Upgrading to a larger tank

[swolfe78]

Planning to upgrade from a Reefer 170 to a Waterbox Reef 100.3, so what is the best method to switch over my rock, corals and fish?

 

[lapin]

Move over rock. Rinse sand new or old.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Agree with @lapin. Welcome!

 

[dopey]

I'm dealing with this right now.

Going from a 37L (10G) to around 220L (60G) tank. Current tank is basically one giant(for the tank) rock + two fish.

I will not try to save the sand, that seems more hassle/risk than it is worth. The new tank will also be a barebottom tank.

Regardless of the plan, first step is:
Fill tank, test everything. Put in new rocks, leaving room for old rocks. Confirm salinity/temp/etc.

But the next step few options i'm considering
1.) #yolo and move the rock + fish into the new tank. Hope that in combination of increase in water volume + skimmer along with no increase in bioload that this will work without a cycle kicking off. -- risk being by not moving the sand i'm decreasing my biological filter.
2.) Cycle tank with bacteria in a bottle, then move rock+fish
3.) Cycle tank add all new rock and only move the corals to the new tank + fish.

If I go with #1 I will keep the old tank 'running'. Monitor the new tank closely and if I see ammonia/sign of a cycle move the fish back to the old tank.

Curious what you decide..

 

[Peace River]

One other thing to consider - where are you putting the new tank? If the new tank is going into the same spot as the current tank then it makes the process more challenging (but still doable).

 

[Bossman]

I recently upgraded from a IM 20 to 48 gallon tank. And the new tank had to take the spot of the 20. I was able to drain half the water from the 20 and slide the stand (dresser) and tank several feet away. Then set up the 48 completely with all new sand and dry rock. Then cycled with with Dr Tims and cleaner shrimp. This only took a week. After cycling I moved the small amount of rock from the 20 to the new tank along with some bio blocks I had in another sump to help with the bioload.

I had very little rock in the 20 and I knew it wouldn't be enough to do much. And I didn't want to bother trying to wash old sand. I like your choice #1 but I would add bacteria.

 

[Albertan22]

I’m waiting on a custom 180g to arrive to replace my 120g. I have had an extra 40lb of rock cycling in a brute container for about 3 months. I plan to move my existing rock straight over, add some or all of the new rock, and use new sand. I’m lightly stocked fish wise in my 120g right now so I’m going to quarantine everything while I switch the tanks over. I’ve had some mysterious fish deaths lately and I’m thinking there is some disease or maybe ick in the tank, even though I haven’t really observed it. May as well give the new tank a fresh start. Part of this will be keeping the new tank fishless for a couple months so the old rock get some it’s fallow period. I’m not putting the new tank in the same spot so I’m hoping given my light stocking I’ll be able to keep the 120g running without the rock for a month or so before tossing everything into QT.

 

[Super Fly]

as long as new tank's water salinity and temp are same as old tank, you can just move rocks, coral and livestock into new tank w/o any issue... Some corals may not be happy at first while adjusting to new tank/light and close for a week or possibly longer while new tank establishes. If you are using new sand, I'd also recommend adding 1-2 cups of old sand from old tank to help seed the new sand. Oh and dont reuse any water from old tank.

 

[dopey]

as long as new tank's water salinity and temp are same as old tank, you can just move rocks, coral and livestock into new tank w/o any issue... Some corals may not be happy at first while adjusting to new tank/light and close for a week or possibly longer while new tank establishes. If you are using new sand, I'd also recommend adding 1-2 cups of old sand from old tank to help seed the new sand. Oh and dont reuse any water from old tank.

Just curious, what's the harm in using some of the old tank water? I had planned not to but it was mainly the thinking that not much filter organisms are in the water column. So it's not worth diluting the 'fresh' full of trace element new water with old tank water.... but I honestly didn't think it cause enough harm to warn against it?

 

[Super Fly]

Just curious, what's the harm in using some of the old tank water? I had planned not to but it was mainly the thinking that not much filter organisms are in the water column. So it's not worth diluting the 'fresh' full of trace element new water with old tank water.... but I honestly didn't think it cause enough harm to warn against it?

There's no harm in reusing old water but old tank water is just dirty water (i.e. containing NO3 & PO4) as all the beneficial bacteria reside in rocks, sand and pipes/sump. Trace elements are added from salt mix & additives and fresh water (i.e. no NO3 & PO4) would contain more trace elements than old water.

 

[MichaelReefer]

Planning to upgrade from a Reefer 170 to a Waterbox Reef 100.3, so what is the best method to switch over my rock, corals and fish?

Set up the other tank a few days before to allow equalized water temp and so forth; drip acclimate like normal and move em on over. (Thats what I did)

 

[Angelo Fatica]

Im going through the same dilemma at the moment. I was torn between:

1) Throwing all my rock into my new tank and adding new sand and just putting all the livestock in at once and doing water changes frequently.

2) Completely starting over in my new tank with new rock, sand and filter media and just cycling it with some added bacteria for a few weeks.

Personally I am leaning toward option 2 because I like the idea of starting fresh without any hitchikers and it gives me a chance to do an aquascape Ill love. But if option 1 was feasible I would probably do that for the sake of the stress of parameters and ease of the move for the livestock. Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

[Silly clownfish]

When I upgraded from a 30 to 75g, I started by putting the new (dry rock) in a holding tank in the basement with new water and some rock from the old tank for about a month while comiling all of the equipment I needed for the new tank to jump start seeding the dry rock. Then moved the old tank (drained half way and slid the entire cabinet down the hall) and set up the new tank with new water, tested that the sump/return pump was really fail safe in the event of a power outage (unplugged,, replugged, repeated!), moved in the rock from the holding tank and the rest of the old rock that did not have corals, let it settle a few days, moved the rest of the rock, moved fish and inverts last because the fish were easier to catch without rock in the old tank. In fact even without rock I needed to remove Most of the water to catch my clown!

there was a ton of water testing in that process of course!

 

[Mitch Summerford]

Just upgraded from a 20 cube to a waterbox 130.4. Set up the new tank, use dr. tims ammonia and fritz turbo start and go ahead and put some rubble rock/media/ or something in your old tank now, then transfer it to seed the new tank. I promise you should get new sand. You don't realize how filthy it is until you move it. My tank was cycled in like 3 days lol. I had high nitrates but I just acclimated the stuff in the old tank by dumping new tank water in old tank, then moved everything over. No losses, coral and fish are happy!