Need some advice!

[saltygirl2422]

Hi all, I'm new to this site, I need some expert advice. I have a 75 gallon fowlr that has been up and running for a month and a half. I'm buying a 125 gallon RR tank (little xmas present to self). My question is do I transfer all the live sand from my old tank to the new one? or is that going to throw up ammonia etc? I have read that some people use about half the water from the old tank and all the live sand. Also, how long do I have to let the new tank cycle if I use my sand and liverock? Thanks!

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

its best not to use the sand so you dont throw off your parameters. lots of nasties in there. there will probly only be a mini cycle that will take a few days to a week or so. unless you get more liverock that is uncured.

 

[saltygirl2422]

So, I start with new sand and use the existing live rock? Thanks for your help!

 

[intimatecple]

welcome to the AA and that is what ya want to do....new sand, half your water, and existing LR

 

[melosu58]

welcome to the AA and that is what ya want to do....new sand, half your water, and existing LR

.

Sounds pretty good except I would use about 75% of the water.

 

[saltygirl2422]

Thanks for your help guys! Now the trick is to get that bad boy through the door. It's a custom made 3/4 inch glass tank that weighs 450 pounds! My hubby will be cussing me for this!

 

[ccCapt]

I did the same upgrade...75 to 125 (with a 55g sump). I made about 90g of new saltwater and used the rest from my 75. I took all my old sand and rinsed it thoroughly in fresh water and reused it all. I had no problems.

 

[saltygirl2422]

Thanks for the info, looked at your 125 project, very impressive! You guys up north are lucky to have basements, we don't have those here in Texas. It would make things a lot easier.

 

[Innovator]

You could also just clean your sand by rinsing it all out in either fw or sw if you are concerned about the filth. The bacteria population shouldn't be majorly compromised by rinsing in fw and normally your tank should have some slight parameter spikes anyways that can be taken care of quickly with water changes. I hate to waste substrate, but alsos agree with the consensus. Ha, yes, that would be an interesting outlook if Texas had basements. I can only imagine people bunkered in them awaiting the next hurricane that floods it lol

 

[saltygirl2422]

LOL That's true! I live about 7 miles out of Galveston and we got really lucky without any major damage. My neighborhood doesn't flood, which is weird because if you go 2 miles north they all got flooded out. We bought the house 2 weeks before Ike and it withstood 100 mph winds and 25 inches of rain! We were very fortunate! Thanks!

 

[Innovator]

Amazing you came away with no major damage. I'm in Houston and it got pretty ugly here, but no where near that of Galveston. I guess you were the only house left standing huh? XD

 

[saltygirl2422]

Most of our neighborhood was spared, I think because we were right in the eye, and it was a huge eye. So we had a long lapse in the storm. I think most of the damage was due to small tornados. You can see where the top 1/3 of the trees were sheared off. Some neighbors had roof damage. Our house was built in the late 50's and is pretty sturdy, plus the roof on it was only a year old (that helps)!