Tank Upgrade Nano Max to 200XL G2

[brettdyer80]

Hi Reefers,
Sorry in advance if this is a dull repeated question.!

In the past when i have swapped tanks etc i have done the normal process keep live rock, water and top up etc etc..
I'm upgrading from my Redsea Nano max over to the Redsea reefer 200XL G2... Now normally i would get fresh sand keep live rock, my bio balls and water and top-up with fresh add some new bacteria and test for few days. Only this time around i can't keep the live rock as it has over 15 RBTA attached lol {don't ask lol}.

So the only thing i can do is transfer the water approx 65-70 litres, My bio balls and the rest wold be fresh mixed salt water to top up the 200XL..,Livestock wise i have the following.... about four zoa plugs and RFA.. Fish wise.. 2 clowns, Royal gamma, tri colour blenny, small tomani tang..

This is where im getting mixed advice, some LFS and mates say just pop bio ball, water from old tank in and top-up..! And others are saying because im using new dry sand and rock, i might need to freshly cycle it to be safe.????

I'm stuck this time around lol any advice appriated guys

 

[Llyod276]

That's iffy, for just bio balls and rocks. Sand as well. Also, for nano, to a 200xl. You're talking about a 250% increase in water volume... you'll most likely cycle for sure if you add more sand and rock. Which you should do if you're gonna add additional livestock to the tank. If you toss in the old stuff, you'll have a shorter cycle. But not the same amount of bacteria. Cause the bacteria on the glass, sand and all other surfaces, just won't be established. You can use a rock to seed the tank with bacteria, but yeah a cycle is gonna happen...

Nah, give it a couple of weeks and test. Bacteria will grow proportionally to available food. So just ghost feed and then toss em in...