upgrade for Xmas, how to move everything?

[Kimlafeiet]

So, my amazing husband got me my a fancy new tank for Xmas. It's the Innovative Marine Nuvo 38 setup with the Skkye 92w Tablet light.
I am so excited, as I wanted a sleek setup that matches our bedroom (white).

I will be moving my existing setup over to this new tank, but have some questions on the best way to do this.

I have about 10lb of live rock in my current tank I would like to get rid of. The rock is good, with lots of life, but it is a different kind of rock than my brs dry rock I started with. I would like to get some more of that same rock for the new tank, so all my rock has the same look to it. If I start with about 10lb of the dry rock, and move the remaining 30 lbs from my current tank, will it cause another cycle? Should I cycle the new dry rock first, then do the move?

Sand........is it better to start with new sand, and just add some of my current live sand to seed with, or move all of my sand? Current sand bed is about 2.5 inches deep. Current tank is about 3-4 months old.

Lastly (probably not really, I am sure I will have a zillion more questions, lol), when I am ready to move my fish & coral, if I hae the new tank set up to match the old tank in temp, salinity, ph, etc, do I need to drip acclimate all my livestock again or can I just move them from one tank to the other?

 

[Jtisle506]

I would use all existing components of your old build, you then could add more sand or rock depending on taste. If you dont it will almost be like recycling and starting all over.

 

[alco1]

It is possible it may cause another cycle...... but then again it may not. Just depends on what your going to keep and how your going to transfer it to one tank to another.

It could either not cycle and act like a massive water change or there may be hardly any BB left from the transfer causing another cycle.

I personally keep all my sand if I transfer, just before you move it just clean it up to remove most of the bad stuff then pop it in.

And definitely acclimate, more than likely when use setup the other tank and move things around is more than likely would change quite a few parameters. Unless you can get everything exactly the same as the previous tank then no worries

I would personally set it up then wait a few days and test parameters to make sure nothing has gone through the roof then add the fish by acclimating.

 

[don_chuwish]

Here's some good info: http://youtu.be/SfQ-8DcwqFI

 

[54seaweed]

I"m doing the same thing but I plan on doing it slow I am transferring 2 into one
I have almost 100# of live rock between the two tanks 37g + 40g
I will use new sand and add half the live rock from both tanks
I know this might start a mini cycle but don't think it will , but if it should it be short maybe a day or so I will wait a few days add almost all of the remaining live rock except all the rock with corals wait see if it spikes if not I will add a few fish every few days till there all in than I can add the remaining rock with the corals
after all the fish are transferred I will sift sand in old tanks for any snails and hermits
and any other life I find and add that in the new tank
if all goes right I shouldn't have any loss of life
I am also using a lot of the equipment from the existing tanks so that should help a lot
I expect things to go smooth fingers crossed
I also plan on adding the 40g tank with existing sand as a sump using external over flow boxes on the main tank as soon as every thing is transferred over

 

[don_chuwish]

Agree it's best to set it up and then watch parameters for a few days before adding livestock, but if LR and or live sand is moved quickly there should be no mini-cycle.

 

[don_chuwish]

I did an entire tear down and rebuild in one day without any cycle - but none of the rock or sand ever stayed out of water. I just used temporary tubs and tanks.

 

[Kimlafeiet]

Thanks for the tips guys. I think I will do as suggested and make a big move with everything, all at once. I do plan on replacing some of the rock, as mentioned above, but I am going to cycle the new rock seperately, then swap it out a piece at a time once it is cycled.

 

[Kimlafeiet]

Another question though. The light I got with the tank is the Innovative Marine Skkye LED tablet, 92w. It has 10k or 14k whites (not posetive which), as well as dawn/dusk actinics and seperate moonlights. It is not dimmable, but each setting can be set on a timer.
Does anyone have this light? What kind of corals can I grow with this, and how do you like it? I have looked online, and am not really finding any super useful reviews.

I am growing soft and lps corals. My current lighting is a taotrinic full spectrum dimmable led. I have both the blues and whites at about 50%. I do not plan on using this light with the new tank, as I don't care for the bulky hanging eye sore it is. Lol. I want to keep my pretty new tank very streamlined and unobtrusive. The skyye tablet has the look I want, but I am hoping the light will be enough/not too much for my current corals (zoas, frogspawn, colt coral, xenia, acan, nepthea)

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

[melosu58]

It will not be as bad as you think. If it was me I would set the new tank up with new sand and the rock you already have set up. You can seed the new sand with a cup of the old sand. Before you set the new tank up maybe cure your new rock. We have an article about curing new rock in our SW articles section.

 

[Kimlafeiet]

I am curently in the process of curing the rock in my basement. It is fairly clean rock (or so it seems) so, hopefully it will not take forever.
So, if I wait and set up the tank with my new cured rock, and most of my exisiting rock in my tank, with new sand (seeded with my current sand), would I be ok to move my fish and corals over right away, or should I wait and let it cycle first? I am hoping if I go that route, the cycle would be minimal, as I would be using most of my cured established rock.
I guess Im just not sure about that awkard interrim time and the health and safety of my livestock.