change from a small tank to a larger tank

[ph34r3d]

Currently I have a 75 gal tank and I would like to switch to a 120gal or 150 gal tank.. but the problem I run into is limited space in my home. I was hoping people could give me some idea on how to save the fish in the current tank until the new tank is setup. I would also like to be able to keep all my current live rock(about 50 including base rock lbs)

Would it be best to start a small 10 gal tank for the fish I would like to keep, and just drain enough water to move the old tank to a different location with the live rock still in the tank until the new tank is ready?


Any suggestions or advice would be very much appreciated.


Thanks in advance,

[lando]

You can do it all in one day if you plan ahead. You will need several 25gal rubbermaid tubs and 5gal buckets. Make sure you have plenty of aged SW on hand to make up the difference. Move the fish and as much water as you can to the tubs along with the LR. Put in a heater and powerhead for the day. Move the substrate to 5gal buckets and keep it wet. Discard the mirky dirty water in bottom of the tank. remove the old tank and set up the new one. Add new substrate to the bottom and cycled substrate on top of that. Add water and let settle for a while. Add the rock, rest of the water and fish. See if you can get your hands on a couple canister filters to help clear the water faster. It is a long day so plan 10-12hrs for the move. It took me about 9 to chnge out my 38gal to a 72gal with a sump.

[roka64]

Lando got it. I would be leary of moving a tank with water in it, unless you could support the whole bottom somehow

[melosu58]

Lando has the plan

[ph34r3d]

ok.. I coudl handle that.. that wouldn't be too hard.. but what about the cycling of the new tank? I won't be using the same filtering system(forgot to mention that it will be a completely new setup.. pretty much from the start again).. will I still need to go through the whole cycle bit?

[lando]

If you are using the same substrate and LR you should be okay. Adding ore cured LR will also help. It is possible that you will experince a Mini-cycle from the disruption of the biofilter so have plenty of aged SW on hand to do water changes if needed. Test often for the first couple of weeks and avoid adding any new livestock to the tank at first.

[FishFrik]

IMO, don't use the old substrate. When you move it, all this nasty detrius comes up. I just upgraded from 29G to 75G and i moved the substrate. Lots of detrius came to the surface of the sandbed and flew everywhere when i turned on my pumps.

[lando]

That is a good point, however, if you discard the dirty water from the substrate bed (as I mentioned) and rinse the substrate lightly in tank water you should be fine. No sense throwing out all that cycled substrate unles you are thinking of change media (swithcing LS for CC for example). I would be very leary of usin all new subsrate without cycling the tank first.

[john0087]

I am in the same situation.

My plan is to use my current 37gal as a fuge and keep the cycled substrate in the 37 and add mixture of sand and live sand into the new 75g.

If I can not fit the 37 under the cabinate, I am going to transfer the cycled substrate into an extra 10g that will become the fuge.

I figure this way, you get the best of both worlds.