Re-homing/transfering my clown & anemone to a 20g, need help with tank start up.

[LadyQuorra]

Hey Everyone!

So I'm in need of advice. Right now I have a 29 gallon FOWLR that's been established for over 2 years, I've been taking care of it for 6 months. The tank's most recent addition is a Long Tentacle Anemone I bought about 1.5 months ago.

I need to re-home/transfer my clown and LTA to a 20 gallon Tall by March because my friend will be taking his 29 gallon Tank back.

What's the best way to get the 20 gallon started up and ready to take my clown and LTA????

Since Anemone's need established tank, I don't want to start a fresh tank. So here is my idea: This weekend I'm going to do a 6g PWC to the 29g tank. I wanted to put those 6g of old water and a large live rock from the 29g into the new 20g tank and then add 4g of newly mixed saltwater and run it like that for 2 or 3 weeks until my next PWC and repeat the same process. ???WOULD THIS WORK????

Also I bought Bio-Activ Live Aragonite Black Beach Reef Sand - 20 lb. | ThatPetPlace.com to use in the 20 gallon. Should I completely rinse the sand before putting in the tank since I don't want the 20g to cycle and I'll already be getting the beneficial bacteria from my transferred Live Rock and Water.

And last I need more rock for the 20gal. I bought a 3lb chunk of dried out Live Rock from my LFS a few days ago ???What should I do with it??? I was thinking of just throwing it into the 29 gallon so it can become alive again and once that happens then move it into the 20gal, is this safe???? How much rock will I need if I'll be using a 200gph HOB Penguin Filter????

Thank you for taking the time to read all of this and any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!

 

[Godfrey]

From the sound if it your going to treat it like a move are you giving the tank back empty? You can transfer everything over just save as much clean water as you can and disturb the sand bed as little as possible( empty all water out then scoop out with a cup of some kind) put sand and rock in the way you want it then ad water pouring it into a container so you don't disturb sand as much. You'll end up doing a Pwc at this time getting rid of the water the fish are in while doing all this work. Check temps , drip acclimate, add fish, keep lights off for 12 to 24 hour and keep an eye on your levels cause you will have a micro cycle.

 

[LadyQuorra]

I'm giving the tank back with other fish and inverts in it, so the sand and most of the rock has to stay.

 

[LadyQuorra]

Bump. Any thoughts guys?

 

[LadyQuorra]

Anyone?

 

[begginersluck]

Thats a shame you have to give it all back. I would be asking to keep more rock and definately keep some sand. You can use the sand you bought but make sure you rinse it in saltwater first. Add the live sand from the old tank to this and it will help seed it.

With the dried live rock you'll need to make sure its cured before adding it to ANY aquarium. Otherwise it will cause a cycle and potentially wipe everything out. To do this just get a container large enough to house the rock and cover it with fresh saltwater. You'll need a heater and some form of flow in the container also. It will take 4 - 6 weeks to fully cure. Test your water frequently and once you have no ammonia your rock is ready. Pop it straight in the tank and you're done.

 

[LadyQuorra]

Thanks for that! I don't want to use any of the old sand cause it's white and the sand I'm using is black. But I'll definitely do that with the rock.