. When you have that mapped, I would focus on your transfer; if you go with sand, you'll likely need to add more. This, along with a bottle of bacteria, is a wise choice in replacing your losses.

I'd most likely just go with dry rock instead of adding live rock. I have 40lbs of live rock from the 29g id be using.

The tank can be drilled it's more or less figuring out the layout of the plumbing

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Hey friend!
So
IMO

Does anyone have any suggestions to help deal with this or maybe some input?

Get homer buckets and use old tank water and stupid cheap sun sun powerheads and let them sit for a month. Or more.

If you plan well you can add it later.

Double check and look at your rock and make sure you even need more.
Myself I like to see the rock before I buy it.
I'm a rock head. If you see rock at the lfs that's cured why not dip the heck out of it in peroxide.

Sand or BB?

Up to you. I like sand. I don't know why.
But.....

I like my sacapes modular so to speak. Plenty of room for flow or cleaning and getting my hand in there.
If I had to I could pull every rock out in 20min and put it back and not blow up the tank. In my 30 I've done it half a dozen times. In my 55long never , knock wood.

Where to Drill

No clue, well a clue, but I like to go with asteics and good flow. I'd be tempted to do corners. Back left back right. But also start with the scape idea.

Kalk in The AT

A jebao doser is $65 or a little bit more for a three stage. You can dose whatever you want. And then change it up when you feel like it. (Or can afford it lol). I went from ESV to balling. You could do kalk and mag and have one for vinegar if you chose too. And you have a large enough place for 2.5g of kalk in the stand if you chose to.

The best thing about an oversized stand is more room IN the stand. Had I known I would have gotten an addition to the house for my stand.
I have a 30g tall for my sump, love it. Have about 15in on the right side it fits dosing containers and a 2.5 g ato container. I think You cold still fit the kalk container. (Um, so mine is a plastic kitty litter bottle from target.

Please forgive the Tim burton nightmare that is my tank. You can't see the rock for the coral.

 

[Jisko]

Hey friend!
So
IMO


Get homer buckets and use old tank water and stupid cheap sun sun powerheads and let them sit for a month. Or more.

If you plan well you can add it later.

Double check and look at your rock and make sure you even need more.
Myself I like to see the rock before I buy it.
I'm a rock head. If you see rock at the lfs that's cured why not dip the heck out of it in peroxide.


Up to you. I like sand. I don't know why.
But.....

I like my sacapes modular so to speak. Plenty of room for flow or cleaning and getting my hand in there.
If I had to I could pull every rock out in 20min and put it back and not blow up the tank. In my 30 I've done it half a dozen times. In my 55long never , knock wood.


No clue, well a clue, but I like to go with asteics and good flow. I'd be tempted to do corners. Back left back right. But also start with the scape idea.

A jebao doser is $65 or a little bit more for a three stage. You can dose whatever you want. And then change it up when you feel like it. (Or can afford it lol). I went from ESV to balling. You could do kalk and mag and have one for vinegar if you chose too. And you have a large enough place for 2.5g of kalk in the stand if you chose to.

The best thing about an oversized stand is more room IN the stand. Had I known I would have gotten an addition to the house for my stand.
I have a 30g tall for my sump, love it. Have about 15in on the right side it fits dosing containers and a 2.5 g ato container. I think You cold still fit the kalk container. (Um, so mine is a plastic kitty litter bottle from target.

Please forgive the Tim burton nightmare that is my tank. You can't see the rock for the coral.

I decided to add a lot more rock to create caves and more room for corals to grow. The way my tank is now it looks very nice but the rockscape just doesnt work well when trying to deal with corals or create hiding places for a fish that might be stressed. The reason I'd be ordering so much rock (60 lbs) is so I have a lot of rock to work with and scape how ever I want. What ever is left will just be used in the sump. Here is what my tank currently looks like:

(sorry for crazy algae problem haha)

As for the stand I've designed a 67" long stand that will be able to hold the display and the frag tank. It will also give me a lot of room underneath to put the sump, dosing bucket for kalk in the ATO, reactor, and even a place to put dosing pumps down the road, controller, and everything else. Here is a quick render of the stand I'm planning to build



Shell taken off:



you can see the right side is not designed yet but it will be closed off and designed to put all the electrical stuff in there away from water contact. the cylinder shape next to the sump is the ATO bucket which is 12" x 13".


I've been looking into BB just because I hate dealing with the issue of cleaning the sandbed. I stumbled on this thread today which really made me want to go BB even more.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/g...-wide-coral’s-co-founder-lou-schiavo.93522/

I think I'll try to go for BB with around 75lbs of rock in the DT. As for drilling I think having the overflow in the center would make more sense to help eliminate dead zones.

current plan of action haha

1. purchase the 60lb of rock and build the stand. Then begin the curing process of the rock which will give me time to build the stand paint it and get it all ready.

2. plumb the tank on the stand and begin positioning everything.

3. This tank will be in my bedroom so I think I'll be moving my bed and everything out into the guest room for the time being so I can setup totes to house all the rock. Fish will be kept individually in 5g buckets while I scape the rock. once theyre set in place I'll begin moving over water then corals then fish. I'm doing it in this order because I figure by time the fish go in the water theyre gonna be very stressed out and arnt gonna want to be chased all over the tank by me when I'm trying to put the corals back into the tank.


so what do you think of this