How do you transition to a BIGGER tank?

Hello to All,

So many of you have upgraded to larger tanks, moved tanks across the country, swapped out tanks etc. I need to tap into your experiences since a much bigger tank is in my not too distant future. As we all know, sometimes opportunity knocks when we least expect it and I would like to have a plan of action in place - especially with tax rebates coming back soon etc.

My issue will be the fact that I would be replacing my current 29 gallon tank with something along the lines of a 75 or 90 gallon tank BUT the new tank has to be placed where the current tank is.

I have worried about this a lot. I realize that I can reuse the sand and rock i have for starters since it has been cycled and seems to be established now - but what about all the rest of the "new sand" that would be needed?

Does it have to be cycled?

I have no good feel for how someone would go about this task in a logical order.

If those of you who have done this before could explain this to me in somewhat of a list / step by step order I would be infinitely grateful. I live in an apartment and do not have a big staging area like basement or garage which also adds to the need to have a systematic order in which I should do this.

I think the thought of having to re-cycle the new tank worries me the most because what do i do with my fish etc in the meantime?

I suppose investing in a little RO/DI unit ahead of time might be prudent as well as buying a bazillion 5 gallon buckets....

Anyways, I now toss this out to all of you who have been there and done that.

Thank you in advance!

 

i have not done it yet but as you said taxes are on there way and im getting a 120 in place of my 72, what im going to do is a week or two before the new tank is ready to go (im building the stand and the fuge/sump) im moving the 72 out of the spot the `120 will go and that way i can have all the time i need to level the new tank and set it up at my own pace rather than haveing to tear one down and setting the new one up all in the same day, hope this helps.. p.s. if you are useing dry sand you can add it as you wish without a mini cycle, BTW my 120 will be bare bottom so i can go crazy with flow and not have the sand blow around like it does now...p.s.s. forgot to say is yes i will have to take the 72 down to move it just about 4' out of the way of the 120, a little more work but than i can work at my pace.

 

Ok so as part of moving your established 72g tank - what do you do with the fish etc?

I can start a 75/90 with the liverock i have and continue to add more to that from the LFS etc...

if i am understanding you, new dry sand won't cycle like the rocks do? it is more of a dust / cloudiness issue?

Im wondering if I could just get the water level low enough in my 29 gallon for a couple of ppl to help me move it to the side - fortunately it has its own HOB etc and when i go bigger the new tank have its own sump etc - so at least i am not having to duplicate a sump or whatever.

I would feel devastated if i lost the fish and CUC critters i have right now.

I have a feeling a LOT of us are out there just waiting on tax checks and we could all use the advice and feedback from those who have done this before.

Thank you for your reply - at least i know I am not alone in doing this at some point soon.

Again - any advice or pointers is appreciated !

 

I would get a rubber maid container or two, maybe even a trashcan on wheels. move all your stuff in there and you could roll it around your apt. out of the way. If you put your powerheads for flow and rig you lights up, I don't see why you couldn't have your stuff in there for a week or two. it will be like their at a motel 6 while their mansion is being built.

also as far as your rock goes, I think you would be ok adding base rock, just give it plenty of time to seed before adding a lot of fish.

Dan

 

I used rubbermaid containers when I did my upgrade. Make sure to have enough heaters for all your tubs. I placed corals, fish, live rock, and inverts in their own containers. I used 55 gal barrel drums to hold RODI that was made prior to the move. All sand was reused, but was rinsed. New sand was put in "as is" out of the bag. Took 4 days to get everything done and fish back in DT.

One thing I would caution about. Heaters. Keep an eye on them. I had two go erratic on me. One cooked my fish, the other froze my inverts.

The cycle from sand is very minimal. Expect diatoms, but otherwise, you should be fine.
Keep your LR under water as much as possible. Will keep you from cycling.

All things considered, my change went fairly smoothly.

I chronicled most of it in my upgrade thread here:
http://www.3reef.com/forums/show-off-your-fish-tanks/jonjons-150-sps-dominate-74217.html

 

I am upgrading to a 55 gallon to a 150 tall in a month or two. I am in the same position as you one fish, my tank needs to go in the same spot and my 55, it is pretty stocked up with corals and fish. So thanks for putting this thread up and hopefully we can get some good feedback from previous tank moves.

 

Thanks to all who have replied thus far. So relieved to know I am not the only newbie doing this for the first time.

I will say this much - thankfully my apartment complex REQUIRES tenants to carry renter's insurance. I live on the second floor and so do NOT need a self-imposed tsunami. I called and was informed that they dont limit the size of a tank either which is another relief since I wouldnt ever want to do this then have to rip it down or pay a fine.

Keep the advice coming. So my shopping list includes some extra heaters, more sand, bins / mobile trash cans...

This likely wont happen for me immediately but yeah - now is the optimal time to research and start planning the logistics.

 

what i use to put my fish/ inverts rock and so on is coolers like igloo and so on, i have a lot of coolers because we go camping quite a bit i just rinse them with ro water before everything goes in.

 

I moved to a large tank and cycled mine the "old school" (Tangster) way for 12 weeks before I moved my 55g inhabitants over. I would not stir up and use the old sand in the new tank. I started mine with 1 yellow tail damsel and 2 cups of established sand from my 55g. All rock was dead base rock.

 

If you can I would do a water change and save the water to help min the cycle. I'd put a powerhead in there for the water movement and you could build up your water for the switch. Idk how long toucan have the watersitwith out filtraition