45 gallon to 112 gallon?? How?

[aleok]

Hey Everyone,

I'm thinking about doing a major swap in my fishes homes. Currently I have a 45 tall that's 4-5 months old with 50lb live rock, 50lb live sand, 1 firefish, 1 flame angel, 1 four line wrasse, 2 clowns, 1 blue reef chromis, and some mushroom corals. i have a HOB protein skimmer rated for 100 gallons.

I want to move all my saltwater inhabitants to my 112 gallon tall African cichlid tank. There are only maybe 3 cichlids that i actually want to keep, transfering them to the 45 after everything is done. The cichlid tank is setup with a 15 gallon sump, which I'm not sure if it would be large enough for saltwater... maybe if i have to use the 45?? (get rid of all the cichlids:cry: ) or i also have a spare 20 long, i could maybe somehow connect the current 15g sump to the 20g long (like different chambers). Would i be able to use my current HOB skimmer in one of the sump tanks? or would i need a different type/size? the 112 is acrylic so it has a acrylic bracing top, the 15g sump is also acrylic (flimsy too).

And the major question is how do i pull off this switch? All I have is that spare 20 long, a 10 gallon, and three 18 gallon tubs...
What would be the best way to cycle/seed the new saltwater tank and where could i keep all my fish, sand, rock, coral during the process?

Heres some pics:
Current cichlid setup
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b307/aleok/photo1.jpg

Current Saltwater setup
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b307/aleok/photo.jpg

Possible New setup?
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b307/aleok/newsetup-1.png


THANK YOU!

[ajcanale]

5 years ago i could have named most of those cichlids... lol. All I can tell you now is that I don't think there are any Malawi Mbuna's in that tank, but I'm probably wrong.

And cheers to you for keeping both cichlids and saltwater. I completely lost interest when I switched over :crazy1:

[ajcanale]

Oh and you could probably use all the same equipment (other than sump... too small imo) provided that you dont add any additional livestock including fish and coral.


The best way to switch would be to convert everything over (including water/ not including sandbed) and if possible run your sump on the larger tank until it matures some.

[sponger0]

Best bet....is pull the cichlids into a smaller tank to hold.

Build the 112 for saltwater, let it cycle. Transfer maybe 1-2 fish after the cycle. After a month of them being in there you should be able to move the rest.

Empty the 45. Set it up for fresh. Put cichlids in.

That would be the safest, most sure way to not lose livestock.

[aleok]

thanks for the reply's. as far as the new sump idea, what do you guys think of that? new skimmer?

[sponger0]

Yes you would need a new skimmer. At least one rated for 200 gallons