Switch my Tanks around

[Nave]

I'm switching my setups around, over time I lost some of my fish, some to power outage, some to broken filter tube and them getting sucked up, and some just... die. I haven't been replacing them. I have a small enough number in my 55 gallon now to where I can switch my 55 Freshwater with my 25 Saltwater, I need a little advice on how I should go about doing that. I also have two 10 gallons for any of my freshwater that go over the population limit in the 25 gallon after the switch.

I know how I would go about doing the freshwater, since I am downgrading on size I just use filter media, gravel and water from the 55 and transfer it. Since the saltwater is smaller and being upgraded in size wouldn't I need to cycle again? What do I do with my current livestock in that time? Also cheap sand and rock, in my current saltwater I used Live sand packaged in water from the local marine shop. I am wanting to go cheaper than that to make a decent sized sand bed, could I get the cheaper dry sand and seed it with the sand currently in my 25 gallon? I know I don't have enough liverock for the 55 right now, and could only buy it bit buy bit, what is a cheaper solution for a large amount of rock, maybe some DIY type thing?

 

[melosu58]

If it were me I would put new sand in the 55 and seed some of the old sand in with it. I would also move all your LR from the 25 into the 55 and add some more LR with it preferably already cured. Then keep some fresh SW around in case of a mini spike. JMO

 

[Nave]

so you mean putting the fish in right away along with the new/old sand and LR?

 

[melosu58]

If you put the old LR plus some already cured LR in with the seeded sand you can go ahead and put the fish in. You`ll need to go to the LFS and pick up the cured LR. The cured LR plus the seeded sand will be Ok but like I said have some Fresh SW ready. This is what I did when I switched from my 55 to my 125. It was a smooth transition.

 

[Sadielynn]

I disagree here .
I would get new sand , and some cured live rock . Take some sand from your existing tank , couple cups and seed it. Let it cycle test for spikes then once you are done move every thing over to the new tank ...Have some extra water for H20 changes should you need but I would not just transfer to that size tank , you would probably be ok but it isnt worth risking ..

 

[melosu58]

I can only speak from experience. As long as your bioload does not exceed your biological filtration(LR + sand) then IMO you will be OK. As I states earlier it worked for me two yrs ago.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Not to nitpick, but I agree with Melosu. You would be better off putting the fish into the tank as soon as possible in my opinion, and with new sand seeded with existing sand, some already cured liverock, and even more cured live rock, you shouldn't have any problems. Like said, I'd keep some fresh water around incase you need to change anything, but you shouldn't.

 

[Nave]

well keeping the 25 gallon setup while cycling the 55 gallon tank is not an option, I would have nowhere to put my freshwater fish. Also I mentioned that I wouldnt be able to get alot of rock right away, only bit by bit, i have about 20lbs in my 25gallon that I will transfer over and got someone that offered me 15lbs more but thats all I will be able to do right away. Same goes with sand, I can use what I have in my 55Gallon, and got someone that will give me some more, but the bulk of the sand will have to be either Tropical Play Sand or regular dry aquairum sand, I need a cheaper route in there right now. I know the live sand will seed the play sand/dry sand.

So with what has been said here is what I am going to do. I am borrowing my local marine clubs QT tank and I am going to use that to house my Featherfins, move my smaller fish into the two 10 gallons and then finish emptying my 55 Gallon, wipe the tank out real good and move it to where I want it moved in my room., Fill it with saltwater and then add the play sand (tropical only or dry aquarium sand) then on top of that add the live sand, let the water clear if needed then move over the LR. once that is set I will bring over my livestock and then begin cleaning the 25gallon to make a permanent home for my Featherfins.

That sound like a good plan?

 

[melosu58]

My only concern is not having enough LR. If there is not enough then it wont be enough to handle the bioload. If you do make sure of fresh SW and get more cured LR as soon as possible.

 

[Nave]

a bioload of 2 O.Clowns and 6 or 7 hermits really throw it off that bad?

 

[melosu58]

I dont think so either. Dont add anything for awhile to make sure.

 

[Nave]

I will be able to buy more rock in a few weeks to a month, I was planning on starting to add new life to the tank about a week or two after I added the new rock, aiming for about $100 worth on my next outing, maybe some more after that but I figure I would need to setup a sump/refugium next.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Good luck with the move

 

[Nave]

I will be doing it over the next 2 weeks, got to build support beams under the tralier for where I want the tank first. Once I get everything moved over I will post some pics to show how it went. should maybe get some before pics too.