future aquarium changeover... few questions...

hey guys, ok, after setting up my 55 the way i like it, 75 gallon aquariums have decided to pop up everywhere around here.. i thought my 55 would be "good enough" for a reef, but after having the LR placed, i realize that its TERRIBLE for a reef aquarium... only about half of my LR is placed for corals (shelf rock), and the rest is just piled up on the other side of the tank, because they're just random shapes and sizes... and considering i only have about 4 or 5 inches of "floor space" on the bottom, it doesn't help much... anyway, i've decided to have a 55 gallon FOWLR until i move out and into my own house.. and then upgrade to a 75 and turn it into a reef... so here's my questions.. if i decided to use all of my old LR and LS, and add more sand and LR, would it cause another cycle? by the time i move out, i'll most likely have all the fish i want to keep, but if i do go through another cycle, i'm afraid it would kill my fish, and i'd end up buying them all over again... the reason i don't want to get a bigger tank now is because the only place i'd really be able to put it is where my 55 is now, and i don't want to have to set up 2 more aquariums (a tupperware tub temporarily until i drain the 55, move it out of the way, then a new stand and the 75 gallon, and put everything from the tub into the 75)... plus, i've spent plenty on getting this one set up... and if i wait, i can go ahead and set up the 75 in my new house, then just bag up the fish and stuff, and reacclimate them to the new tank... but that might still pose a problem.. if i take out the LR and sand from the old tank, wouldn't all the beneficial bacteria go with it? so all of my fish would be without any kind of biofiltration for as long as it takes the new tank to cycle... OR, here's another plan... if they recommend 1.5 lbs LR per gallon of water, and i have about 70 lbs right now, i could buy 40 lbs (and about 50 lbs LS) to let the 75 cycle, and when its cycled, just move my current LR and sand to the new tank... that way the fish won't have to go through a cycle, and everything will stay at peace... i THINK... any questions, comments, or rude remarks?

 

You will have another cycle but not a major one. By adding more live rock, you'll have some die-off which will feed the cycle. I wouldn't move all the sand from the 55 to the 75. You can build up toxins in there that would be released into the water when you disturb the bed. Best to use the upper layer (1") of sand.

 

well, 1" is about all i have... maybe 1.5".... i'm not really worried about it right now, because i still have a while before i move out... i'm just trying to get general information

 

If you're adding new sand to your tank, there is nothing to die off and therefore little/no cycle.

If you want to add more rock to your tank (down the road) you have a couple of options.

1. 6-8 weeks before you move you could set up a rubbermaid tub with heater and powerhead and buy some new rock. Cycle it in the rubbermaid to save it from cycling in your tank (if its not cured).

2. After moving, buy a few pounds of cured live rock every few weeks or so. This way adding small amounts of rock won't disrupt your tank parameters.

Just remember to let your new tank settle in before you get all excited and start making trips to the LFS for livestock I think I lasted 2 weeks

 

If you are adding NEW sand/aragonite...as christyf5 noted, you won't have a cycle as their is no die-off etc.
This being said, however, if you add new aragonite/calcite to your tank, your alkalinity level will decrease due to the precipitation of magnesium carbonate on the surface of the aragonite grains until a biofilm develops!
You will want to test your alkalinity level to make sure it doesn't drop to drastically or you will have a problem with an elevated calcium level and a pH drop as well.
How much sand and live rock are we talking about, by the way?
If your liverock is cured live rock-you will very little die off as well-One way to tell is to smell the rock and if it has a putrid, sulfur smell, then it has a considerable amount of die-off!
Anything in moderation shouldn't affect your tank and its inhabitants with detrimental results...I jusst wouldn't go crazy with the amount of live rock you add at one time...this holds true when adding fish and coral as well!

 

Anytime you move a tank with liverock regardless of whether or not you use "old" or "new" sand, you can expect to have a mini-cycle as some bacteria on the rock and equipment will die off during the transfer.

 

;D OK well I'm totaly confused now to be or not to be dat is de question