I have a 54 gallon corner tank. I am looking into getting a 70 gallon to allow more room. What would be the best way to transfer my fish, soft Corals, rock and sand to their new home. I know there are many ways but I want to be careful with what I have. I thought about transferring some of the water I pull out (say 20 gallons), adding 20 gallons of RO/DI into new tank and do this again gradually over a period of time. I do have a slight Nitrate problem so this idea may work. But most of my live rock in the 54 has some coral attached so I not sure what to do in this case. And my sand bed can't be moved right away. Unless I am safe to move it all. Ideas??
How can I transfer tanks without causing issues?
- Thread starter Alisa1965
- Start date
When I upgraded I have the new tank in a different location in the house. So I cycle the new tank with new dry rock and live sand. After 3-4 weeks I started to pass my fish and corals within a period of another 2-3 weeks and used some live rocks at that time.
It was a full SPS tank with most of the minicolonies encrusted in the rock. I cut the corals at the base and glued them again in the new home. I did not want to transfer my old rocks because I think I had some bryopsis on it. Never confirmed, but just in case, I did not use them.
It was a full SPS tank with most of the minicolonies encrusted in the rock. I cut the corals at the base and glued them again in the new home. I did not want to transfer my old rocks because I think I had some bryopsis on it. Never confirmed, but just in case, I did not use them.
This is how I upgraded too ^
I drained my tank 95% - moved it across the room & put my new tank where it was, then cycled. The water contains very little of the good bacteria you want most all lives on the surfaces of your LR and to a lesser extent in the sand, I would replace the sand too, save a cup or two.
but there more than one way to proceed...
see what others think
I drained my tank 95% - moved it across the room & put my new tank where it was, then cycled. The water contains very little of the good bacteria you want most all lives on the surfaces of your LR and to a lesser extent in the sand, I would replace the sand too, save a cup or two.
but there more than one way to proceed...
see what others think
Oxylebius
Well-Known Member
When I upgraded, I also did it similar to the posts above. New tank in new location was allowed to fully cycle w/a couple of pieces of live rock from lfs and some water from old tank and new sand. After the initial cycle I transferred over some of the live rock from my old tank, then some old cuc, then the rest of the live rock and critters followed after that. This was over the course of 4 months, you don't have to take that long to transfer everything depending on how many fish you have.
You should allow for a good 4 wk cycle and the transfer of critters over can take another 2-6 wks (or more) depending on how many fish you have, remember any fish transfer would be similar to adding new fish to a new tank, watch those ammonia/nitrite levels and watch for mini-cycles. Acclimate the fish to the new tank like you would new fish to a new tank.
What corals are you worried about releasing toxins? You would want to acclimate all corals to the new tank as well.
You should allow for a good 4 wk cycle and the transfer of critters over can take another 2-6 wks (or more) depending on how many fish you have, remember any fish transfer would be similar to adding new fish to a new tank, watch those ammonia/nitrite levels and watch for mini-cycles. Acclimate the fish to the new tank like you would new fish to a new tank.
What corals are you worried about releasing toxins? You would want to acclimate all corals to the new tank as well.