Upgrading to larger tank help?

[Offbeatmimic]

So I am planning on moved 75 gal to new 180 or 210. What would be the best step to get it started. I got some stuff that I am worry about.
-I would love to add more dry rock/sand into the new tank but that mean I have to cycle the tank then right?
-Can I reuse my rock/sand in my 75?
-Would it be better to let the whole thing cycle then transfer the old rock/sand?

Let me know what I should and shouldn't do when doing the progress on the tank.
Lost thing I wants to do is lose my livestock

 

[Joeganja]

You can do this. Add new water. Don't reuse the one from the 75 gallon. Same thing with sand. Get the rock from the 75 gallon and rinse it to get rid of any sand, dirt, debris with RO water and get dry rock rinse it the same thing and add that into the tank the 180/210. The new tank is gonna cycle the rock anyways since its dry you don't need to cycle it especially when your starting from scratch. The live rock from your 75 gallon will help speed the process and will provide good bacteria. I recommend not to reuse your sand because you can have an ammonia spike.

 

[Offbeatmimic]

Dry rock carry died organism on them. If I add it with live rock into the new tank would my ammonia spike or no?
What should I do with the sand then? I know you can add a little bit in the tank to seed that all I know.
Is there any way I can reuse the sand?

 

[AlexG]

I would setup the big tank 25 gallons short of being filled. Then do a water change on the 75 taking 25 gallons of water of the established tank without stirring it up. That will give you 25 gallons of established water to put into the new tank. Do not reuse the sand you will be better off with new sand. Take some of the rock out of the 75 and rinse it well and then place it in the new tank. I would let it go for a week or two monitoring the parameters of the water. The tank might get a mini cycle or a full cycle. The best thing about this method is that you can take your time and slowly migrate stuff over to the bigger tank when its ready. If you really want to reuse the sand you need to remove it from the tank and rinse it to the point of no detritus being seen in the rinse water. Then you could place it back into the new tank but it might trigger a bigger cycle period before the tank is ready.

 

[BigJim]

You should cure the new dry rock before adding it to the new tank with the old rock. I would probably take a rock or two out of your current display and put it in a Brute container with your new dry rock. Add saltwater, a powerhead and heater and change about half the water each week until there is no ammonia or nitrite. You may also want to check the phosphate as it can be really high if you get pukani or fiji rock. My fiji rock cycled in a Brute container in about 3 weeks but it took 3 ½ months before the phosphate dropped from .60 ppm to .03 ppm. I probably would not use the same sand, unless you have been vacuuming it with your water changes and keeping it very clean. Your sand can have a ton of nasty stuff in it that may cause an ammonia spike.

 

[Offbeatmimic]

Thank for the advice!
Basically, I just do the same step as I would if I am doing a whole new tank then. When everything is fully cycling then I can start adding stuff here and there slowly.
What can I do with the sand then if I am not going to use it? it would be a waste the throw it away.

 

[Bdog4u2]

I would cycle dry rock in a container for a few weeks then partially fill new tank with fresh saltwater with the new and old rock then use as much water as can from old tank that way your livestock can be dropped in new set up without a long acclimation process. I swapped a 75 gallon to a 150 and didn't lose nothing and never had a trace of ammonia but I also had 280lbs of liverock that I swapped into new tank. I would rinse your sand until water is clear as long as it's not over a year old but keep a cup or 2 to seed the bed again