Upgrading to a Larger Tank

[Whitey26]

Hello All,

Upgrade questions/thoughts:

-I am looking into possibly upgrading from my 12 gallon cube to a 29 gallon tank (fish, CUC, coral) I have done a lot of reading and just can't decide what the best filtration options would be. Many say skimmer, many say not necessary. Many say skimmer and no filter at all, some say a filter is fine and no skimmer. So much information.

The aquarium would be standard most likely, not all-in-one, so anything added would be HOB.

-As for rock, I would add more to keep up with the increased gallons of water. I currently have roughly 10-12 pounds of live rock. I would just want to add dry, cured rock, correct? Not purchase additional live rock to add in? I would get new sand and use a little bit of my current sand to seed it, though I've also read that isn't completely necessary with live rock from the previous tank.

-Lastly, going from a 12g to a 29g, I would be putting the 29 where the 12 currently sits so would be doing a transfer the same day. Will be transferring the live rock from the 12 but should any of the old tank water be transferred as well? From reading it seems that at least some of it should be used in the new tank but others have said start with fresh saltwater entirely. Again, so many opinions! Obviously nervous about everything being transferred into a new tank the same day. My tank is doing really, really well right now and everything is healthy, growing, I don't want to crash and kill anything.

Thanks in advance for feedback! I have read some threads and gotten good information but thought responses directly to my situation would be helpful.

 

[CC13]

1) I am looking into possibly upgrading from my 12 gallon cube to a 29 gallon tank (fish, CUC, coral) I have done a lot of reading and just can't decide what the best filtration options would be. Many say skimmer, many say not necessary. Many say skimmer and no filter at all, some say a filter is fine and no skimmer. So much information.

The aquarium would be standard most likely, not all-in-one, so anything added would be HOB.

2) As for rock, I would add more to keep up with the increased gallons of water. I currently have roughly 10-12 pounds of live rock. I would just want to add dry, cured rock, correct? Not purchase additional live rock to add in? I would get new sand and use a little bit of my current sand to seed it, though I've also read that isn't completely necessary with live rock from the previous tank.

3) Should any of the old tank water be transferred as well? From reading it seems that at least some of it should be used in the new tank but others have said start with fresh saltwater entirely. Again, so many opinions! Obviously nervous about everything being transferred into a new tank the same day. My tank is doing really, really well right now and everything is healthy, growing, I don't want to crash and kill anything.

There is no definite answer to your questions, but I will point out the pros and cons to each question. Ultimately you have to sit down, assess the goals of the tank, your budget, and how much time you want to spend maintaining your tank.

Question 1 - Do you need a skimmer
Short answer: No

Long Answer: Not really NEED, but it does help. A skimmer is not just for removing waste from the system (it does this), but it also adds oxygen into the water which fish use to breath, and helps keep pH up (assuming its not air high in CO2). So the benefits of a skimmer are: it allows you an easy method of nutrient and waste export (whatever waste collects in the cup you throw out), and it also tends to keep the water quality up. You don't absolutely need one, but there are no real cons to having one; only benefits. For this reason, the majority of people use one. You can buy a good used skimmer for a nano for cheaper than most corals, imo, I would have one on any tank I run, but thats just my opinion.

Question 2 - Should you add more rock? If so, cured rock?
Short answer: Depends - but most likely yes.

Long Answer: Do you plan to run a sump or refiugium? A lot of people have very little liverock in the display tank because there is beauty in a minimalist rock work design. Saying that, they then add more rock into their sump area to maintain a large surface volume of live rock in the entire system, even though the display tank has less. If you do not plan to have a sum, I would say yes, you should add some. You don't need to go nuts, and not all live rock is the same. Try to choose very porous rock as opposed to very solid and dense rock. Your surface area will very porous rock will be significantly more, and you can get away with having less actual rock pieces in your display. Cured just means the cycle is over or there is no cycle. So yes, try and add cured rock. You tank volume is only 29 gallons, and adding some larger pieces of uncured rock might cause a crash.

Question 3 - Should old tank water be transferred to the new tank
Short answer: Depends - but why not?

Long Answer: Is there a reason why you wouldn't use it is sort of a better question. Is the old tank water terribly old, dirty? If not, why would you not use it? Also, by using some 'old' tank water, some of the beneficial bacteria will also be transferred into your new tank, whereby allowing it to continue. I would use 50% old water (assuming the term old is being used to refer to the water being in the older tank and not because there is anything wrong with it) and 50% new water. The old water serves its purpose in keeping your tank from crashing, and the new water just tops off minerals and trace elements. Again, just my opinion.

 

[Whitey26]

Appreciate the feedback, thank you. In line with much of what you said but glad to have that confirmed.

With a tank that size, would just the skimmer be enough or should there still be some other filtration involved?

 

[CC13]

This was my original thought as well. Nothing wrong with the water at all and thought it would be good to have the beneficial bacteria, like you said. Thank you for the feedback! Helpful.

Ya you seemed to know what you wanted. Don't let people sway you. Try to read as much as you can and decide what fits your goals and budget. At the end of the day, if you have a tank your happy with, that's all that matters.

 

[Whitey26]

Ya you seemed to know what you wanted. Don't let people sway you. Try to read as much as you can and decide what fits your goals and budget. At the end of the day, if you have a tank your happy with, that's all that matters.

Appreciate the feedback, thank you. In line with much of what you said but glad to have that confirmed.

With a tank that size, would just the skimmer be enough or should there still be some other filtration involved?

 

[CC13]

Appreciate the feedback, thank you. In line with much of what you said but glad to have that confirmed.

With a tank that size, would just the skimmer be enough or should there still be some other filtration involved?

I would start off with the skimmer first. In my opinion you want to start a new tank with the best possible chances for clean, high quality water. It saves you tons of time and money later on having to play catch up to get rid of algae.

From the skimmer, you could add a reactor or two (carbon or GFO) depending on if you feel like you need it. Carbon will for sure make your water crystal clear, but again, its not a necessity. I would say doing weekly water changes and making sure your sand bed is cleaned regularly puts you at the start to having a super nice tank.

 

[Whitey26]

Double post, please delete.

 

[Whitey26]

I would start off with the skimmer first. In my opinion you want to start a new tank with the best possible chances for clean, high quality water. It saves you tons of time and money later on having to play catch up to get rid of algae.

From the skimmer, you could add a reactor or two (carbon or GFO) depending on if you feel like you need it. Carbon will for sure make your water crystal clear, but again, its not a necessity. I would say doing weekly water changes and making sure your sand bed is cleaned regularly puts you at the start to having a super nice tank.

Seems like a good plan. Had already done a lot of reading on skimmer recommendations for a tank that size in the event I opted for the skimmer. Seems like a no-brainer given, as you said, no harm can be done and only good.

So it is a reasonable expectation to be able to make the switch all in the same day and not have any tank crash issues?

 

[CC13]

Seems like a good plan. Had already done a lot of reading on skimmer recommendations for a tank that size in the event I opted for the skimmer. Seems like a no-brainer given, as you said, no harm can be done and only good.

So it is a reasonable expectation to be able to make the switch all in the same day and not have any tank crash issues?

I would 100% do it the same day - I would try and do the switch as fast as possible. The more time that goes by, the more chance of die-off which will cause a cycle and your trying to avoid this.

I would recommend making more fresh salt water than you anticipate. If anything spills, or falls, at least you have enough water to get the new system going.

 

[Whitey26]

I would 100% do it the same day - I would try and do the switch as fast as possible. The more time that goes by, the more chance of die-off which will cause a cycle and your trying to avoid this.

I would recommend making more fresh salt water than you anticipate. If anything spills, or falls, at least you have enough water to get the new system going.

I have some experience with the procedure. I had to move the tank from a different location to where it is now so had to drain it, take everything out, keep everything in buckets, move it, put everything back in and didn't lose anything. I'll definitely be prepared with plenty of water and have everything set to go before actually starting. Thanks again for the info, appreciated.

 

[CC13]

I have some experience with the procedure. I had to move the tank from a different location to where it is now so had to drain it, take everything out, keep everything in buckets, move it, put everything back in and didn't lose anything. I'll definitely be prepared with plenty of water and have everything set to go before actually starting. Thanks again for the info, appreciated.

Post some pics when the new tank is up and running!

 

[Whitey26]

I definitely will! Thank you again for the feedback and info.

 

[CC13]

No problem.

 

[BestMomEver]

This is what I did when I moved a 16 cube to a 60 cube...

1. Bought more rock. Some was live, some cured. I didnt have enough live rock in the 16 to do much in a 60.
2. Bought new sand and used about 2 cups of the old sand to seed it.
3. Emptied water from 16 into a bucket (after removing critters to a different bucket).
4) Put filter floss from 16 (AIO) in a media bag and put it in the new sump.
5) Slid the old tank away from the wall and slid the new one in.
6) Put 60 together, cleaned and put 16 away.

If I were to make recommendations, I would suggest looking into HOB skimmers. You could try running your tank without one for a while and see what happens. What filtration do you plan on using?

Everything you might want to add, can be placed outside a sump. You can hang it or put it under the stand. Suggestion.... buy a big stand. You’ll be glad you did!

Good luck...

Elizabeth

 

[Whitey26]

This is what I did when I moved a 16 cube to a 60 cube...

1. Bought more rock. Some was live, some cured. I didnt have enough live rock in the 16 to do much in a 60.
2. Bought new sand and used about 2 cups of the old sand to seed it.
3. Emptied water from 16 into a bucket (after removing critters to a different bucket).
4) Put filter floss from 16 (AIO) in a media bag and put it in the new sump.
5) Slid the old tank away from the wall and slid the new one in.
6) Put 60 together, cleaned and put 16 away.

If I were to make recommendations, I would suggest looking into HOB skimmers. You could try running your tank without one for a while and see what happens. What filtration do you plan on using?

Everything you might want to add, can be placed outside a sump. You can hang it or put it under the stand. Suggestion.... buy a big stand. You’ll be glad you did!

Good luck...

Elizabeth

Thanks for the suggestions. Up in the air on filtration. Have looked into some different HOB models so will opt for something along those lines. I know some have said for a tank that size that only a skimmer would be needed and not a skimmer AND filtration. Feel like it should have both, to me, but that's why I'm here.

 

[starypotter]

I had a standard rectangle sort 29 for about a month? I quickly grew impatient and found a used 75 for a great price, but I made myself a little sump. I had a skimmer in it, and I had some filter floss between the baffles, then it gave me room for a refugium as well. I also had the DT drain through a basket with some filter floss before it entered the sump. It ran very smoothly except for my crummy DIY overflow. So I had the dual filtration with the skimmer and something mechanical, but I didn't have to spend a ton of money on the second filter things. I made a little basket out of egg crate, and now that I have disassembled that the egg crate is still being used in my little frag QT as a rack for them to sit on. He's an idea of what my setup looked like.

When I transferred I had to do it in 3 days and so I had a mini cycle even though my rock was in a bucket of water. I think it was my sand that did it. You might want to keep your fish and whatnot in an extra bucket of water, make the transfer as early in the day as possible, and just check later to make sure there's no ammonia problem but if you're not reusing the sand I can't imagine you would. When I did the transfer all I had was CUC and some rather hardy corals, but I don't know the sensitivity of your critters.

 

[BestMomEver]

Thanks for the suggestions. Up in the air on filtration. Have looked into some different HOB models so will opt for something along those lines. I know some have said for a tank that size that only a skimmer would be needed and not a skimmer AND filtration. Feel like it should have both, to me, but that's why I'm here.

I have a Biocube 32 that came with a media rack in the back. I took it out and put a smaller media tower (from Intank) and a small Tunze nano skimmer in the middle compartment. It works well. This is a dedicated clown/anemone tank so I feel like the extra filtration is necessary. I know you said yours wasn’t an AIO but you can still do something similar that is external.

I might get shot dead for saying this, but if your REALLY diligent about cleaning (every 2 weeks or so) you could try a canister filter. Many folks don’t like them but they have their place. More people use them than you think.