55g upgrade to 72g

[Beau_123]

Ok so I need help I am upgrading my 55g to a 72g and need help on how to go about this I literally don't know where to start because I have fish and coral in my 55 that I want to keep in the 72 what is the most logical way to trancfer all my live rock and coral and fish. But I need a way to get rid of all the bubble and hair algae so as to not have a massive algae break out again and are uv staralizeers good for stoping that and how should I set up the sump in the bottom I really need help I feel like a lost puppy

[Redwolf91]

I was going to try the same process, but decided to eat the cost of live rock, sand, and time. Just set up the new system, let it cycle fully, then slowly started moving stuff over. I couldn't figure out a good way to just move them over safely. Good luck, let me know how it goes

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[Beau_123]

Ok I can't remember but is it 2 or 3lbs of rock per gallon? And is there any way to do it so I don't have to drop a ton of money on it?

[BigRedsReefs10]

It's usually 1-2 lbs/gal. You can look in to dry rock or base rock, both are usually 1/3 the price of LR

[Redwolf91]

I did 1.5 pounds per Gallon. Was able to find a lfs that was closing, so most I got for a few bucks a pound, then ordered some nice pieces to finish off from aquarium arts in California

[Beau_123]

Yeah I was gonna just cycle with base rock and live sand for like one month then add like 10lbs of live then cycle for another month

[Redwolf91]

I have a bunch of dry base rock in various sizes, you anywhere near CT by chance?

[Beau_123]

No I am in ks

[Redwolf91]

That's a bit much for the drive, lol. Was worth a try, figured you can have the base rock, and I can give my wife back some storage area lol

[Beau_123]

So I would like to use my rock in my tank now but it has a lot of algae on it like bubble and hair how can I get this removed can I get a step by step way. And yeah thanks for trying

[Redwolf91]

You have live stock also? If not, you could take your rock out, let it cook in the sun, then hit it with a pressure washer. Put in new tank and start fresh. If you do have stock, you MIGHT be able to take a piece or two a week and do this till you have enough to cycle the new tank. I'd try to get enough base rock to cycle the new tank then re cure the old.

[Beau_123]

Yes I have live stock. And would curing it in the sun kill all the good bacteria? Could I just get a toothbrush and like have a bucket of salt to clean them with the toothbrush then wash all the spores off in a bucket of di?

[BigRedsReefs10]

I would do a peroxide scrub on the algae. Your definitely going to want to get the algae off before transferring the rock, especially the bubble algae.

[Beau_123]

Can you tell me step by step how to do a peroxide bath?

[Redwolf91]

I know some people aren't fond of them, but I built an algae scrubber for my tank, I didn't have bubble, but had too much hair algae. I have a hard time growing it in the display tank now, it really seems to help my set up

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[Beau_123]

So how do I give my rock a peroxide bath?

[BigRedsReefs10]

Ok here's how I did it, it's been a few years since I've done this so there may be other ways but this worked great for me. Take the rock out and put it in a separate container and pour 3% hp on the rock to soak it leave it exposed for 5 minutes keeping the algae wet with hp the whole time, then a good dip in ro/di water and back in the tank. You'll see the algae releasing bubbles, it's fine, and in 2-3 days it should be 90-100% gone, if not repeat. For the bubble algae I would use something sharp to scape the rock away where it's attached while you have the rock out. Since your relying on this rock to support live stock I would do this slowly 1-2 rocks a day. And don't get hp on corals as it will stress them

[Beau_123]

Ok so what should I do for my sump how should I set it up and would a 20g sufficient?

[Beau_123]

Like I got one with my tank but I don't know if I should use it because it looks heavily used