Upgrading to a Larger Aquarium

[alex787]

i have a 55 gallon reef Aquarium and i want to upgrade to a 240 gallon aquarium. My 55 gallon Aquarium has live sand, live rocks, corals and fish can any one give me tips or help me on how to move all this to my new 240 gallon aquarium

 

[Jlsardina]

I'm no expert by any means- but I'd say cycle the larger tank, then slowly acclimate everything over. You are going to need a lot more sand and rock for the 200+gallon so it will be mostly set up before carrying over the older stock. I'd just treat it like you have a new tank and starting over then treat the old tank like a LFS slowly adding to the new tank. Lol

 

[catmel]

Wow wht an upgrade!! I just moved from a 55 to a 75, and I thought that was big

I set up and cycled my 75 ( took about a month) and moved everything over from the 55 to the 75 once the cycle was done. I did however purchase new sand, and some new rock ( dont have to get new rock if you dotn want to, but ditch the sand, except use a handful or two to help cycle the new tank) I did use some old rock as well.

I was in no hurry to move, so I took my time. It depends on what you need to do how quickly.. but I would definatly suggest that method.. nothing died and everything is actually thriving in the new aquarium.

Good luck!

 

[alex787]

i need to move everything quickly into the new tank. but i what to move everything from my 55 to the 240. i have about 150lb of live rock and about 120lb of live sand in the 55 gallon

 

[Jlsardina]

Is the 240 cycled? If not- u might kill some things.

 

[Jlsardina]

Not to mention the torture of the fish . If it's cycled though, just acclimate everything like you just got it from the LFS.
my 2 cents

 

[alex787]

no jlsardina the 240 gallon aquarium is not cycled yet. and i have about 4000 of livestock in it. but i need to move everything out of my 55 gallon tank to the new 240 because i am moving to a new house

 

[Gregcoyote]

I would start with moving some live rock from the existing system and start doing water changes, but use your old water to make up a portion of the new water in the 240. If you can run them side by side for a few weeks, that will help immensely. Good news is the bio load from the old tank will be trivial in the new larger system. Easier to move up than to move down...

 

[cabezon]

you will want new sand. Keep a good scoop of the old sand. Then you can wash it and reuse. Otherwise once you move, move everything to the new tank. You are going to need 200+ gallons of salt water. So I would fill the 240 with RO and add salt, and let it mix overnight while the fish live in the buckets. Unless you have it premade.

 

[alex787]

all i forgot to say the sump/refugium that i used for my 55 tank was a 55 gallon custom made sump and i well move this sump to the new 240 gallon tank. wouldn't that make the cycle time shorter

 

[cabezon]

The bacteria that break down ammonia to nitrate and nitrite are already present in your rock. As long as they are not kept without a food source for too long they will thrive.

 

[Tchndie]

I just upgraded from my 150 to a custom 250g . All I recommend is when you set up the new tank add stability and prime everyday for 2 weeks! This will help keep nitrites and ammonia away or under control. Use all the water from the 55 if you can! I did what I told you to do and never lost any corals! My 250 is sps dominant. I have about 28 sps and they all lived. Also acclimate you fish by dripping them before you add them into the tank.
Good luck and keep us informed.

 

[Gregcoyote]

all i forgot to say the sump/refugium that i used for my 55 tank was a 55 gallon custom made sump and i well move this sump to the new 240 gallon tank. wouldn't that make the cycle time shorter

Yes, that will help a lot.

 

[rdnelson99]

Good read. I have a question if I could. I understand not moving the existing sand without washing it (which would make it dead sand). I also understand seeding the new with a bit of the old but....if you are using the existing live rock, wouldn't that seed the new sand? That would avoid bring any nasty stuff in with the seed sand. The new sand, if dead to start with would have no die off. If the rock is transferred immediately it would have no die off. No die off means no cycle right? As long as you wait for a few weeks to add anything new, the BB in the rock should catch up quick to the existing bio-load. The only thing that might affect it is that you lost the BB that was in the sand.

Please, shoot all the holes you can in my assumptions so I can see where I didn't think it through.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Good read. I have a question if I could. I understand not moving the existing sand without washing it (which would make it dead sand). I also understand seeding the new with a bit of the old but....if you are using the existing live rock, wouldn't that seed the new sand? That would avoid bring any nasty stuff in with the seed sand. The new sand, if dead to start with would have no die off. If the rock is transferred immediately it would have no die off. No die off means no cycle right? As long as you wait for a few weeks to add anything new, the BB in the rock should catch up quick to the existing bio-load. The only thing that might affect it is that you lost the BB that was in the sand.

Please, shoot all the holes you can in my assumptions so I can see where I didn't think it through.

That makes reasonable sense to me. The issues would center around excess die off, that if prevented should be a base for the system to grow and carry on.

 

[alex787]

so i still have to clean of the sand from my 55 tank before i put it in my new 240 tank

 

[rdnelson99]

so i still have to clean of the sand from my 55 tank before i put it in my new 240 tank

If you are going to reuse it, wash it completely. If you don't, nasty stuff that is embedded will move to the new tank. On top of that, you will have die off which will cause a cycle in the new tank. If you can eliminate any die off in the new tank, I would think you Live Rock will keep the tank from cycling. Just my opinion but I am very new to this.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Cleaning the sand is a good idea. The live rock will seed the sand eventually anyway.

 

[alex787]

about how long would that take for The live rock to seed the sand

 

[Gregcoyote]

Two to four weeks is my best guess.