Advice for Upsizing my SW Tank

[Purevil21]

I am relatively new to saltwater fish, I started my first tank a year ago. I have a 35 gallon hexagon tank with 30 lbs of live rock, two percula clowns, one orange conical star fish, and several hermits and snails. I am using a magnum 350 canister filter, and have a small set of power compact lights.

I have decided to upsize to a 72 gallon bowfront with an overflow and sump. Got a great deal on it, but now I am not sure how to move everything over safely. I don't want to endanger my livestock, but their tank is not going to suffice much longer, the pump is leaking slightly and I broke the glass top doing a water change so now the light is rigged up, but a lot of light isn't making it into the water. I was not sure if I could just mix up 35 gallons of salt water in the new tank and add the 35 gallons from the old one, and just leave the livestock in a 5 gallon bucket until the pump runs for an hour or so to settle things out. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[Flukehook]

If u transfer over everything including all the water then mix old water with some new then transfer all the old sand and live rock... And u test saliniity temp ph u might be okay but it still is risky... If u can find a way safer bet is to setup new tank put some old sand in and some live rock to seed the tank and biospira and let the tank cycle, until water tests out perfect may take a week or two... Then move livestock over and acclimate them like new fish... Thats the the safest wAy...

 

[David S]

are you going to be adding more LR? if so keep allyour stock in the 35,put new sand and some of the old sand(remove very carefully you dont want to cause a spike,I would syphon it out) into the new tank with all of your old LR and the new LR(if poss cure the LR first) and let it cycle,it shouldn't take too long ,then transfer over the stock,acclimatising them first.

 

[mr_X]

a week or two isn't going to cycle a tank.

 

[Purevil21]

Thanks for the advice guys, no longer needed though. I got a better deal on a 65 gallon that has been established for 6 years. I am just transporting all the water and live rock with it, then adding my live rock to it, letting the water settle once it is set up. All I will have to do is acclimate my livestock.

 

[mr_X]

are you going to keep the sand bed? you should definitely remove any substrate before adding livestock.

 

[JASONinNM]

you should definitely remove any substrate before adding livestock.

Mr. X. So if he uptained an already running tank your advice when he gets it set up at home to replace the matured sand bed that came with tank?

 

[mr_X]

yep. absolutely. a 6 year old sand bed has a tremendous amount of detritus in it. it will most definitely cause the tank parameters to spike from the move. i would not be surprised if you lose fish trying to keep it.

 

[joy13]

I upgraded 2 tanks this year, this is how I did it. The first upgrade was a combination of a 7 and 2.5 gallon into a 24 gallon. I had mixed up my water and made sure the temperature and SP was the same before even beginning. I added the sand from the 7 because the 2.5 had crushed coral in it. Put about an inch of water in it just to keep any bristle worms alive (to me they are very important to a tank). Then the rock. I took my blue devil damsel out of the 7 gallon before even begging and let him stay in a plastic cut in another tank so he wouldn't be so stressed out. Then I added the coral and CUC crew. I added stability and bio-spira. I usually don't add chemical to my tank but this time I made an exception. Once I got it all ready I put my fish in. I know that damsels are very hardy a used as a cycle fish by people but mine hasn't ever been used like that. I did have a small spike in ammonia and nitrate but it was just for a few hours. I kept an eye on it and watched it very carefully with water ready for a large water change. I tested my water 3 times a day.

The other was different because I didn't want to bring flatworms from my other tank. I got rock from someone that was taking a tank down and sand from a store that keeps sand in a pond from tanks that is taken down. I set up the tank as the other one but waited to transfer the fish. The second day I got the ammonia and nitrates. I did a water change then put in my least favorite fish my clown, he basically went stress free swam right into the cup. I used the same chemicals just so be safe. The CUC went next. Then the following weekend I dipped some rock from my old tank in flatworm x and then a strong iodine dip. The corals was next a strong dip of flatworm x and a weaker solution The corals didn't like it at all. Then I added the rest of my fish a royal gamma, lawn mower blenny and a sixline wrasse. I am happy to say I don't have flatworms.

I didn't lose any fish in either move. My fish are hardy and that will have a lot to do with how you want to go about upgrading as well. I wouldn't treat a tang, butterfly or angel the same way I did my fish I would have done a full cycle and not use any chemical. You do have a starfish and they should only go in mature tanks that would be the most likely not to make the move IMO. Another thing that might have helped me is my macro algae that I keep in my tanks.

 

[JASONinNM]

yep. absolutely. a 6 year old sand bed has a tremendous amount of detritus in it. it will most definitely cause the tank parameters to spike from the move. i would not be surprised if you lose fish trying to keep it.

Ever since I read this iv been kinda freaking out. I too obtained my 50g from a bro in law it was running about 3 years prior. I kept the sand bed in the refugium and tank... not knowing (more like using my head) when I changed all my rock and live stock to that tank... I have not been able to really test as I ran out and all I have are these 5 in one API strips that I got when I forst started (they are to hard to read making them not very accurate) and an ammonia test that I lost the card to compar colors to so I use one off my phones internet but who knows how accrate readings I'm getting from this method either. I'm plannng on picking up a new test set the 22nd till than. I'm not gonna sleep! I did a 4g water change last night

 

[mr_X]

well, as long as you didn't stir it around too much during the move, you may be ok. good luck.