how to switch tanks???

[bigford84]

as of now i have a 28 gal bowfront saltwater tank, in it are 10 hermits,1 turbo,1 manderan,1 lm blenny 2 clowns,1 peppermint shrimp,and 2 nems.. im am going to setup and cycle a 50 gal, whats the best way to transfer fish and all other stuff into the 50 gal?? can i use the sand? guy at the lfs said to just transfer everything all at once and fast..but that doesnt sound good,anybody ever done this??? how did you do it? what should i do? im not in a hury,the 50 gal will not be set up for about a month,and after setup it will run with water and sand for about 3or 4 months

 

[pat8you]

I would go out and pick up a big rubbermaid container. This will allow you to Siphon out the water into there and transfer rock and coral to something while you set up the new tank. If you have a power head and heater they will be happy as a clam in there for quite a while.

You will need some new sand since your new tank is larger. After your finished transfering everything to the rubbermaid what your are left with is going to be pretty nasty. Pour off any other water that is left in the tank and take out anything that looks nasty. Put the new sand in your new tank and then put a thin layer of the old sand on top of that. You don't need to transfer over all your old sand. Just a layer on top will help to seed your new sandbed with life from your old tank. Make sure your rocks are on or very close to the bottom glass and not sitting on the sand.

As soon as you are done transfering everthing into the new tank i would use the rubbermaid to mix up a large water change for a couple days after the transfer. This will help to get some good clean water in there after you stirred everything up.