Upgrade advice

[Adamski]

Like everyone else, I wish I had started started with a bigger tank. I am soon to be buying a tank with a sump. I have a few questions I was hoping you guys may be able to help with?

1) Do I need a new sand bed? I have read the old one should be scrapped?

2) can I use some of the current tank water or does it all have to be new?

3) I've seen people with heaters only in the sump, will that heat the whole tank?

Sorry for the dumb questions lol


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[Sniperhank]

Ditch the old sand and water. No reason to bring nitrates into a new system.
You can keep a heater in the sump to warm all of the water in your system.


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[Adamski]

It seems impossible for the heater to heat the whole tank from down there!
I plan to hold the fish in a bucket with a heater while I transfer everything over, would that be okay?


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[Sniperhank]

That'll be just fine...


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[Adamski]

Perfect thanks. Kinda scared of the sump, it looks complicated


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[Sniperhank]

It's just another tank, what is so scary?

 

[Adamski]

I changed a plug once. My dryer caught fire. I'm sure there's a plumbing version of this kind of disaster!


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[chefbill]

haha i can relate. I just went from 29g Biocube to a 90g with a 30g sump. Plumbing a sump isnt as hard as it seems. The basics are easy, it looks complicated when you see people with reactors and dosers and ATO and split returns etc, but all that is extra and can be added later.

Remember valves and unions are your friends.

 

[Adamski]

This tank is pre drilled and comes with the overflow, all you have to do is add the pipe work. I'll probably go for flexi pipe. What kind of pipe work is best?


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[chefbill]

My tank came the same way. I hard plumbed mine, I think it looks neater. I didn't add it to mine, but some systems have a section of flexi line in the return side to reduce vibration and noise.

My advice is to take your bulk head, your return pump's nozzle and your measurements to the hardware store. You will end up needing more parts than you think. Once you have the pipes roughed out, add in 2 unions and 2 valves (gate is better than ball), 1 each for return and drain side. These are important if you ever need to replace a pump or your entire sump, as well as equalizing flow on the return side.

As for the PVC, if you have a PVC cutter, they are so much more convenient than a saw. Also save the scrap PVC, great for building racks to raise your skimmer, to make frag racks, to hold certain LPS etc.


As a side note, something that I overlooked or didn't find, do not use acrylic baffles in a glass sump. I had no idea acrylic swelled in water.

 

[Adamski]

That's really good advice thank you. I think I'll look on YouTube for an instructional video to help


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[Rockster2]

I would check your nitrates before ditching the old sand bed. If your water parameters are fine I would use the current sand bed (you can stir it up in a bucket of your existing tank water and pour out any dark stuff) and current live rock to help reduce cycling time on the new tank. The reason the heater in the sump works for the whole system is that the water is continuously cycled thru it and the display tank. It adds water volume to your entire system and declutters the main tank from equipment you can now hide in the sump - not to mention it keeps the water level in the display tank at a constant level.


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[Sniperhank]

I've never once heard of anyone who hasn't regretted using old sand. I'd suggest avoiding doing so.

 

[Adamski]

I over ordered on sand so still have a whole bag sat around. Can I transfer everything over the same day? The new tank is going in the same alcove as the old tank


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[Sniperhank]

Sure. Get some buckets to drain the old tank water into. Pull out the rocks, fish, into them so you can move the tank. Give the rocks a shake to get any excess gunk off from around the bottoms where the sand was and put them into the new tank. Add new sand, you can do so with a piece of PVC pipe to avoid a sand storm. Add fish.

 

[Adamski]

There's a top tip, sand thru a pipe!


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[Rockster2]

Sniperhawk, now you know at least one person who did so and didn't regret it. I did exactly as I suggested moving the contents of a 150g tank to a 220g tank. No ill effects. If you have a well-maintained tank, I don't see it is any different from those who buy so-called "live" sand for starting up their tanks.


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[Sniperhank]

I'm not calling for live sand, just saying new sand. If it's working for you that is great to hear. Though I still wouldn't recommend it or the extra work.

 

[SeanMonster]

I'm not calling for live sand, just saying new sand. If it's working for you that is great to hear. Though I still wouldn't recommend it or the extra work.

I would agree. Everyone I have dealt with recommends new sand. Seems like one of the least expensive things in the hobby that could cause the biggest heartache. I would have to say one person's luck wouldn't be convincing enough to risk it.


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[Adamski]

I got a bag of mixed sand that looked white but had loads of black bits in it so I'll be keen to get rid of it. I currently run an external filter with foam, GFO, carbon and some ceramic media. I'll be ditching this for the sump, but is it worth keeping some of the foams/media as it holds BB?


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