Upgrading Tank Size - Cycling Advice

[Kurtoski]

Hi everyone.

In around 4-5 weeks time I’ll be upgrading from my Red Sea Reefer 350 to a 1000 litre 6ft.

I currently have a fair amount of live rock in the tank, more than most butIn addition to the upgradeI have bought 30kg RealReef Rock which is dead. The new tank will be placed in a different place in the house to the current tank.

My idea and theory is, I can do the following.

1) Fill the new tank up with RO and heat to temp
2) Add the salt to get water up to salinity
3) Add my new dead rock and start moving over all my live rock, scaping as I go
4) Add any rock with corals on as well as all other livestock
5) whilst doing step 4, acclimate the more sensitive livestock like my H.Magnifica anemone and a few other bits

My thinking is, my bioload will remain the same and I’ll be adding my existing live rock so in theory I won’t need to cycle, just do a normal acclimation for everything so they can adjust to the new very clean water.

Would love to know what you think or what you have done in the past.

Thanks

 

[brandon429]

yes it will work, add these three points:

-reduce lighting in the new setup to handle dilution of waste and the lack of organic reserves its all adapted to. ramp back up. you can't harm or be lacking in bacteria in this job; its purely nutrients lighting follow up and waste clouding to be planning for. you have less waste in the new tank, run lights low and work corals back up.

-transfer no waste in rocks or sand to avoid a mini cycle; all cycles are caused by nutrient upwells and never a lack of bacteria. your expectations for the bacteria are correct.

-if you use api ammonia, or anything non seneye to monitor the move, expect a mini cycle.

-if you use seneye, you will not get a mini cycle simple as that.

in no way can moving rocks tank to tank kill anything on them. if you move waste you risk a mini cycle, and if you move no waste you dont risk any cycle whatsoever.

in our sand rinse thread, we'd do your entire upgrade never testing for ammonia its a party foul in our work thread. we know what cycles and what doesn't/no half green shade of fear needed to stoke concerns.

 

[ca1ore]

My thinking is, my bioload will remain the same and I’ll be adding my existing live rock so in theory I won’t need to cycle, just do a normal acclimation for everything so they can adjust to the new very clean water.

I've done a bunch of in place upgrades over the years and I think your assumption is correct. Reusing sand is potentially a problem, particularly if you move over the detritus laden deeper layers. I have typically used the top third and discarded the rest in favor of new (well washed) sand. Plus new sand helps to restore the phosphate sink. Agree that nutrient release is the bigger problem, so feed the new tank a bit more sparingly for a week or two and you should be fine.

 

[Kurtoski]

I've done a bunch of in place upgrades over the years and I think your assumption is correct. Reusing sand is potentially a problem, particularly if you move over the detritus laden deeper layers. I have typically used the top third and discarded the rest in favor of new (well washed) sand. Plus new sand helps to restore the phosphate sink. Agree that nutrient release is the bigger problem, so feed the new tank a bit more sparingly for a week or two and you should be fine.

Thanks for the reassurance. I currently have bare bottom at the minute and will remain to do so, hopefully I should be good to go.