How do i transfer everything from one tank to another

[nychris351]

I have a 150 tall but getting a 125 .. I prefer a longer tank.. I have about 250lbs of live rock about 4.5 inches of sand and various corals.. I was gonna transfer corals into a holding tank but how do i tranfer all that sand? Do i jus dump it in there n transfer all the rock n water n let it settle down??? Will my tank cycle??
Id like to make the transition smoothly as possible.. Thanks

[badwrasse]

if you move all the sand it could have a mini cycle from stirring all the sand . how deep is your sand bed and how old is your sand. Is the new tank going in the same spot as your old?

are you able to hold corals in another tank for a week or so prepair for the wrost but hope for the best just in case.

[sedor]

Heres how I would do it:

1) Remove water down to the top of your LR.
2) Add water to new tank and remove LR and place in new tank as well.
3) Catch all fish and move over to new tank along with new coral.
4) Put the rest of the water in the new tank and remove the last 25 gallons and hold in buckets in case you need it.
5) Remove sand a bit at a time, and rinse until its totally clean under the garden hose. If you don't want to have to deal with this, you can use brand new sand and put it in before you start adding water rock etc. That is what I would do personally.
6) If you are using your old sand your going to have to use a funnel and tubing to point the sand where its supposed to go without creating a sand storm. Again, the sand will have to be kind of dry which could take days...I would just use new sand from the beginning.

No you shouldn't have a new cycle, just make sure you do it all at once and as quick as you can...don't leave the live rock out of water for very long at all.

[thegrun]

How old and how deep is the sand bed? If it is a deep sand bed (3"+) or over a year old, it most likely isn't worth the trouble and risk of moving. It will have accumulated so much debris that it will be difficult to clean. If you do decide to clean the sand, put a big scoop in a 5 gallon bucket and flush with a hose at full pressure until the water runs clear. Repeat until all the sand is clean. Keep a couple of cups of uncleaned sand and pile it in two or three mounds on the freshly cleaned (or new sand if you go that route) to seed the newly cleaned sand as it will now be "dead" sand. There should be no problem placing as much of the corals and live rock directly into the new tank as you want. Try to transfer 80% of the water your new tank needs so the corals will not be shocked by different parameters of new water. Your tank should not cycle, but its ability to handle waste will be reduced, so give it a month before adding anything new to the tank.

[broke1]

The sand I would do seperately into a bucket or gabage can. Sand beds can get ugly when disturbed, it's not to say it will, but it can. I would get everything else moved and siphon out the sand with the water. It will give you a good chance to rinse the sand real well before placing it in the new tank.

[badwrasse]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15622713#post15622713 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ryandlf
Heres how I would do it:

1) Remove water down to the top of your LR.
2) Add water to new tank and remove LR and place in new tank as well.
3) Catch all fish and move over to new tank along with new coral.
4) Put the rest of the water in the new tank and remove the last 25 gallons and hold in buckets in case you need it.
5) Remove sand a bit at a time, and rinse until its totally clean under the garden hose. If you don't want to have to deal with this, you can use brand new sand and put it in before you start adding water rock etc. That is what I would do personally.
6) If you are using your old sand your going to have to use a funnel and tubing to point the sand where its supposed to go without creating a sand storm. Again, the sand will have to be kind of dry which could take days...I would just use new sand from the beginning.

No you shouldn't have a new cycle, just make sure you do it all at once and as quick as you can...don't leave the live rock out of water for very long at all. good but what if his old tank is going in the same place as his new tank?

[gauma369]

I just changed tanks and mine were going in same spot. I dont have corals or anything but heres what I did. I had it a little easier I had CC in old tank and the new tank i decided to go bare bottom. So substrate wasnt a big deal. I emptyied water until top of LR. Had buckets and rubbermaid container which held newly made water. I had a 29 gal tank which I filled half way with new water and half way with old tank water. I used a 37 gal rubbermaid container which I did same thing. Placed the LR in the rubbermaid container which also contained heater and pump. The water in the container and the 29 gal tank were exactly as they were in the old tank. Fit as much as I could in the rubbermaid but not over fill it then the left over I placed in the 29 gal tank. Took more water out of the tank which I threw away. Then I got the fish and placed in the 29 gal tank with small LR. Emptied rest of main tank switch in new tank. Filled with saltwater from my buckets. Brought that up to the exact temperature and then placed in LR used some that water to help fill the tank. Took some water from the 29 gal tank and placed in new tank. Got fish and placed in new tank. Filled the rest tank with what was left in the 29 gal. I had less water then I needed so I had to make more to completely fill both tank and sump. All went well took almost 4 hrs with LR and fish out of tank but over all about 6 plus some more time to make more saltwater.
Everything is doing good and the fish love their new home. If I would do anything different, I would have made more water before hand. Was pain to have to rush and make more after things were up.

[nychris351]

Thanks for all the great advice.. Gonna combine them all n come up with a master plan.. Its gonna be an all day affair And its gonna suck..