New tank questions

[Frizza]

Hi everyone,

Well my current tank is a year old now and looking pretty good, so in a few months I will be getting a new one, its about an 80 gallon tank with a 30 gallon sump.

I am just finding out what I can do to help the new tank with its initial cycle. To start with I will be moving some of my live rock into the new tank as well as a few months worth of water changes from the existing tank. The sand bed will be new and I am not sure whether to get some live sand or just some ordinary sand, advice on this would be great...looking for a fairly fine substrate.

Eventually the remaining rock from the current tank will also go into the new one, most of the rock for the new tank will not be live rock due to the expense. However, I done the same thing with my current system and now all of the rock is 'live'.

Any advice on what I am trying to do will be most helpful.

Cheers

[Bruce]

Sounds awsome! If only I could upgrade to a larger tank...ha Eventually! Well I would say go with live sand...it isnt that expensive and I think it is worth it.

[Dyngoe]

Yes, live sand is a nice "kick in the pants" for cycling. Also buy some base rock and put it in first. You want you rock to be stable on the glass bottom before you add sand. Nothing says agony than watching the base shift and having your rocks tumble. Now, you really don't need much more. When you do water changes in your existing tank move that over to your new one to help move bacteria. It will help if you clean your glass right before a water change. This will release the bacteria caked to the glass. Other than that, take your time. You have two tanks, so you're lucky. Like to see it when you are done.

[coral reefer]

Why not use the sand from your tank now...it is "live"!!! Upgrading is always a good thing once you get it set-up and established and get over the initial cost involved! heheheee
Best of luck! take pictures
There are threads here, to help your transition and move from the one tank to the new one as quick and successful as possible...

[Frizza]

Thanks for your replies everyone. I intend to take some pictures as I go once I've got my tank, at the moment all I have is the equipment to go in it!!
I will start a new thread to track my progress and hopefully get some advice and pointers on the way.

Can't wait....